KNOW YOUR ENEMY - 1

“Your enemy the devil prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
These are some of my moments experiences after I am being trapped in that, God showered his grace to realize the truth. I am just sharing this with you. If you have similar experience you can share too. May God help of us. And Mother Mary, the Morning Star guide us.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” (Sun Tzu, The Art of War)

1. IMPATIENCE

Once of the tactics that devil uses on us is to become impatience.

Well, you may ask how? For anyone it is natural to become impatience when things go wrong, meet with continuous failure, or meet with urgent need, when we could not bear with the shortcomings of others. Is there anything wrong in that? Is it not natural?

It may seem to be ok, but actually it’s not ok. Impatience first cripples the capacity to understand, to understand in the right way. Lack of understanding bars the grace of discernment and hastens the need of a quicker decision making or conclusion which most of the time or all the time ends up in miserable.

When the calculations and conclusions go wrong we get frustrated, discouraged and fret, foam with dissent and anger which blinds the eyes of faith and hope. And there starts all the crazy thinking and spilling of hurtful words and acts which makes division and hatred.

Patience means love. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love only one. Like a jack fruit. Or an orange. All others or its peels. To be patient means to work with love. To be patient with a bedridden person needs more love. The very apt example is Mother Teresa. Patience is a virtue, also a gift and also a part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. One can be patient only when he has the love. Love includes patience, understanding, hope and perseverance, never give up. And tolerance. Tolerance may be under patience. Does every situation of patience need to be love? Yes, waiting for a bus which comes late so that I am late to office, also to be handled with love, love for God and understanding which results from love. God waits for us patiently, because He loves us.

God is patient in creating us. Patience means waiting with hope, endless hope. And patient waiting with hope and faith always rewarded. Our enemy does not like it. Because he was kept blinded of the plan of Salvation, he became impatience and took a quick and hasty decision, came to a fast conclusion that if he kills Jesus by a humiliating death, he thought, everything will finish, but met with disaster. So, he uses the same tactic on us.

We find an example in the Bible, he was the first king, and the prophet asked him to wait for seven days until he comes. But he could not wait, became restless, made a wrong decision of offering sacrifice by himself to God to receive the blessing, instead he received curse. He disobeyed in his impatience and lost the grace and favor of God and the kingdom was removed from him. The mas was King Saul. (1 Samuel 10:8, 13:1ff)

Let’s practice patience. On ourselves first in our weaknesses, inabilities, delayed results, in our needs and necessities. Then on to others and to God. God knows what is good, when is good and how is good. For patience means love and trust.

"Keep calm before the Lord, wait for him in patience; do not fret if others succeed when they carry out evil schemes." (Psalms 37:7)

"from patience comes merit, merit is the source of hope," (Romans 5:4)

Patience is a virtue. Patience is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Be on your guard! Be Patient!
God knows you and watches over you!
And so too our enemy.
The Choice is ours.
Hide from devil and live in the presence of God or do the opposite.
Always fighting is not a wise decision!