March 8 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

It is impossible for any Christian to escape the battle. Those who confess the Lord have to face the enemy. Faith is always under fire. If this is so certain, why does the Lord teach us to pray that we be kept from tempta­tion? Because only fools rush in where Christ himself feared to tread.

Christians have good reasons to pray for deliverance from temptation. We know our own weaknesses. Spiritually immature Christians are like little children who think that war is a game. But mature Christians pray that they will be kept from temptations, and they work hard to stay away from them. Christians do not try to find out how close they can get to the dragon. Instead they stay as far away from the dragon as possible.

God does not tempt us to evil (James 1:13). The devil is the tempter. Yet God leads our lives. And it is to God that we pray "Lead us not into temptation." Therefore, although we do not desire the battle, we will not rebel either when our general leads us into contact with the enemy. We know very well that a general does not bring his troops under fire to have them killed; he does so because it is the only way to victory and peace.

Thus we pray to be kept from mortal combat. And we are certainly not going to seek it. But if it pleases our Father in heaven to bring us into the hardships of spiritual warfare, we trust that even this experience will be for our good. And we hear Scripture say: "Blessed are those who perse­vere under trial, because when they have stood the test, they will receive the crown of life" (James 1:12).

Christians avoid confrontations with the enemy: "Lead us not into temptation." But when they have to endure warfare, they receive the power to persevere.

REFLECTIONS

In what areas is your faith likely to come "under fire"?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.