Day Thirteen: You Can’t Build and Fight at the Same Time

“You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the Lord gave him victory over all his enemies.”

1 Ki. 5:3, NLT

You don’t see much new construction going on in war zones. It would be wasted effort. No sooner would you build a wall than it would be blown to smithereens. Satan wants to keep us from building for the honor of our God – making our lives a battlefield without time for rest. He wants to keep us on the defensive so we’re too depleted and distracted to build anything new for the Lord’s glory.


Building for almost 100 years at La Sagrada de Familia in Barcelona, Spain

That’s what happened to me yesterday. When I was weak – nursing my first nasty cold of the winter, I got hit with an attack to my spirit that left me staggering and wounded. Worse yet, I was assaulted by a soldier from my own side! The arrows were gossip, assumption, anger, and personal bias. Not based on facts or direct communication. And they had been left to simmer.

My first response when I heard about it was to feel sorry for myself; hide out and lick my wounds. Then God revealed what the enemy was trying to do and reminded me who I am in Him. In Christ I am valuable; I know who I am and who I belong to. I do not have to prove myself or seek to please any other. God is my Defender and my security. So today I claim victory over gossip, anger, lies, ingratitude, and envy, and I refuse to let them distract me from building for the honor of our King. 

I know I’m not the only one who gets hit with stuff like this. Are you under attack by people, attitudes, or circumstances that keep you on the defense? The enemy will never stop waging war on us, but we can choose to deflect his ammo with the shield of faith. The Lord will bring us victory through peaceful minds and hearts. Then we can turn our attention and energies to building faith, friendships, family, fellowship with believers, Christlike attitudes, and love for others. Even the ones who choose to war against us.