The Fierce Struggle

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Today's reading, titled The Fierce Struggle, was written by Wynn Collier. In 1896, an explorer named Carl Akeley found himself in a remote section of Ethiopia, chased by an 80-pound leopard. He remembered the leopard pouncing, trying to sink her teeth into my throat.

He said, She missed, snagging his right arm with her vicious jaws. The two rolled in the sand, a long, fierce struggle. Akeley weakened, and it became a question of who would give up first.

Summoning his last bit of strength, Akeley was able to suffocate the big cat with his bare hands. The Apostle Paul explained how each of us who believe in Jesus will inevitably encounter our own fierce struggles, those places where we feel overwhelmed and are tempted to surrender. Instead, we must take our stand against the devil's schemes and stand firm. Rather than cower in fear or crumble as we recognize our weakness and vulnerability, Paul challenged us to step forward in faith, remembering that we don't rely on our own courage and strength, but on God. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power, he wrote in Ephesians chapter 6. In the challenges we face, he's only a prayer away. Yes, we have many struggles, and we'll never escape them by our own power or ingenuity, but God is more powerful than any enemy or evil we'll ever face.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10 through 20. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand, stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. Pray also for me that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.

Let's pray. Lord, the fight is real, the evil is real, and on our own we are helpless against it. But we are trusting in you and your mighty power to be with us, to help us overcome. Give us courage to face what's before us today and fill us with your peace, knowing that because you are with us, we already have the victory. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. I'm Stephen, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.