They Did Not Fear

November 24

How can the enemy of our souls be defeated? How can mere mortals, frail flesh that is only a breath away from returning to dust, hope to curtail, let alone halt, the inroads of the evil one into their lives and into the lives of those they love? What weapon in the arsenal of man can we hope will defeat the schemes and lies of the destroyer?

Of ourselves, there’s nothing. Our weapons of warfare, powerful and destructive though they may be when unleashed against flesh, are as nothing when poised toward the fortress of evil. Our resolve, though a strong tower to which we may flee from the temptations he levels at us, cannot secure us indefinitely against the devil’s determination to destroy God’s finest and most beloved handiwork.

But the Word of God tells us we can overcome him, and we stand upon that assurance when nothing else can give us even a glimmer of hope toward that end. In Revelation 12:11 John says, “Our brothers defeated the evil one by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives to the point of fearing death.” They did not fear death.

When we trust in the blood of the sacrificed Lamb, neither will we love our lives so much that we fear death. We, too will overcome by Jesus’ shed blood, knowing “there is no other name given under heaven whereby men might be saved,” Acts 4:12, so our defense, our confidence will be in the One who can defeat the tempter; who can destroy the destroyer!