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
Last August my wife and then four year old son were involved in a car accident. They were waiting behind another car that was turning left. The driver of a large pick up truck was not paying attention and rammed them from behind.
Our car was totalled, and they were taken to the hospital for a once over before being released to come home. That had to be one of the scariest days of my life.
I wasn’t alone. Since that day, I had noticed my son exhibiting an overwhelming fear of large trucks, especially the eighteen wheeler variety. For a while, when we would go down our sidewalk at home he would fearfully grab my leg as these oversized behemoths sped down our highway. When a large truck would blow their horn or loudly apply their brakes, he would jump and run into our laps.
One day a few weeks ago as we returned home, I had him in the backseat as we were turning into our driveway. A car that was lost turned into it first, and I waited for them to back out. I noticed a semi-truck in my rear view mirror bearing down on us blowing his horn. There was absolutely no need for him to do that except for sheer impatience.
My son went ballistic, begging me to get off the road. It was as close to what I have heard some refer to as post-traumatic stress. We came to a stop, and I was seething at the insolence of the truck driver as though he had any idea that my son had been through an already harrowing experience.
He was in tears as he got out of the car, and all I knew to do was place my hand on him and pray.
“Jesus, take this fear from my son and give him peace.”
This five year old went from near hysterics to a testosterone filled rage; wildly punching and kicking at the floor. With his eyes wide and fists flying, I asked him what he was doing.
“I’m mad at the devil and I’m beating him up!”
I turned him loose and watched as a once terrified little boy unleashed righteous indignation in the right direction.
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
My initial reaction was to drop Walker off and follow the truck driver to give him a proper introduction to not scaring my son. But a five year old knew who the real enemy is. I began to think about how many battles we lose daily because we won’t face our true selves in the mirror and own up to our irrational ideas and fears; or we decide to point our fury at people instead of the deceiver of our souls.
My young son taught me a valuable lesson that day. Since then, he has no longer exhibited the wild eyed fear of large trucks on the highway. He went after his real foe and overcame him the only way he knew how. When we spend our time holding grudges, bitterness, and anger toward each other we waste valuable time and energy while our real enemy laughs at us from afar.
God enjoys a good fight. Take off the gloves and track down the real enemy. Give him the beating he deserves and walk in the freedom God intended.
Ryan Revolution