The Battlefield of Coasting
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18, ESV
Many of us have stories of God’s supernatural intervention and reassurance in times of fear. As God’s men, we will know this kind of battle pressure if we are on the attack and serving Him on kingdom battlefronts. Like a submarine after receiving battle blows then springing a leak, we need to surface for repairs.
Having fought and won some major battles for the kingdom, God’s men commonly become overconfident in our successes. At these times, the challenge is to continue working through the stages of our spiritual journeys, allowing God to direct us to our next missions. If there is one aspect of spiritual battle that remains more hidden than others among Christians, it’s coasting. The thought goes like this: I can become the man God wants me to be by remaining who I am. In this realm, the danger is not doing what is wrong; it’s the pride that comes by doing all the right things. When you have a large level area of the spiritual high ground, you can lose your focus on the real world.
The fact is this: spiritual growth, exciting victory, and exciting new experiences in Christ await. This new foe will not be looking so much to exploit your failure but to get you resting on your success. The enemy doesn’t lie down and rest just because we have a good routine going. God does not help those who help themselves. He helps those who ask Him for help because they know that in and of themselves, it’s never as good.
Here’s the center of the strike zone:
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” ––1 Peter 5:8-9
A sober-minded man is aware that he is flesh and bone, and that His boasting is in Christ, not himself.
Father, help me never to depend on myself. I am spiritually clueless without you.