"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm" - Ephesians 6:13 (NIV).

What if you were about to report for your first day on the job, all eyes looking out in anticipation, only to suddenly fall ill and are fast admitted to hospital for a lengthy surgery. What if you are about to sit for an examination you have been preparing for a year, and the anticipated qualification will catapult you into a certain expert professional category, only on that very day to lose a loved one, imperiling all your preparations. What if you are about to set off for a ground breaking opening of a factory you have poured all your savings into, only for the regulators to seal it closed that very day, until payment of a certain astronomical sum.

Such disorienting obstacles can happen in the lives of some, including believers in Christ. Ordinarily they can be looked at as random events causing a setback, perhaps a temporary one. But there are also those situations where the setback if allowed to proceed is so huge, almost leaving one beyond a point of recovery.

There can be a case where one who is hit with such is so devastated and decides to abandon the cause altogether. However, there is also that believer whom it occurs to that those apparently random obstacles, may be an orchestrated attack of the enemy. Satan, maybe trying to lock one out of receiving his due treasure. When a bride suffers an accident on the way to church, it might not be just a freak accident, but a certain invasion of forces determined to deny a child of God her due reward.

To help us here the Apostle Paul wrote, "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" (Ephesians 6:12). Here Paul revealed that there are dark forces waging war against believers, some not as easily discernible to the naked eye.

Paul urges believers to "take up the shield of faith,with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (vv 16), meaning, in other words, never to lose hope and easily fold up when beset with setbacks. Not only should a believer attacked so cruelly remain strong, but he further urges, to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (vv 18), for obviously victory awaits those that "persevere in prayer" for they will triumph over the enemy.

May whatever set back you have encountered not derail you to the point of surrender. Some may be just casual happenings, but there is also what might be a deliberate attack on your life by the "dark forces" for which you must stand up and resist to shame the evil one!

Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, for whatever obstacles I may face, I choose and decide not to surrender, but persevere in faith, praying for victory against all the dark forces to be rendered naught, for the victory of your child, this I pray in Jesus's name.