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When the enemy comes in like a flood
“When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Isaiah 59:19), the Bible tells us. The war in Ukraine has captured the attention of people around the world. The spectacle of a massive military force invading a sovereign nation without provocation, meeting fierce resistance, and now plotting a bigger, more destructive offense, has many people wondering what can be done to protect the lives of all caught in this conflict and restore a just peace to that part of the world.
We can support such progress by understanding that there’s a spiritual basis for staying safe when faced with a flood of aggression and oppression. Gideon proved the power of listening for spiritual guidance in the face of formidable enemy attack. When his homeland was besieged by foreign armies that were “like a swarm of locusts . . . like grains of sand on the seashore—too many to count!” (Judges 7:12, New Living Translation), Gideon was led by God to organize an army to defend the home territory. He recruited thousands of troops to fight a battle, but God told him to trim his forces, saying that “the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength” (verse 2, NLT). Gideon obeyed, realizing that the battle was not going to be won through military might but through trust in God’s all-power and through listening to and following God’s direction. He chose three hundred committed men, and they were sufficient to send the enemy fleeing. The homeland was saved, and God was given the credit.
Gideon realized that the battle was not going to be won through military might.
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