Bowling with the Devil

“The world is the devil’s bowling alley, and we are the pins.  The devil takes particular delight in knocking down Christians.  He tries to topple us with systems of temptation, adversity, and persecution – and to give the devil his due; he’s an excellent bowler.  But what Satan hates most is when he has bowled his best and a few stubborn pins just won’t fall.”

(unknown author)

The enemy is always attacking us. He stands at the door doing his thing: accusing us. He wants us to feel unloved, unwanted and unworthy. He tempts us to isolate ourselves and tricks us to believe that it’s just independence. He uses this isolation to taunt us with his schemes of deception and despair.

This is the Devil’s way. It’s how he plays his game.

The question poses, “How do we become that stubborn pin?”

In all of Satan’s deceptive ways, we can be grateful that we are not left alone to be overcome by him. We have Jesus! We have the most powerful God on our side. We have even more.

God loves us so much that He gave us the church. The church is not a building, its people. God knew that there would be times in our life when the devil might win; when he would lay flat the pin. He would lie to us, and we would believe him. God knew we needed others in our life to speak truth – to encourage – to strengthen – to help us. He knew our desperate need for relationships.  He knew we could not do life alone and triumph against this dark evil enemy.

Even God said about Adam who lived in the perfect garden, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement” (Genesis 2:18). Yes, this was directed to a relationship between a man and woman, husband and wife, but the truth remains:

People need good-willed godly people in their life.

We battle every day – we battle between good and evil, temptation and right living, hating and loving, hoarding and giving, and the list goes on.  The battle can deplete our energy, and cause us great stress and anxiety. We lose this battle every time we choose to go this life alone. But when we choose to live it with others, we win.

Moses learned the strength of others who supported him, those who encouraged him and shared his burden. The Amalekites challenged the Israelites. They wrangled and fought. They did what they could to defeat God’s people. But Moses knew what to do. While Joshua led the Israelites to battle against their enemy, Moses stood on the hilltop with God’s staff in his hands and held it high.

While Moses’ hands were held high, God’s people prevailed.  They found supernatural strength in Moses’ prayers to God.

But then human imperfection interfered. The arms of Moses got tired. When he dropped his hands, the Israelites began to lose and suffer loss.

Aaron and Hur, Moses’s top leaders, saw his weakness; they could have watched the weakness of Moses and said,“Just give it up, the battle is too hard.” They could have even run for their lives! Instead, they sat Moses on a stone so he could rest. Then Aaron and Hur supported Moses hands, one on one side and one on the other. Together, the three of them held Moses’ hands up. And Joshua and the Israelites defeated the enemy. They won! They conquered their enemy! When all was said and done, Moses built an altar and named it, “The Lord is My Banner” (Exodus 17:8-15 paraphrased).

Who did God use to be His Banner? He used two faithful, brave men who stepped into the trouble. With Moses, they became the chord of three strands not easily broken. The wisdom of Solomon still speaks, “Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

Are you doing life alone? Do you feel defeated? How about overcome? Are you in a rut?

You need people – good-willed, godly people to rally around you. Don’t let the lie of independence and the busy life hold you captive to the enemy’s game. Be free! Be with others! Find that supernatural strength that can only come from the support of many.

Go bowling, but be stubborn.

Let the other pins be your support as you all stand firm in the power of God.