I had a friend who used to always say, "It's a battle out there!"
Now that may seem like an extreme description of the travails of everyday life, but it's true.
It really is a battle out there!
The battle began at the fall of mankind... when the Lord put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent.
And this conflict rages on into our own day... with the fiercest warfare taking place between cosmic powers in the heavenly places.
Thankfully, the Lord Jesus Christ has already secured victory in this long war.
Yet we must still fight the good fight of faith in every day's battles.
So, prepare your minds for action (1 Pet.1:13).
Be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might (Eph.6:10).
And put on the full armor of God (Eph.6:11).
It's a battle out there!
And realizing it is so is the first step to prepare yourself for it.