The minute a person makes that definite decision to become a Christian, he or she sends a declaration of war to Satan and his lieutenants.


Whether the decision was in full glare of all or made in the privacy of your room with no physical person witnessing it, there is a loud announcement made in heaven and hell that another soldier has been enlisted in the army of the Lord.


 We live in a fallen world. A world given to man by God to exercise control over but which man as result of  disobedience, carelessly ceded to the devil. Since that time, the devil has been given so many titles, ‘Prince of devils (Matt 9:24), ‘Prince of this world’ (John 12:21), ‘Prince of the power of the air’ (Eph 2:2).



One can therefore see why in many cases; the minute one gives his life to Christ, it would seem like all hell broke lose. The previous seemingly peaceful world the person enjoyed becomes chaotic and troublesome.


The reason for this is not far-fetched; we are living physically in enemy territory and he knows that we are divinely protected or else he would have had us killed immediately we declared our stand for the Lord. He also knows that his time is short. His intention therefore is to do all he can to frustrate us.


This is where we need to take our stand and dig into our trenches. This is not the time to cry and throw a pity-party; it is the time to take up the whole armour of God, which we need to stop the flaming arrows of the evil one (Eph 6:16).


When I first gave my life to Christ as a young boy, I did not realize the dust I would raise because of this decision. My friends turned against me, I became unpopular in school such that I was banned from going to the church where I gave my life to Christ team task management. As if that was not enough, word got to my parents that I was behaving strange. My parents heard that I had been ill and rather than visit the hospital I decided to pray for healing. They did not find this funny at all.


My parents were church folks who had raised my siblings and I to attend church regularly and we had daily devotion at home but this ‘born again’ stuff was beyond them. Another ban was imposed at home. I was not to attend any fellowship apart from the church my parents went.  At that time, there was no internet so I was asked to cancel all my magazine subscriptions from organisations perceived to have the ‘born-again’ influence on me.


Now, all these happened because the enemy knew God had a plan and a purpose for my life. He threw everything he had at me to derail God’s plans for my life but praise God! He did not succeed. My  parents who banned me then have themselves identified with the Lord today. They have seen me consistently take my stand in spite of the hardship I had to go through over the years. They knew there was a driving force which kept me going and it was matter of time before they realized that they needed something much more than the formal Christianity they had hitherto practiced.


Satan may be throwing arrows of a different kind at you today. For some, it may manifest in persecution at work or at home. For some, it may be delay in getting the desires of their hearts. One thing is clear however; we dare not give up! We dare not cede any territory to the enemy. He comes only to kill, to steal and to destroy but praise God! Christ came that we might have life and have it to the fullest! (John 10:10).


How do we cede territory to the enemy? We do this every time we succumb to the deceitfulness of the enemy. We do this every time we take the easy way out.


I have seen wonderful sisters getting hooked with unbelievers out of desperation for marriage. I have also seen men entering into an ungodly pacts because of the need to make wealth. These have ceded much territory for the enemy to operate in their lives and the repercussions are usually enormous.


Let us choose this day to stand as soldiers of the cross with the determination to fight until the last drop of our blood. Men have been known to fight battles and defend their posts to the last man. The determination of the Christian soldier should go beyond that because after all, we have an armour that cannot be destroyed and ultimately the glory that will bestowed upon us is more wonderful and more precious than earthly honours which fade away over time.