Let's face it - as guys, there is this image within us that when we fight for something, that it's going to be epic. Anger, fists, blood, rain... an overactive barrage of imagery & blows, where no matter what happens, we will rise from the beating and come out victorious in the end... (Gotta' love Hollywood, huh?)

But in reality, we wouldn't stand a chance.

Think about it - The one person we need to worry about, our true enemy, isn't Joe Blow down the street, or our boss or even ourselves, but the devil. He's watched our tapes & knows our weaknesses to a "T". He is a patient demon, waiting to launch his attack, and does it with extreme accuracy. But we can fight him, but not with fists.

We can recognize his attacks & see him coming by continuously learning God's Word. By reading about the recorded triumphs of God's people, by believing firmly that God is bigger than the devil, and by remembering why he continuously tries to hit us where he does, is essential.

Preparing for this battle doesn't include increasing our strengths - Working on our muscles, or our anger or our threshold for pain, does us nothing. We need to focus on the exact opposite - our weaknesses. When you attack someone, you don't go for their most protected part - You hit them in the gaps of their armor, and repeatedly.

Serious self-reflection is needed in order to discover where our weaknesses truly are. And the humility to study the scriptures over it, and to pray to God for strength. It is through Him alone where we will walk away from that battle alive.

When David went against Goliath, he didn't do it because he felt "lucky", but because he remembered that God was with him - The same God who gave him strength when he stood against that bear, the same God who showed up when he met up with a lion. David's trust & faith needed to be in the right place - in God - and when that was established, he was ready for battle.

Our pride is another weakness. The devil is the master of the "half-truths".

He knows that we are more likely to swallow half-truths than blatant lies. Even when we choose to trust God & walk in faith, Satan whispers that God can do many things, but not all things.

God isn't a man where He can lie. If God said "all things", then that's exactly what He meant.

In the end, our fights & frustrations teach us two things: something about God & ourselves. We can choose to trust in our own strengths or intelligence, but we will soon find out inadequate we truly are. But if we choose to believe that God will give us the victory, then we have ringside seats in seeing just how truly powerful God is.