Yesterday I was sitting with a group of men in a leadership class as our pastor explained why he repeats the same basic themes in his Sunday messages. As I was listening to him, the expression “Ambush Right!” popped into my mind, immediately evoking a vivid memory.
We were on a night patrol in Vietnam when we walked into a Viet Cong (VC) ambush. I was third man back in the column when a Chinese Communist grenade struck me in the face, knocking me off my feet. As I fell to the ground, the patrol stopped, unaware of the reason I had fallen.
I groped around in the dark and picked up the object that had struck me, only to realize it was a grenade. The squad leader immediately realized that we had walked into an ambush and that the enemy was waiting for the grenade to explode before opening fire. He yelled, “Ambush Right!” and the entire squad immediately unleashed a deadly hail of small arms fire on the tree line to our right, effectively turning the table on the VC.
The only injury was my losing several teeth. The immediate-action drills we had relentlessly practiced paid tremendous dividends that night.
The Apostle Peter tells, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:8–9, ESV).
So, how do we resist the devil? It comes through our spiritual “immediate action” drill — Scripture memorization. The devil knows our weaknesses, and so he knows how to spring an ambush on us.
It might be the flirtatious conversation of a coworker or an invitation to drop into the local bar after work. It may be the thought to exaggerate your productivity at work or maybe sneak out early or arrive late because you feel you’ve “earned” a little slack on the job. Maybe you are tempted to fudge a little on your expense report.
These and any number of other temptations are the “ambushes” the devil seeks to spring on us to cause us to stumble and discredit our testimony in the eyes of those around us.
My repetition of memorizing Scripture is my “immediate action” drill, designed to prepare me to “resist the devil” so that “he will flee from” me (James 4:7). This isn’t legalism; it is spiritual preparation to enable us to walk uprightly before our Savior and King.
So, let me ask you this: How prepared are you to resist the enemy’s ambush? “Ambush Right!”
What say ye, Man of Valor?
Semper Fidelis!
