Last night in the Tyson-Paul fight, I heard the referee point at Jake Paul, and warn him, “Don’t measure.” I had never heard a referee give that kind of warning. “Measuring” is placing your leading arm on the opposing fighter’s head to measure them or obstruct their vision.
When I heard the referee’s warning, I thought of our spiritual battles. Hell is always measuring us to determine his next attack. He measures the depth of our faith, the extent of our love, and our willingness to obey when we are emotionally or spiritually weak. His next move will be determined by his measurement of our spirituality.
The devil in his wilderness testing of Jesus was measuring the Lord looking for a weak place of compromise. The Lord used the unchanging truth of God’s word to halt the devil’s attempt to measure (tempt) the Lord and lead Him to a place of compromise.
When the devil is measuring us, the word of God becomes our best defense. Jesus used Scripture to challenge the devil’s attempt to measure and compromise His faith. Jesus modeled for us how to live a sustained faith and not open ourselves up to the next punch of hell.
At the end of the testing, the Lord said, “Get out of here, Satan. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him. Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus” (Matthew 4”10-11). “For the Scriptures say” was the Lord’s defense against the tactics of hell.
There will always be another round in our fight of faith. Don’t be surprised by His measuring tactics. He is seeking for a way to diminish our faith and issue a fatal punch of opportunity. Stay close to the truth expressed in God’s word when this is happening. It is our only protection when we are being measured for the enemy’s next punch.
TRUTH! I’m in my seventies and I have never heard it taught before, but oh! My soul recognizes this as the Truth it is. Thanks so much for speaking it forth.