One airplane flew north while the other soared south.  As we passed way to close for comfort the other pilot and I screamed, “fight’s on” and the dogfight training began.  Both planes shot straight up in an attempt to get on top of the other, followed by a “power-on-stall” that sent the planes spiraling back toward earth.

Gravity hurled the twisting planes downward, as my neck strained backward to keep the enemy plane in sight.   At 1000 feet and no-where to go, both planes pulled back up into the sky.   Up, spin down, hang on, back up – keep my eyes on the enemy, the earth and the altimeter all at the same time.  With every turn my nerves ratcheted tighter until I finally shrieked, “Give me the bag, give me the bag” as I lost the fight and everything inside me at the same time.

Can you imagine how different I would have acted, if only I would have known that the other pilot started to vomit only a nanosecond later.  I had quit the fight too soon.  And this is the point I want to make.  He never shot me with his laser guns, but he won the fight by default simply because I quit first.  I quit the fight too soon.

And isn’t this true of so many battles we lose in life.  Too often, we give up too easily.  We give in to anger or entitlement, allow temptation to whisk us away, or fail to fight for what we know is right simply because we quit too soon.

When Jesus was tempted after 40 days in the desert, he fought by quoting scripture out loud.   It takes extra effort to do that.  Plus, it takes courage.  But quoting scripture buys us time – perhaps just the few extra seconds we need – as we recite God’s Word out loud.

God’s Word puts our enemy in a downward spiral, so he loses control.  God’s Word can give us the courage we need as it simultaneously scares our enemy back to hell where he belongs.

Reciting God’s Word helps us to hang in there and last a little longer.  It is a big weapon indeed!