“Freedom’s price is vigilance.”

I’ll bet the owners of this fence were totally jazzed when they first put it up. They beamed with pride as it not only accented their home, but also protected their property from possible intruders.

Over time, though, without proper maintenance, the law of physics took its toll. One by one small parts of the fence rotted and broke away. And because of seasonal weather changes, the nails worked themselves loose resulting in slats falling to the ground. Both cost the fence its ability to protect their home.

The law of physics hits the life of the believer as well. Just like wood can become fatigued, so too can what we thought was a character strength. We also go through seasons of life that expose lies in our thinking that need to be replaced with scriptural nails to protect us from attacks.

Scripture talks about this! Right after the Spirit talks about the armor of God – our ability to stay free in Christ (Gal. 5:1) – He tells us to be vigilant in prayer for each other (Eph. 6:18).

The enemy is constantly probing to find weak points in our fence. This is why we need others looking out and praying for us. They can see in our actions and/or hear in our conversations a slat or a nail that needs to be replaced with God’s truth in order to stand firm during the attacks.

Again, in the context of spiritual warfare, the Spirit also writes that we are to be humble before the Lord (1 Peter 5:6-10). Will we listen to what the Spirit is saying through others so we can stay free in Christ?

Want your fence to be strong? Humble yourself before the Lord to listen to the spiritual intel He gives you through others so you can let Him replace your worn-out character with His everlasting character.

Want to stand firm when attacks come? Humble yourself to listen to what the Spirit is saying through others who are praying for you, even when you don’t know it, so you can have new slats and nails in place when the enemy attacks.

Your freedom and growth in Christ take team vigilance.