Gym was not my favorite class in high school, and I really dreaded it whenever a certain game was played: dodge ball.

I hated that game. Some of my peers could really pack a wallop with the ball and no matter where it hit me, it really stung. Lacking muscle, speed and coordination, I was an easy target. That also meant that when I threw the ball it was often with a wimp and not a wallop, and easily caught by my opponents.

Much of that occurred before I committed my life to Christ, but after making Christ my King and reading His love letter to us, the Holy Bible, it was easy to see a comparison between that dreaded game and the battle every Christian faces until they go on to their reward.

As a young Christian I was encouraged by my pastor and others to read the New Testament, and I soon saw there were numerous passages that told us to flee from various types of sin. There were passages that also taught us to get our strength from Christ.

A couple of years later I got into the Old Testament and found the same truths. That is natural of course because there is One primary author of the Word of God, which is God Himself, so the Holy Bible speaks as one.

So now when I remember dodging a high speed ball destined to sting, I have to think of Psalm 143:9--"Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me." This and many other verses show us that there is great safety in the Lord. Of course, it is up to us run to Him, and to do so with all speed. Only in Him can we be safely shielded from the attacks of the kingdom of darkness.

When it comes to my former lack of coordination and strength, I have to think of what David said by the Holy Spirit in Psalm 144:1--"Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight:" Again, though, we are the ones that must choose to be nourished in green pastures by the Good Shepherd.

Dodge ball was just a game, and you and I survived it. However, life is not a game, but often a battle. The spiritual choices we make now cannot be undone at death. That is why the best thing we can do is to fully trust Jesus Christ, the Savior of all mankind.