day no. 15,615: force and fervor, valor and vehemence

"And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." - Exodus 17:12

"So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. So, in the soul's conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God... Beware of faintness in devotion; if Moses felt it, who can escape? It is far easier to fight with sin in public, than to pray against it in private. It is remarked that Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying; the more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it. Let us cry, then, for special strength, and may the Spirit of God, who helpeth our infirmities, as he allowed help to Moses, enable us like him to continue with our hands steady ‘until the going down of the sun;’ till the evening of life is over; till we shall come to the rising of a better sun in the land where prayer is swallowed up in praise." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening

Do not neglect how difficult the fight is put to you in private. Do not forget the men on the front lines, but do not overlook the front line contained in the privacy of each soldier. Each is fighting a war on two fronts. One within and one without. In every battle, there are two front lines: one within each heart of each combatant and one on which the combatants line up in opposition to each other.

Fighting sin in the public square is typically bloodier, but fighting sin in private is typically deadlier. In faith, more men die in the privacy of their homes than do on the battlefield of public debate. Less have been lost in action in the foreign theater than have been lost in the domestic theater.