There are some experiences you know you will carry with you for the rest of your life.

My recent trip to India was one of them.

I traveled there expecting to preach, teach, encourage pastors, and speak into the lives of young men and women who feel the call of God upon their lives. What I did not fully anticipate was how deeply God would speak to me in the process.

The days were long. We would leave around eight in the morning and often would not return until ten at night. We traveled from place to place, preached, taught, prayed, listened, encouraged, and poured out everything we had.

By the time I returned each evening, I was exhausted.

But it was the best kind of exhausted.

I was drained and fulfilled at the same time.

There is something incredibly powerful about standing before pastors who are faithfully serving God and reminding them that what they are doing matters. There is something equally moving about looking into the eyes of young men and women who sense God’s call upon their lives and realizing that you have been given an opportunity to speak courage into their future.

I was able to tell them what others once told me: God does not need you to have everything figured out. He is looking for your yes.

Watching their faces, praying with them, teaching them, and hearing their stories reminded me why I love ministry.

I could not have been happier with how the trip went.

But the trip was not without a battle.

Because while God had plans for what He wanted to do in and through me in India, I was reminded that the enemy had plans too.

The Battle Behind the Blessing

We sometimes imagine spiritual warfare as something dramatic and obvious. We picture enormous crises, unmistakable attacks, or moments when everything suddenly falls apart.

But the enemy does not always come roaring through the front door.

Sometimes he quietly sets a trap.

Sometimes the greatest threat to tomorrow’s assignment is a compromise offered today.

That is why I am more convinced than ever that we cannot wait until temptation arrives to decide who we are going to be.

For years, I have made it a priority to begin every morning with the Lord. The first two hours of my day are spent in the Word, praising, praying, listening, and preparing my heart for whatever lies ahead.

That routine did not change because I was in India.

And one morning, I became especially thankful for it.

We had some free time before heading out, so I went downstairs to do a little shopping. Since arriving in India, my right IT band had been bothering me and causing knee pain, probably from all the sitting during the long journey there. I noticed the spa offered a foot massage and decided that sounded like exactly what I needed.

The massage felt amazing, and it genuinely helped.

But when it was over, I was offered something that definitely was not on the menu.

Suddenly, an ordinary morning became a spiritual decision.

And to God be the glory, temptation never really had a chance.

I simply responded, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m married, and I want to stay that way.”

There was no debate.

No rationalization.

No internal negotiation.

The decision had already been made long before I walked into that room.

Some Battles Are Won Before They Begin

That moment reminded me of something we sometimes miss about the armor of God.

Paul writes:

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
Ephesians 6:11

Notice that Paul does not tell us to start looking for our armor after the arrows begin flying.

We are supposed to already be wearing it.

The belt of truth. The breastplate of righteousness. Feet prepared with the gospel of peace. The shield of faith. The helmet of salvation. The sword of the Spirit. Prayer.

I believe one reason I could respond so quickly that morning was because the battle had actually started hours earlier, when I chose to begin my day in God’s presence.

Before I encountered temptation, I had encountered God.

Before someone whispered compromise, I had been listening to His Word.

Before the enemy presented his offer, I had already reminded myself who I belonged to.

It would have been so easy to think, “I’m on the other side of the world. No one will ever know.”

But that would have been a lie.

God would know.

And more importantly, I would know what I had chosen to do with the life, marriage, ministry, and calling He had entrusted to me.

Integrity is not about doing the right thing because someone might catch you.

Integrity is doing the right thing because God is with you even when no one else is.

Psalm 139 reminds us that there is nowhere we can go from His presence. Darkness is not dark to Him. Distance does not hide us from Him.

That truth is not meant to frighten us. It is meant to anchor us.

God is with us in the sanctuary, and He is with us in the hotel room.

He is with us when everyone is watching, and He is with us when no one is.

That matters.

Jesus demonstrated this kind of spiritual readiness in the wilderness. Satan came to Him repeatedly with temptation, but Jesus repeatedly responded with Scripture.

“It is written.”

Jesus did not begin preparing for temptation when Satan arrived. The truth was already within Him.

That is why your daily time with God matters more than you may realize.

You are not merely reading your Bible. You are sharpening your sword.

You are not merely praying. You are strengthening your spirit.

You are not merely worshiping. You are reminding your soul who sits on the throne.

You are getting dressed for a battle you may not even know is coming.

Grace on the Other Side of Temptation

But there was another part of that encounter that mattered deeply to me.

Her name was Priya.

After declining what she offered, I asked Priya what she would have charged. Then I gave her that amount anyway without accepting anything in return.

As we talked, I learned that her husband had passed away the previous year and that she was raising her child as a single mother.

And then something beautiful happened.

I got to talk to her about the Lord.

I shared some of what God has done in my life. I talked about His faithfulness, His goodness, and the way He has carried me through seasons I never could have navigated on my own.

Suddenly, the moment was no longer just about resisting temptation.

It became an opportunity to testify.

That is what God does.

The enemy may try to create a trap, but God can turn the very same moment into a testimony.

Revelation 12:11 says that believers overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can give someone is not a theological lecture. It is simply the story of what God has done for you.

Priya was not my enemy.

The enemy was my enemy.

That distinction matters.

Ephesians 6:12 reminds us:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood…”

People are not the enemy.

The person who tempts you is still someone Jesus died for. The person who frustrates you is still someone God loves. The person caught in circumstances you may not understand still has a story.

We can maintain our convictions without losing our compassion.

We can say no to sin and still say yes to loving people.

Jesus was full of grace and truth.

We should be too.

The First Person I Called

As soon as I got back to the hotel, the first person I called was my wife.

I told her exactly what had happened.

She is my ride-or-die companion, my best friend in this life, and the person I want beside me through every high, every low, every victory, and every battle.

I did not tell her because I had done something wrong.

I told her because I never want darkness to have a place to hide.

There is tremendous power in transparency.

The enemy loves secrecy because secrecy isolates us. It convinces us to protect ourselves, hide things, and carry burdens alone.

Healthy marriages and healthy relationships do the opposite.

They bring things into the light.

I told the pastors in India that one of my prayers for each of them was that God would give them an amazing partner like mine.

Ministry can be demanding.

Leadership can be lonely.

Calling can be costly.

Having someone beside you who believes in you, prays for you, challenges you, laughs with you, cries with you, and keeps walking with you is an incredible gift from God.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one,” because when one falls, the other can help them up.

I have experienced that truth firsthand.

My wife is not simply someone waiting for me when ministry is finished.

She is part of the story God has written through my life.

Speaking Life Into Women Called by God

One of the other moments I deeply valued in India was being able to speak directly to women who feel called into ministry.

I wanted them to understand that women are not an afterthought in the story of Scripture.

They are woven throughout it.

I talked about the woman at the well in John 4. After encountering Jesus, she went back to her town and told people what had happened. Her testimony became the catalyst for others to come and see Jesus for themselves.

Then there is Mary Magdalene.

On resurrection morning, she became the first person recorded in the Gospels to see the risen Christ and was sent to tell the disciples that He was alive.

Think about that.

The greatest announcement in human history, “He is risen,” was first entrusted to a woman.

Throughout Scripture, God uses women to lead, speak, serve, testify, prophesy, teach, support ministry, and participate in His redemptive work.

Deborah led Israel.

Priscilla helped instruct Apollos.

Phoebe was commended by Paul for her service to the church.

Lydia opened her heart and her home to the gospel.

The daughters of Philip prophesied.

And on the day of Pentecost, Peter stood and declared the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy:

“Your sons and daughters will prophesy.”
Acts 2:17

I wanted those women in India to know that if God has placed a calling upon their lives, they should steward that calling faithfully.

The church needs men and women who are willing to say yes to God.

I Felt Every Prayer

There is one more part of this story I cannot overlook.

People back home were praying for me.

Church family, friends, loved ones, and others who had committed to covering this trip in prayer were lifting me before the Lord while I was thousands of miles away.

And I felt every one of those prayers.

I felt them while preaching.

I felt them while teaching.

I felt them while encouraging pastors.

I felt them while speaking to young men and women about God’s call upon their lives.

And I believe I felt them in that room too.

Never underestimate what happens when you pray for someone.

You may never know the temptation your prayer helped someone resist.

You may never know the discouragement your prayer helped someone overcome.

You may never know the trap your prayer helped someone recognize.

You may never know the battle someone survived because you faithfully stood in the gap.

Prayer travels farther than we ever could.

Protect What God Has Entrusted to You

I returned from India incredibly grateful.

Grateful for every pastor I met.

Grateful for every young man and woman preparing to answer God’s call.

Grateful for the women who are courageously stepping into the places God has called them.

Grateful for every church that welcomed us.

Grateful for every opportunity to preach and teach.

Grateful for the long days.

Grateful for the exhaustion.

Grateful for what God allowed me to pour into others.

And grateful for what He taught me.

Maybe you are not traveling halfway around the world.

Maybe today you are heading to an office, classroom, construction site, hospital, school, church, or simply walking into another ordinary day.

But you have an assignment too.

God has entrusted you with relationships, influence, opportunities, a calling, and a testimony.

Protect them.

Start your day with Him.

Put on the armor before you need it.

Fill your heart with Scripture before the lies arrive.

Spend time in prayer before the pressure comes.

Know your boundaries before temptation asks you to move them.

Cultivate relationships where you can live transparently.

And never underestimate the power of simply telling someone what the Lord has done in your life.

The enemy may have plans.

He may set traps.

He may whisper, “No one will ever know.”

But God has plans too.

And God gets the final word.

I went to India hoping God would use me to strengthen others. He graciously allowed me to do that.

But somewhere between the fourteen-hour days, the preaching, the teaching, the pastors, the young leaders, the women answering God’s call, the prayers, the conversations, and an unexpected test of integrity, God strengthened me too.

I came home tired.

I came home fulfilled.

I came home grateful.

And I came home more convinced than ever:

There is no substitute for walking closely with Jesus before the battle begins.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for every opportunity You give us to serve You and influence others for Your kingdom. Thank You for the doors You open, the people You place in our lives, and the assignments You entrust to us.

Teach us to seek You before we face the day. Help us put on the full armor of God and recognize the schemes of the enemy. Fill our hearts with Your Word so deeply that when temptation comes, our convictions have already been settled.

Guard our marriages, families, ministries, relationships, testimonies, and callings. Give us wisdom to recognize traps before we step into them and courage to walk away when compromise is offered.

Give us relationships marked by honesty, transparency, prayer, faithfulness, and love. Thank You for the spouses, friends, and partners who stand beside us and help us fulfill the calling You have placed upon our lives.

Keep our hearts compassionate. Remind us that people are never our enemy. Give us opportunities to tell others what You have done in our lives, and give us courage to speak when those opportunities come.

I pray especially for the pastors, young men, young women, and future leaders I encountered in India. Fan into flame the gifts You have placed within them. Strengthen every man and woman You have called. Give them courage to obey, wisdom to lead, humility to serve, and faith to believe that their obedience can make an eternal difference.

Thank You for everyone who prayed for this trip. Bless those who stood in the gap, and remind them that their prayers reached farther than they could see.

May our lives, our choices, our marriages, our ministries, our testimonies, and our callings always bring glory to You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.