Nothing is more frustrating than partial victory. Are you being kept awake by a sneaking suspicion that Satan is snatching a victory right out from under you? It could be true. The greatest "war stories" in the Bible show us that counterattack by the enemy is a very real possibility.

Maybe just when you were rejoicing that Johnnie was off drugs...that Mary's marriage was back on track...or your neighbor was finally saved, their lives fell apart. Why? Because the victory wasn't completed as you may have thought it was: Satan regrouped and counter-attacked!

That's why God puts so much emphasis on the hot pursuit of fleeing enemy forces after the initial triumph is secured. One example is the story of Gideon. It was after his first flush of victory that he "...sent for the troops of Naphtali, Asher, and Manassah and told them to come and chase and destroy the fleeing army of Midian...Gideon now crossed the Jordan River with his three hundred men. They were very tired, but still chasing the enemy" (Judges 7:23; 8:4, TLB). Gideon was determined that not one enemy troop would escape to rally his friends for another attack!

We must ask ourselves what "pursuing the enemy" means in our personal warfare? It means that after a victory you must watch even more intensely in the Spirit, taking nothing for granted. Watch for self-destructive attitudes that could turn Johnny back to drugs. Watch for a sense of inferiority that could pull Mary's marriage back into the old traps. Don't let one of these "enemies" go free.

Heavenly Father, I praise You for the power You have given me to gain victories and maintain them. Let every last foe be defeated, no victory be partial. Give me the discernment, courage and strength to continue in hot pursuit, no matter how tired I am or how long the battle has raged, until victory is complete! In Jesus' Name, Amen.