THE HIDDEN WARFARE by A. C. Roe

The Seventh-Day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · December 18, 1879

FromThe Review and Herald, Vol. 54, No. 25

THE HIDDEN WARFARE.

By A. C. Roe

ONE of the most fearful events of the last war was the explosion of the mine at Petersburg. From Fort Warren, a mile and a half away, I saw the column of brown earth as it rose one hundred feet in air, and then, curving outward like a great sheaf of wheat, fell heavily to the ground. That was only the outcome of a long train of preparation and weeks of silent mining.

So, now and then, society is startled by the downfall of men from high positions alike in church and world. Sometimes they disappear and are mercifully forgotten, but oftener they remain a warning ruin, which time can grass over, but not wholly obliterate. These are not always vulgar hypocrites, but, like David, show at times, by their past history and bitter repentance, that they were true men. Such things do not happen without reason; and in all cases a long period of preparation precedes the outward fall. It may be a general weakening of the moral character, so that strong temptation in any direction brings it down. More frequently, as at Petersburg, it is the direct result of some evil course.

Many allow imagination to run riot, who would shrink from the embodied deed, forgetting that “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh” and the life acts; and that when the mine is ready and the train laid, the explosion is a question of time only. Others, ignorant of the conditions of the hidden warfare, torture themselves wrongfully. The door-bell of my soul rings, and there stands an idea, good or bad. If I recognize a devil’s imp and ask him in, I am guilty; but if I send him about his business, I am not responsible any more than for the people who may call at my house uninvited. Herein is great comfort; and many a poor Christian is groaning over and repenting of temptations for which the devil alone shall give account. The trouble is, that at times we have given evil thoughts entertainment; and, having stolen the key of the soul’s house, they enter thereafter against our will.

There is a wonderful power in former bad habits. As we approach the edge of these we drop readily into the rut; and the unconscious rally of a good conscience at the approach of wrong, but compels the full recognition of an evil thought, which we had otherwise passed unnoticed. God forgives the sin, and Christ comes back to the heart that had entertained such guests; but the persistent return of evil impressions points the warning, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.”

The case is yet worse when evil imaginations have ripened into a secretly evil life. Many souls perish, men noting only the obscure indications of something wrong, like the faltering vigor of a tree with a worm at the root. The cause may be some secret physical sin, or the use of narcotic stimulants—to the meaning of which the soul generally awakes too late—for the train has been fired. Resistance should have been made to the sapping and mining, and the struggle should have been decided before coming to the open day.

Direct resistance seldom avails. If a train of evil thoughts or the pictures of a soiled imagination have possession of the mind, the attempt at expulsion but makes them more vivid; and the effort to master a physical habit by sheer force of will but dams up the stream higher and higher, till at the poor excuse of an approaching birthday, or New Year’s, or what not, that shall form a good starting point, the will consents “just for this once,” and resistance is swept away. That is the experience of thousands who have been sinning and repenting, and falling again, for many a year. If the devil can keep the mind fixed on the temptation, it matters little whether in consent or resistance, he will surely win, either by allurement or through the overpowering stress of continued impression. This glamour of evil is like the fascination of a rattlesnake’s eye. Loathing and terror avail nothing. You must look away and escape, or perish.

Break through false circumstances. Avoid occasions of evil and companions or places associated with defeat. The choice of ground, and good or bad tactics, mean just as much here as they did at Gettysburg or Bull Run. It is of the first importance for the poor inebriate to break through the associations of his old bad life in every possible direction. Flank movements are as effectual in spiritual as earthly warfare; and many a Christian who is fighting a lonely losing battle, might avail himself of them.

If the devil has succeeded in engaging you on his own ground, and presses hard, take up some work for the Master or your fellow-men, as different as possible from the thoughts you would escape, and interest yourself in it, and urge it the more earnestly the more he annoys you. It is a good idea to have some sweet Bible passage or hymn ready against evil or unhappy thoughts. When business cares and fears rush in like a flood, if they bring any practical lesson, catch it. But if they mean only worry and discouragement, repeat softly to yourself the thirty-seventh Psalm. It is a wonderful charm against trouble; and you will sing by the time you reach the verse, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Thus you shall escape the devil, and be able to turn to something really pleasant when the old adversary comes, and say over your shoulder, “You see I am busy, Satan. Go thy way.” Even the devil’s assurance fails him at such reception. At the very worst, the labor will be no more than the struggle. But that far understates the matter. In Christ’s work you will have sweet for bitter thoughts, results instead of barren victory, and His peace where there had been the weariness of perpetual strife.—A. C. Roe, in Christian Weekly.