On this day in 1940 Winston Churchill said, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat.”

These were Winston Churchill’s memorable words to his fellow countrymen as he took power as Great Britain’s new prime minister. It probably was one of the darkest moments in Great Britain’s long history. With the threat of war with Germany at their doorstep, Churchill promised to give his all—his blood, toil, tears, and sweat—in fighting their enemy.

Churchill vowed that his new policy in fighting Adolph Hitler would consist of nothing less than “to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.”

Churchill recognized that his country was facing a foe that would require all the resources that the people of Great Britain had. Anything less would mean certain defeat for their country. Within weeks of this speech, Churchill placed all “people, their services, and their property” into the hands of the government to use the war effort.

While we do not use the same weapons or methods in fighting our foe, the Devil, we certainly need to have the same attitude as Churchill. We are in an all-out daily struggle against Satan that will continue until Jesus returns. But we are not without resources to fight that battle.

At our disposal we have “God’s mighty weapons, not merely man’s weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3, 4). And what are those weapons? Prayer, faith, hope, love, God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit. By using all these powerful resources that God graciously gives to us, we will be able to defeat Satan and break down the walls he builds up to keep people from God.

We are human, but we don’t wage war with human plans and methods. We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3, 4).

To Do

Think of what might be “the devil’s strongholds” in your life. Then pray specifically for God’s help in those areas.

Also on this day . . .

Today is Jumping Frog Jubilee in Angels Camp, California.

Today is also National Apple Pie Day.

1637—Cardinal Richelieu of France created the table knife.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.