A Good Defense

On the basketball court, our grandson's seventh-grade team did their best to score. Offense was their passion. But after each basket, their coach urged them to hurry back downcourt and play defense, which they were sometimes reluctant to do. Everyone wanted to score, but no one seemed eager to put in the hard work of defending. The key to the game, the coach taught them, was in anticipating the movements of the opposing players. Stepping in front of a pass or shot would thwart the other team's scoring and help the team win the game. A defensive strategy that anticipates the moves of our enemy can also help in our spiritual lives. And who is that enemy? Peter's letter to believers in Jesus reminds us. "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). So "be alert and of sober mind," Peter wrote. Indeed, we're called to "resist" our spiritual enemy, "standing firm in the faith" (v. 9). Living out an active defense leads us as believers in Jesus to be more effective in our lives and in the productive work we seek to do for His kingdom. Then, if we have spiritual setbacks, the God of all grace "will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast" (v. 10). He is the One who establishes us, and who builds our strong defense—in Him.

You can listen to A Good Defense online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

A Good Defense is an episode from Our Daily Bread Podcast | Our Daily Bread by Our Daily Bread Ministries.

The episode duration depends on the source podcast feed and may not always be available.

This episode was published on May 2, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Our Daily Bread Podcast | Our Daily Bread when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.