Planning ain't enough

I finally finished the tome of Napoleon's life. What a horrible man! He had absolutely NO moral compass. Any means was employed to achieve his ends: lying, stealing, cheating, murder, and worst of all, the wholesale, callous waste of human life. In his 16 years (1799-1815) as Emperor of France, he was responsible for the deaths of over 1 million of his own soldiers and over 2 million soldiers of those countries who opposed him. That does not include the unknown number of civilians caught in the crossfire--estimated to be in the millions, or the soldiers maimed for life, also estimated to be in the millions. To read the accounts of the needless slaughter is sickening.

Most of the losses occurred after the summer of 1809. But had one Archduke Karl of Austria been able to defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Wagram, perhaps these millions of casualties would have been avoided. Karl's battle plan was brilliant and his forces superior, but in the end, he was defeated by a more committed and fervent Napoleon. Napoleon's biographer summarized: "Had the Austrians had a more confident commander, things might have turned out very differently indeed, for the archduke's basic battle plan was a superb one. But he lacked character and confidence."

As I read that and other statements in the book, I thought about our own battle taking place against an even more evil, malevolent enemy. Our struggle is an epic one; our battle plan is laid out in Holy Writ. We face him with the promise of great power. However, we must not make the mistake of the good Duke: planning is only a part of the battle. Careful execution, steely strength of character, and bold confidence in the Holy One of Israel--are even more important if we are to win the victory.

Souls hang in the balance. Lives can be rescued or destroyed. The possibility of failure is real. That's why Peter writes, "Be on the alert! Your adversary, the Devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But resist him, standing firm in your faith." (1 Peter 5:8-9) Go to conferences, read books and blogs. Make your plans. But remember, the battle is the Lord's!