There is a reality that every strong person eventually
discovers. No matter how disciplined you are,
no matter how gifted you are, no matter how mature
you are, no matter how long you have walked with
God, there are battles that cannot be seen. Battles
that happen behind the smile, behind the title,
behind the experience, behind the strength that
everyone else sees. Because sometimes the greatest
battles are not around us, they are within us.
And before we can understand where strong people
drift away, we must first understand how strong
people become vulnerable, because no one collapses
overnight. The visible fall is usually preceded
by an invisible battle. And before we can understand
that battle, we must remember the journey that
brought us here. In episode 1 of When the Strong
Get Tired, we exposed one of the most overlooked
weapons used against strong people, physical
exhaustion. Because sometimes the enemy does
not need to destroy a person, he only needs to
wear them down. In episode 2, we explored spiritual
weariness, the slow fading of passion, the slow
fading of prayer, the slow fading of intimacy
with God, the kind of fatigue that sleep cannot
cure because it affects the soul. In episode
3, we examined the pressures, responsibilities,
burdens, and unseen battles that quietly drain
even the strongest believers. Because strength
carries weight, and sometimes the weight becomes
heavy. In episode 4, we revealed how great people
often fall, not because they lack talent, gifting,
opportunity or calling, but because character
failed to sustain what success had built. Because
what elevates a person is not always what keeps
them there. In episode 5, we uncovered one of
the deepest wounds strong people carry. Disappointment.
The disappointment of betrayal. The disappointment
of rejection. The disappointment of unanswered
expectations. The disappointment of watching
trusted people fail. And how disappointment,
when left unresolved, can quietly become bitterness.
Then in episode 6, we entered the battlefield
within. The struggle of the flesh. The reality
that every believer regardless of title, position,
gifting or spiritual maturity, carries an internal
battle. A battle between the old nature and the
new nature. A battle between what God is building
and what the flesh desires. Because the greatest
threat is not always the devil around us. Sometimes
it is the war within us. And that brings us to
today's conversation. Because if the flesh is
always fighting and if disappointment is always
pressing, and if responsibilities are always
increasing, then a very important question emerges.
Why do strong people suddenly become vulnerable?
Why do people who love God sometimes make decisions
they never thought they would make? Why do great
leaders fall? Why do faithful believers drift?
Why do strong marriages suddenly crack? Why do
strong men quietly collapse? The answer may be
simpler than we think. The enemy rarely attacks
your greatest strength. He waits for your defenses
to weaken. Today on Pamoja Podcast, we explore
Episode 7, When Your Defenses Are Down, because
the fall is often visible, but the weakening
is usually hidden. Welcome to Pamoja Podcast,
a ministry of Life of Christ International, where
we build stronger lives, deeper faith, and Christ
-centered homes. One story, One message and one
revelation at a time. And now, your host, Barry
Mwamba. Today I want to talk about something
that every believer experiences but very few
recognize while it is happening. A battle that
often starts quietly. A battle that rarely announces
itself. A battle that usually begins long before
the visible failure. Today I want to talk about
when your defenses are down. because there is
something I've discovered while studying scripture.
Most great failures in the Bible did not begin
where we think they began. Most did not start
with adultery. Most did not start with compromise.
Most did not start with rebellion. Most did not
start with someone waking up one morning and
deciding to abandon God. The visible fall was
simply the final chapter of a battle that had
been developing for a long time. The collapse
was public. The weakening was private. And perhaps
that is why so many strong people are caught
by surprise. Because they are looking for the
attack, while ignoring the weakening. The enemy
understands something that many believers forget.
You do not attack a fortress when it is strongest.
You attack it when the guards are tired, when
supplies are low, when vigilance fades, when
attention is divided, when resistance weakens.
And this principle appears throughout scripture.
The enemy rarely attacks strength directly. He
studies weakness. Not because weakness is sin,
but because weakness lowers resistance. And this
is where I need every listener to hear me carefully.
Weakness is not sin. Being tired is not sin.
Being discouraged is not sin. Being lonely is
not sin. Being disappointed is not sin. Being
tempted is not sin. Even Jesus was tempted. The
danger begins when weakness remains unattended,
because unattended weakness eventually becomes
an open gate, and open gates attract enemies.
Maybe that is why all the previous episodes connect
so perfectly. Episode 1 taught us about physical
exhaustion, because exhausted people stop fighting
battles they normally would win. Episode 2 taught
us about spiritual weariness, because a starving
spirit loses discernment. Episode 3 taught us
about pressure and responsibility, because carrying
too much weight eventually affects judgment.
Episode 4 taught us about character, because
success without character eventually creates
cracks in the foundation. Episode 5 taught us
about disappointment, because unresolved wounds
often become bitterness. Episode 6 taught us
about the battle within, the struggle of the
flesh, the conflict between what God is building
and what the old nature still desires. And now
Episode 7 reveals what ties them all together.
Defenses Resistance Spiritual Vigilance because
every one of those previous battles has the potential
to weaken our defenses. And when defenses weaken,
temptation becomes louder than it should be.
Not because temptation became stronger, but because
resistance became weaker. Think about David.
Most people think David's problem began with
Bathsheba. It didn't. The rooftop was the manifestation.
The vulnerability started earlier. Scripture
says it was the season when kings went to war,
but David stayed home. The warrior stopped fighting.
the king became comfortable. Isolation entered
the story before temptation entered the story.
The rooftop was visible. The weakening was hidden.
Think about Elijah, one of the greatest prophets
who ever lived. He confronted hundreds of false
prophets, called down fire from heaven, experienced
one of the greatest victories recorded in scripture.
Yet shortly afterward, he was asking God to let
him die. Why? Was Jezebel suddenly stronger than
God? No. Elijah was exhausted. physically drained,
emotionally depleted, mentally exhausted. And
when his defenses were lowered, the threat suddenly
felt bigger than the God who had just answered
by fire. Notice God's response. God did not begin
with a sermon. God gave him rest, food, water,
recovery. Because sometimes spiritual restoration
begins with physical restoration. Now let's talk
about something many churches avoid. Marriage.
Because marriage struggles can create vulnerabilities.
Loss of communication. Loss of affection. Loss
of intimacy. Distance. Disconnection. Over familiarity.
Neglected emotional needs. Neglected physical
needs. None of those things excuse sin. Let me
say that again. None of those things excuse sin.
But they do explain why temptation suddenly feels
stronger. A hungry person notices food. A lonely
person notices attention. A neglected spouse
notices affection. The problem is not noticing.
The problem is what happens next. The danger
begins when weakness becomes permission, when
struggle becomes justification, when pain becomes
a license, when we begin negotiating with what
God has already settled. That is exactly what
happened in Eden. Eve saw the fruit. Seeing was
not the sin. The battle began when God's command
became negotiable. The battle was not in the
fruit. The battle was in the justification. And
that battle still exists today. Many believers
are not losing to temptation. They are losing
to rationalization. They are creating spiritual
permission slips. My marriage is difficult. My
needs are not being met. No one understands.
I deserve happiness. I deserve this. The moment
pain becomes our defense attorney, danger is
already at the gate. Let's talk about Sampson.
Sampson did not lose his strength in Delilah's
lap. That is simply where the story ended. His
strength had been leaking through compromise
for years. One compromise, then another, then
another. Delilah was not the beginning. She was
the consequence. The enemy often wins by repetition,
not by one massive attack, by repeated small
compromises, by repeated neglect, by repeated
lowering of defenses. Peter gives us another
example. Think about the night Jesus was arrested.
The disciples had just experienced confusion,
fear, uncertainty, emotional pressure, exhaustion,
disappointment. Then Peter denied Jesus three
times. Peter loved Jesus. There is no question
about that. But in one of the weakest moments
of his life, his defenses were down. What gives
me hope is this. Jesus restored Peter. Because
failure does not have to be final. And that may
be exactly what someone listening needs to hear
today. Maybe your defenses have been down. Maybe
you have been carrying pressure. Maybe disappointment
wounded you. Maybe the flesh has been louder
than usual. Maybe temptation feels stronger than
it did before. Maybe you are tired. Maybe you
are exhausted. Maybe you are fighting battles
nobody knows about. Listen carefully. God is
not shocked by your weakness. God found Gideon
hiding in a winepress. God found Peter after
his denial. God found Elijah under a tree. God
found Paul while he was persecuting believers.
God specializes in finding people at their weakest
moments. But he never leaves them there. That
is the difference between grace and surrender.
Grace explains our struggle. Grace never justifies
our surrender. God meets us where we are, but
He always calls us higher. That is why God looked
at Gideon and said, mighty man of valor. Not
because Gideon looked mighty, not because Gideon
felt mighty, but because God could see beyond
the weakness, beyond the fear, beyond the struggle.
God was speaking to what Gideon could become.
And perhaps God is doing the same thing for someone
listening today. Maybe everyone around you sees
weakness, but God still sees purpose. Maybe everyone
around you sees failure. but God still sees destiny.
Maybe everyone around you sees exhaustion, but
God still sees potential. Before we close, I
want you to notice something. Everything we have
discussed throughout this series has been connected.
Physical exhaustion, spiritual weariness, pressure,
responsibility, character, disappointment, the
struggle of the flesh. None of these things exist
in isolation. They work together. Because the
enemy understands a principle many believers
ignore. Rarely does he destroy a strong person
with one attack. He weakens them little by little.
A little exhaustion. A little discouragement.
A little disappointment. A little compromise.
A little neglect. A little distance from God.
A little less prayer. A little less vigilance.
Until one day people see the fall, without ever
seeing the battle that came before it. But today,
God is exposing the battle before the fall, because
heaven does not reveal these things to condemn
us. He reveals them to protect us. Perhaps while
listening today, the Holy Spirit has already
shown you where your defenses have been weakening.
A gate left unguarded. A wound left untreated.
A burden carried too long. A compromise excused
one too many times. If that is you, hear me carefully.
The warning is not God's rejection. The warning
is God's mercy. Because God warns what He intends
to preserve. The same God who warned Noah before
the flood. The same God who warned Joseph before
the famine. The same God who sent prophets before
judgment came, is still warning His people today,
not to condemn them, but to save them, because
restoration is always easier than reconstruction.
And maybe somebody listening right now needs
to hear this. but because they kept returning
to God when they did. The strongest believers
are not those who never get tired. The strongest
believers are those who know where to run when
they do. So if your defenses have been down,
run back to God. If your walls have been damaged,
run back to God. If your heart has been wounded,
run back to God. If your strength is failing,
run back to God. Because the same God who found
Gideon in a winepress, found Elijah under a tree,
found Peter after his denial. found David after
his failure, and found Paul on the road to Damascus,
is still finding people today. And perhaps he
is finding you right now, because the story is
not over. The wall can be rebuilt. The gates
can be restored. The strength can return. The
joy can return. The fire can return. The passion
can return. And the God who began a good work
in you is faithful to complete it. This is not
the end of your story. This is not your collapse.
This is not your defeat. This is your warning.
This is your restoration. This is your moment
to rebuild. And perhaps, this is your turning
point. Before we leave today, I want you to understand
something. This episode brings us to the end
of a journey. For seven episodes, we have explored
what happens when strong people become tired.
But a new question now stands before us. What
happens when vulnerability is ignored? What happens
when conviction is repeatedly silenced? What
happens when compromises are allowed to grow?
What happens when a believer keeps hearing God's
voice but chooses not to respond? Because the
truth is this. Most people do not fall overnight.
Most people drift. One compromise at a time.
One distraction at a time. One neglected prayer
at a time. One ignored warning at a time. One
act of complacency at a time. The enemy rarely
destroys people suddenly. More often, he slowly
pulls them away from the place where God intended
them to remain. And that will be the focus of
our next journey, Season 2. why the strong drift
away, a season about small compromises, ignored
convictions, lost intimacy, spiritual numbness,
the gradual departure from God's presence, and
the incredible grace of a God who continues calling
his people back home. Because maybe you haven't
fallen, maybe you've simply drifted, and if that's
true, there is still hope. Because the shepherd
still goes looking for wandering sheep. The journey
continues, and together we will discover why
the strong drift away. and how God brings them
back. I'll see you in season two. This is your
turning point.