Psalm 118:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.

One of the main downfalls of man is self-reliance.  Man thinks all he needs is himself to be successful.  While relying on self might get someone ahead in the secular world, religiously speaking, it is a recipe for disaster.  

Jeremiah 10:23 (ESV)
²³  I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

If we try to “go it alone” in our fight against Satan and sin, we will lose every time because we are simply overmatched.  Even a man as spiritually-minded and strong in the faith as Paul realized that he could not be victorious all by himself.

Philippians 3:3-4 (ESV)
³  For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— ⁴  though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:

To have confidence in the flesh is to trust in self.  Paul gives several reasons why he might do so if he was so inclined.  After all, he was a Hebrew of Hebrews and a righteous Pharisee and had a blameless history in Judaism (Philippians 3:5-6).  He knew, however, that those things would not get him to heaven.  Only Jesus could help him with that.  

Philippians 4:13 (ESV)
¹³  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Paul knew where his strength was.  Do we?  If we are going to be victorious in Christ, we must realize that God is our strength and take advantage of the weapons He has given us.  This begins with properly arming ourselves.

Ephesians 6:10-11 (ESV)
¹⁰  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Paul exhorts us to be strong several times in his inspired writings, but notice the strength belongs to the Lord, not us.  If we are to defeat the devil, we must realize this.  One reason there are so many spiritual casualties in the Lord is that Christians sometimes forget that they are in a war.  Only those who are in battle put on armor.  Let us always remember that we are at war every day, and never underestimate our enemy.  Paul reminds us that we are not fighting against a flesh and blood enemy, but against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).

God is our strength.  Let us pray when we need God’s help (Hebrews 4:16) and study God’s Word to increase our faith (Romans 10:17).  These are the kinds of things that we do when we rely on God instead of putting confidence in the flesh.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.