Maybe it’s that person at work or in a volunteer organization who continually undercuts you or backstabs you. We probably all daydream of those people being out of our lives once and for all, and how perfect things would be. But we know that’s not likely, really, 
and so we try to figure out ways to limit contact with them or the damage they can do to us. We can’t control them, only our reaction to them.
Or maybe the word “enemy” makes you think of the devil, and your own weaknesses. Perhaps the enemy is an acerbic tongue or narcissism or an addiction or obsession. We battle them on a daily or even minute-by-minute basis. Sometimes our better selves lose; sometimes, we win. Sometimes, we despair of ever conquering this enemy. And perhaps, in this life, we never will. But in those moments when we drive out the thieves of our dignity, we find grace.
In 1 Maccabees 4:36-37, Judas Maccabee and his brothers say:
“Now that our enemies have been crushed, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and rededicate it.” So the whole army assembled, and went up to Mount Zion.
In the same way, may we rededicate our personal sanctuaries each time we crush the enemy, growing stronger in faith and confidence in the Lord.
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