A WORD FOR TODAY, February 26, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, February 26, 2026
“For though we walk in the flesh, we don’t wage war according to the flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience is made full.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, WEB
I saw a meme this morning about the Alamo. The meme said, “February 26, 1839. The siege continued. They remained. Remember The Alamo.” The description talked about how the siege had been underway for several days. They didn’t know what each day would hold. Would reinforcements arrive in time? Would the supplies hold out? They were being bombarded by cannon fire. Despite the uncertainty, they held their position. They remained and fought until they couldn’t fight anymore.
I thought the meme was odd because of the date. We know the rest of the story. We usually focus on March 6th, not because it was a good day, but because it was over. On that day the Alamo fell.
On March 6, 1836, Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna stormed the fortress after a 13-day siege; the battle claimed the lives of all the Texan defenders, nearly 200 strong, including William Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett. It was a horrifying defeat, which was followed by another defeat in Goliad. The Texian forces should have lost the war, but Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto, freeing Texas from Mexican rule. We remember the Alamo because in that story we see how defeat can lead to victory.
To choose February 26th for the meme shows us another perspective, one that is good for us to remember as Christians. They persevered despite not knowing what would happen tomorrow. They stood firm in the midst of their struggle. They remained despite every impulse to flee. Escaping the Alamo would have held its own risks, but staying was surely more dangerous. Santa Anna had thousands of soldiers, and barely hundreds were inside the compound. There was not much hope of success for the Texians. It must have been tempting to run away so that they could serve another day under less uncertain circumstances. Yet, they remained to fight until they couldn’t fight anymore.
I have been to the Alamo and have seen the IMAX movie about the great battle over Texas which had taken on the character of myth and legend. We are blessed that we don’t have to fight in battles like they did. Most of us have not had to go to a war, but we all fight battles every day. Most of the time we do not even realize we are fighting. As Christians, we fight against anything that stands against God. There are spiritual powers that are determined to turn us away from Jesus, to make us reject Him. Our battle is against these powers. We also fight an inner battle against our own human flesh.
The weapons we use in spiritual warfare are much different than they used at the Alamo. We do not use swords or guns. We do not use our fists. We have no shields that will stop our enemy from harming our bodies. We have something greater. We have the Word of God as our weapon. In the world we learn that sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will never hurt us. Yet we also know that words in a time of battle do have an impact on the outcome of the war. Scottish warriors often frightened their enemies with their loud war cries. Other ancient armies used the chanting and witchcraft of their priests to create terror in the hearts of their foes. Kings gave great speeches to their troops to build them up and to dishearten the opponents. But in the end, it is the sword and the gun that killed the soldiers and won the war.
In Christ, however, our enemies are not the kind that will fall by the sword. Darkness and death cannot be defeated with a gun. It is only by the Word of God that we can overcome the greatest enemies. As we preach the Gospel into the lives of those who are living in sin, they are transformed in heart and spirit by the love and mercy of Christ. The devil and the demons will only be defeated by the power of Christ, and people will only be set free by His love. It is unlikely that we will ever face a battle of the flesh or fight on a battlefield of this world. But we do fight every day against the powers that are in opposition to the will of God. We do not fight any battle alone; He stands with us on the battlefield giving us all we need to persevere.
We know the outcome of the Battle of the Alamo, but we do not know what tomorrow holds for our lives. We could receive bad news at any moment that our health is failing. We could lose our jobs. We could face real enemies that threaten our lives because of our faith. It is much easier than we suspect for us to deny Jesus, to turn from God, than we expect. The devil roams and tempts us away from our God, but God is stronger than the devil and has promised to be with us through all our struggles. We all know we will die, but we persevere in faith because we know that it is an end that will lead to a new and greater life. The greatest defeat in history, the death of Jesus, was the catalyst for the greatest victory: Jesus’ resurrection and the eternal life we’ve been promised. We are called in this life to fight until we can’t fight anymore, and when we are done fighting, we’ll live forever in peace.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276.