Don't go to War on an Empty Stomach.
A wise friend told me, “Never let yourself get too hungry, too tired, or too stressed, because you’ll be vulnerable to attacks.” Napoleon believed his army was undefeatable. In his pride, he neglected one thing all mothers of boys know from experience: always have a food contingency plan.
Napoleon gathered over 600,000 troops to punish Russia for withdrawing from the Continental Blockade. The alliance had been created to weaken Britain by prohibiting trade. Napoleon’s well-staffed, well-stocked, and well-funded Grand Armée appeared undefeatable, especially when the French military swept into town after town, and the Russian army continued to retreat.
Napoleon planned for a quick and decisive victory, but he hadn’t anticipated the Russians burning their fields, towns, and supplies as they abandoned their towns and cities. While the French troops saw success, the Russian scorched-earth method of retreat left nothing for Napoleon’s army to pillage or eat.
The French troops continued their conquest from one burnt and evacuated town to another, finding nothing to glean from fields or storehouses. When they reached Moscow, they took the near-empty, burning city and expected the Russian troops to surrender, so they waited. Winter set in. A month passed, and Napoleon’s starving men started eating bark and boiled pieces of their leather boots to fill their empty stomachs. Many died of starvation because Napoleon didn’t have a food contingency plan.
In the end, weak, cold, and demoralized, Napoleon issued the order to retreat. As the troops trudged through the snow and ice back to France, the Cossacks picked off the feeble troops one by one. The 600,000-plus Grand Armée returned with less than 100,000.
Napoleon’s march to Moscow reminded me of how necessary it is to have a plan for getting our daily bread. Many of us (myself included) make mistakes similar to Napoleon's. We wake up thinking we’re taking the day, rush to get dressed and out the door, and forget to feed our souls. We charge into work or school without a contingency plan to fill our spirit and expect to handle rising problems while still keeping our cool.
Before we head into battle, we need to drink daily from the source, which means spending time in prayer. We must pack scripture into our hearts and take it with us, so we can sustain ourselves when under attack.
Daniel understood the importance of being prayed up each morning (Daniel 6:10). He fed his spirit three times a day, even when the King forbade it. Daniel filled himself with God first so he could be ready to interpret the King’s dreams or face a den of lions.
Jesus especially knew the importance of getting some quality time with God to fill his soul. Mark 1:35 states, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” Jesus made fellowshipping with His Father a habit and a priority.
The devil’s plan is a scorched-earth tactic. He wants us weak and running on empty so he can steal, kill, and destroy. If we seek our daily bread and stay prayed up, then we will be ready to take our stand against the devil’s schemes.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5