Standing at El Morro in Old San Juan, it is difficult not to be impressed by its strength.
For centuries, Castillo San Felipe del Morro stood guard over the entrance to San Juan Bay. Massive walls. Cannons aimed toward the sea. A commanding position overlooking the harbor.
It was built for one purpose:
See the enemy coming—and stop him before he gets through.
And from the sea, El Morro was remarkably effective.
But history teaches us something important.
When attacking forces discovered how difficult it was to defeat San Juan through its strongest defenses, they looked for another way.
They came from the land.
They probed the defenses.
They searched for the place that wasn’t as well protected.
And our adversary hasn’t changed his strategy.
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He Doesn’t Have To Break Your Strongest Wall
Some of us have built enormous spiritual defenses around the places where we’ve already fought battles.
We’ve learned.
We’ve grown.
We’ve established boundaries.
We’ve memorized the Scriptures.
We’ve recognized the warning signs.
The enemy may have attacked that wall a hundred times—and discovered that it isn’t moving.
But don’t confuse his silence with surrender.
If the enemy cannot get through the wall, he will start walking around it.
Peter warned us:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” ~1 Peter 5:8~
Notice the language.
Walketh about. Seeking.
The enemy isn’t merely attacking.
He’s looking.
Watching.
Searching for another way in.
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Sometimes He Sends a Scout First
An invading army doesn’t always begin with thousands of soldiers charging the wall.
Sometimes it begins with reconnaissance.
Something small.
Something seemingly insignificant.
Something that doesn’t appear threatening enough to sound the alarm.
And spiritually, compromise often begins the same way.
It doesn’t announce:
I’m here to destroy your marriage.
I’m here to ruin your testimony.
I’m here to pull you away from God.
Instead, it whispers:
There’s nothing wrong with this.
Just this once.
You deserve this.
Nobody will ever know.
You’re strong enough to handle it.
Sometimes the scout may even look friendly.
It may speak our language.
It may appeal to something familiar.
It may simply ask for a little room.
And Paul warned:
“Neither give place to the devil.” ~Ephesians 4:27
He doesn’t have to possess the entire fortress to begin gaining ground.
He only needs a place.
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Where Is Your Wall Unguarded?
That’s the uncomfortable question El Morro asks us.
We usually know where our strongest walls are.
But what about the places we aren’t watching?
Maybe it’s resentment we’ve justified.
Attention we’ve begun enjoying a little too much.
A friendship where boundaries have slowly moved.
Something we’re watching that we once wouldn’t have watched.
A private thought we’ve stopped challenging.
A disappointment with God we’ve stopped talking to Him about.
None of those things necessarily means the fortress has fallen.
But they may reveal something important:
where the wall isn’t being watched.
The enemy doesn’t need to destroy your strongest wall if you’ll leave another gate unguarded.
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Keep Watch
Peter’s warning doesn’t end with the enemy.
Neither should ours.
“Whom resist stedfast in the faith…” ~1 Peter 5:9
The answer isn’t paranoia.
It’s vigilance.
We don’t have to spend our lives frightened of Satan or suspicious of everyone around us.
We simply need to remain sober.
Watchful.
Prayerful.
Honest enough to recognize our vulnerabilities—and humble enough to guard them.
El Morro didn’t survive centuries because nobody attacked it.
It survived because somebody kept watch.
Don’t mistake the absence of an attack for the absence of an enemy.
The enemy may simply be walking around the wall.
Keep watch.
