“Look, there’s one on the edge of your right shoe. Oh, another on your left pant leg, and one just at the top of your sock. Ugh!”

We were standing outside the residence of a local ranger in Khao Yai National Park peering up into the treetops for glimpses of birds. Suddenly I felt something like a scratch on my leg. Lifting my pant leg, I discovered a dark, ugly, wiggly thing attached to my leg. Flicking it off, I checked further and found three others! We had been warned that there were Asian land leeches here, but I hadn’t expected them to be this small, aggressive and fast. I had failed to take the appropriate precautions. I quickly tucked my pant legs into my socks and wished for the gaiters other people were wearing.

The ranger, a friend of some in our group, soon joined us for a hike along a river trail. I had expected a well-beaten trail with views of the river. Boy, was I wrong! We wove our way through the jungle along a trail apparently used mostly by elephants. There were birds, but most were hidden in the jungle canopy. At one point where the canopy thinned, we were able to observe a troop of gibbons feeding and interacting. But mostly we battled leeches.

I was fortunate to have worn the right clothing for this trip. I had tightly woven socks into which I tucked my even more tightly woven nylon pants. This “armor” kept the leeches on the outside long enough for me to discover and remove them. Others of our group were not so well equipped, as evidenced by the bloody spots on their loosely woven socks. We all appreciated the hike and were glad that we had gone, in spite of the leeches.

How like the Christian life. We often venture forth without realizing the speed and stealth of our adversary. We underestimate the continuous nature of his attacks, and we don’t take preemptive action in prayer. Then we find ourselves bloodied by his attacks. How much better to start out each day fully prepared and protected by God’s Spirit. Are you prepared for today?

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Eph. 6:11).

• Twitter