Wednesday, 22 March 2023
“Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” – I Peter 5:9 NKJV
“Therefore submit to GOD. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7 NKJV
As believers, we are to walk on this earth as Jesus walked, and we’ve been given a manual with examples on how to do just that. Jesus, when He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil, defeated him by the Word of GOD. He simply told him, “it is written…”. Our victory is in our submission to GOD and resisting the devil. We resist and defeat him in the faith by the Word of GOD. This battle is unfortunately not once off, but it is a lifelong battle and it is when we remain in Christ that our victory is guaranteed.
“Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” Luke 4:13 NKJV. The devil will always look for an opportunity to come back and tempt us, and one of the most dangerous things for a believer is comfort and when things are going well. We let down our guards and open ourselves up to the devil and his schemes. We see this with king David, when things were going well for him, instead of going to war, when all the other kings were at war, remained in Jerusalem. This gave the enemy an opportunity to tempt him, and we all know how the story of David, Bathsheba, and Uriah unfolded (2 Samuel 11).
“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time of war, And a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8b NKJV. We need to always have our guard up and our armor on at ALL times (Ephesians 6:13-17). The armor is not only for the time of war but even in a time of peace. We not only have to put the devil to flight, but we need to keep him at bay by living right, especially in times of comfort. We can’t afford to give him any room in our lives (Ephesians 4:27), he is merciless. We also can’t defeat him when we are consumed by the world and the things in the world. “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” II Timothy 2:4 NKJV.
We not only have to put the devil to flight, but we need to keep him at bay by living right, especially in times of comfort. We can’t afford to give him any room in our lives
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