In 2 Corinthians 2: 6-7 Paul chastises the church for not forgiving a member who had been disciplined and had repented. Paul says to beware of how Satan can creep into lives. He says we are not ignorant of the devices that Satan uses to attack us. For the Corinthians this lack of forgiveness was one way that could happen. We can know the ways he tries to creep into our minds and hearts and causes us to have little forgiveness, little love, and become resentful towards those we feel have wronged us. Are we asking the Holy Spirit to show us our weaknesses? Are we watching out for the strategies, the devices, that the Devil may be using against us?
Does The Devil Have A Foothold In Your Life?
This problem isn't just the churches, it is also our own. Do we tolerate sin in our own lives, allowing it to grow and destroy our relationship with God? When we repent of our sin do we think God can never use us for His Kingdom's work because we have been so bad? Do we talk lovingly to family members, especially our children, and warn them when we see them walking a path that will harm their walk with God? Do we accept them fully when they repent, just as we have been accepted by God?
Satan has many tools in his bag to destroy us. Envy, pride, anger, lust and a longing to hear the things that only make us feel good, itching ears as the Bible calls it. The Devil longs to deceive, distract, divide and destroy us. Ephesians 4: 26-27 (NIV) says not to let anger give the Devil a foothold. Where have we given the Devil a foothold? Where is the chink in our armor? Continuing in sin and unrepentance allows the Devil a foothold.
What does the Bible mean by the term "foothold"? This word is often used to describe a battle where one side or the other has gained a strategic position from where they can advance. Spiritually speaking a foothold is something in our lives that is going on that the Devil can use to gain more influence over us, potentially to destroy us. Does the Devil have a foothold in your life?
When we are discouraged do we doubt? When we have to wait for an answer to prayer do we lose hope? Are we so distracted by the business of our lives that we forget to pray, study the word and spend quality time with God? All of these things are ways the devil inserts himself into our lives.
Fighting Against Satan
How do we fight against this? James 4: 7-8 says we should draw near and submit to God. Ephesians 6: 17-18 tells us to use the word of God and prayer as our weapons. Sometimes we may feel like the writer of Psalm 69. In verse 2 he proclaims that he is sinking in the miry depths with no firm ground to stand on. In such a place the Devil finds a foothold. But David continues his Psalm with prayers and finally praise because David knows that "God inhabits the praises of His people," (Psalm 22:3). This is how we fight! We fight with prayer, with praise and with the word of God, knowing and trusting in His faithfulness.
We can't let ourselves be discouraged because we know who is greater!
"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." I John 4:4
To overcome though, we have to rely on God and not ourselves. This is not just a wishful hope, this is a fact. John continues in this chapter to say that we can know the difference between the spirit of truth (God) and the spirit of error (the Devil). The real judge as to who we follow and hear in this world is whether we have the love of God in us. As Christ loved others so must we.
Loves Leaves No Place For Satan
No matter what wonderful things that we do in this life without love they are ultimately useless. Love is patient and kind. Love is not proud, envious, rude, self-seeking, easily provoked, dwelling on evil; but love bears, believes, hopes and endures everything! (I Corinthians 13: 4-6) That kind of love leaves no place for a foothold for Satan. That kind of love recognizes the devices of the Devil and doesn't let them take root to destroy our testimony.
Be Sober Minded
As I Peter 5: 8 reminds us we are to be watchful, we are to be sober minded. Why? Because the Devil prowls looking for someone to devour. Sin is crouching at the door (Genesis 4:7). A sober minded person is calm, unhurried. You know them by their ability to exercise moderation and their ability to be self-restrained. Such a person will recognize the Devil's tactics and avoid them.
Resist Sin
James 4: 7-8 tells us that if we are submitted to God that we will resist the Devil and he will flee from us. The closer to God we draw, the more difficult it will be for the Devil to successfully attack us. I John 3: 7-10 describes a true believer as someone who resists sinning. We can know who is "of the Devil" and who is not based on the fruit of their lives.
God Provides An Escape
Finally, in I Corinthians 10: 13 Paul lets us know that no matter the temptation, God has provided a way of escape.
"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
Sometimes we may feel there is no way to escape, but there is because God is faithful. We just have to look for it and be open to the Holy Spirit to show it to us. We praise God for the armor he has given us to fight the devil. We pray for protection so that no footholds may be allowed for the evil one. Don't forget who fights for us - our great God!
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