Resist the Devil

          Have you ever left food outside for a length of time, and came back later to find it covered in ants?  How did they know where the food was?  It is almost as if they are magnetically attracted or drawn to the food.  Satan works the same way.  If you open the door for him, He can pounce on you to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).  1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”  Imagine the devil like a roaring lion roaming a long, dark hallway with many closed doors.  The hallway is very dark, but you can see light peering through from underneath all the doors.  This is where we as Christians should be, behind the closed doors in the light!  If we are enticed or tempted by the lust of our flesh to open the door, it will burst light into that dark hallway.  The roaring lion now knows a door has been opened and can quickly track it down based on the light flowing over into his darkness.       

          You do not even have to open the door all the way for Satan to know where you are.  If you just crack the door a little bit, it will gleam just enough light in that dark hallway for Satan to pounce on the door.  This is why James 4:7 says, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  Resisting the devil comes by submitting to God and His Word. We are to stay in the light and not stray from it.  Another way that we give the devil a foothold is by heeding to the lusts of our flesh.  Our flesh may have a thought or curiosity of what is behind the door.  If we know those thoughts are contrary to God’s will for our lives, we are to take those thoughts captive and bind them up in Jesus’ name (2 Corinthians 10:5).  If we do not know if the thoughts are contrary to God’s will, seek the Word of God and you will get discernment (Hebrews 4:12).  If you lack the wisdom, ask Him and He will show you (James 1:5).  Just be sure not to move according to the lusts of your flesh.  Romans 13:14 says, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”