Stand Against the Devil

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

-- Ephesians 6:11

The pages of the Bible abound with images of battle, including the imagery of the ultimate war between the armies of God and the forces of Satan. Paul makes good use of one such visualization to encourage us to take up the armor of God so that we might withstand the advances of the devil.

Satan is the greatest schemer this world has ever known. Created by God, he chose to defy his Creator rather than worship Him. Cast out of heaven, he took up residence in our mortal world, intending to draw as many of God's children away from their Father as he could, and in that way defy God. By pulling us away from God's side, the devil hurts the very One who created him. God loves us so much that He feels pain each time we turn away from Him. So each of those turns becomes a small victory for Satan, another tweak of his Master's cheek, another slap at the Lord's face. And that gives the devil pleasure.

Satan is very good at luring us away from our heavenly Father. He offers us wanton pleasures, frees us from personal responsibility, opens doors to our material dreams, sets buffets for our earthly lusts. And all we need do in return for such largesse is to enjoy it, to forget about tomorrow, to ignore the Holy Spirit within us until we become adept at no longer hearing God's voice in our hearts. It all sounds too good to be true. Because it is. For if we succumb to Satan's wiles, if we accept the devil's gifts, if we turn our backs on God and follow the path of the Evil One instead, we pay the ultimate price of eternal damnation; a high price indeed.

The devil usually takes small steps when luring us to his side. It isn't like in an old movie, where he promises us wonderful riches, anything our hearts desire, if we simply sign a contract giving him our souls when we die. No, he works more skillfully than that, more secretly and seemingly innocently. He whispers that there is really nothing wrong with taking home some office supplies, the company will never even miss them. It's understandable that you refuse to give more of your hard-earned money to the needy, nobody ever gave you anything. Go ahead and flip off that driver that just cut you off, he was rude first and deserves to be shown he can't get away with it. It isn't really lying if you don't tell your spouse about that little kiss with an old flame. Little things - sharp words, sudden spurts of unwarranted anger, small inhumanities shown to others. Small baby steps, leading to ever larger acts, increasing your pace along the path to the lake of fire at the end of days. This is how Satan works. Slowly, slyly, constantly. He is stronger than you. But he is not stronger than God. He cannot get to you when you wear the armor of God.

When Satan tempts you, when he whispers in your ear or offers a glimpse of earthly paradise, turn instead to the Lord. Don the full power of God as your protection against the devil's schemes and lures.