We are in a battle against a real enemy who wants us to fail.
To understand the battle, we need to go back to the first man and woman in the garden of Eden. Remember, they were the first humans to encounter the devil.
Remember what Satan said to them?
Genesis 3:1–6 (NLT)
1 .... "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"
2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied.
3 "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'"
4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman.
5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil."
6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.
What's a foothold? Well, imagine yourself being chased by a bad person. You run up to your room and try to close the door, but the person sticks his shoe at the bottom end of the door so you can't close it. That part of his foot that prevents you from closing the door effectively is called a "foothold."
Once that door is open and the foot in the gap, it's almost impossible to get it shut, and what's worse, it will give the enemy the leverage to force it open.
If you give Satan control of one tiny part of your life, he will soon take over the whole thing. You give him a foothold into your life, and he turns it into a stronghold.
In the garden of Eden, we see the enemy slip a foot in the door by asking a simple question. He posed what seemed like a normal question. But, really, it might have seemed to Eve that he was looking for information. She didn't recognize that he was slipping a foot in the gap and would soon blow it wide open.
Genesis 3:1 (NLT)
1 ... "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"
You see that he didn't ask about the one tree God said not to eat from, he asked about ALL the trees. He asked a silly question to open a dialog.
In our world we aren't dealing with trees, but we are dealing with other things.
There are questions that might pop into your head that could lead to a foothold in your life. The best thing to do is to slam the door immediately, don't allow the enemy to get your thoughts going down the wrong path.
Anything that questions God, His authority, and His truth are from the enemy. Don't entertain such thoughts!
Does God....?
Will God ever....?
Did God forget to…?
Why won't God…?
Too many times, when we hit difficult situations, we start to wonder if God is working.
Nothing is outside of God's knowledge. He knows all things. If something happens in this world, He allows it to happen. We may not ever know why, but that's because we AREN'T God.
1 Corinthians 13:9 (NLT)
9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!
We don't know everything. The enemy knows that, and he will use this fact as a foothold in our lives to get us to question things that are beyond our knowledge. Before you know it, you'll be spiraling down to his level and end up losing everything.
I believe the enemy gets footholds in a believer's life more often than not because he appeals to our emotions.
Ephesians 4:27 (NLT)
27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
Here is an example of anger, but it could be any negative emotion. If you fill your life with worry, he's gained a foothold in your life. If you fill your life with resentment, he's gained a foothold in your life. If you allow guilt to turn into shame, Satan has a foothold in your life.
The Apostle Paul says the best way to deal with these negative emotions is immediate.
Ephesians 4:26–27 (NLT)
26 And "don't sin by letting anger control you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
Otherwise, the negative emotion will fester in your heart and allow Satan to establish a foothold in your life.
One of Adam's responsibilities was to "keep" the garden (Gen. 2:15), which means to guard it.
We must guard our hearts, minds, and lives against the enemy by not allowing him any foothold.
It could be emotional, physical, mental, or even things from the world that we allow to influence us.
Today, don't give the devil a foothold!
コメント