1 Peter 5:8–9
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil
walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith…
When I was a teenager, I was taught that if I wanted to
resist the devil, I had to rebuke him. So whenever an
evil thought came to my mind or I was tempted, I found
myself saying, “I resist you, devil, in Jesus’ name! I bind
you, devil! Go away from me, devil! I rebuke you in
Jesus’ name!”
This went on until God showed me one day that though
I had “resisted” the devil, I had spent more time talking
to him than to God! I was more conscious of the devil
than of God throughout the day.
I checked the Word of God and realized that we resist
the devil not by focusing on resisting him, but by being
established in the faith that we are made right with God
through Jesus’ blood, that we are the righteousness of
God in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Yes, the devil will continue to remind you of your
mistakes, failures and sins. And he will tell you that
because of these things, you cannot receive your
healing, that you will have to pay for your mistakes or
that something bad will happen to your family. He will
accuse you, condemn you and try to persuade your
heart to believe that he can do bad things to you.
But the truth is that the devil cannot enforce anything in
your life if he cannot persuade your heart.
And your
heart cannot be persuaded if it is “steadfast in the
faith”, if it is established in righteousness.
God says that
once you are established in righteousness, “You shall be
far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from
terror, for it shall not come near you”. (Isaiah 54:14)
So now that my heart is established in righteousness, I
can boldly declare, “Yes, I may have these problems in
my life, but I am not guilty in God’s eyes. I am justified
in God’s eyes by faith because of what Christ has done.
I am righteous by Jesus’ blood!” My friend, that is how
you resist the devil and become undevourable!
Thought For The Day
We resist the devil not by focusing on resisting him, but
by being established in the faith that we are the
righteousness of God in Christ.
