Standing And Opposing

There are so many Christians today running around complaining, grumbling and crying, “The devil’s after me; I just don’t know what I’m going to do!”

Have you ever been in a place in your life when it seemed as if you were being attacked on every side and you began whining and complaining about how Satan was attacking you? Did you know that is exactly what he wants you to say? He wants you to keep on believing the lie that he is more powerful than you.

Those words have no place in your mouth! The devil has no power and authority over your life and your circumstances except the place you allow him to have. If you don’t give him a place, he doesn’t have it. He cannot take it from you.

Can you imagine Jesus as He was being tempted and tried by Satan, saying “The devil has been after me. He’s been attacking me from all sides. I don’t know what to do.” No, of course not! Don’t give Satan a foothold in your life. God has given you the power to keep Satan on his side of the line. Do it!

Our position in the days to come is standing with our feet firmly planted, rooted in the infallible, impregnable Word of God, unmoving and steadfast — regardless of the trials, testing, or persecution the enemy may bring our way.

Peter told the believers in the Early Church:

Be self-controlled and alert . Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. (1 Peter 5:8-10, NIV)

In these verses, Peter was writing to Christians who were at that time facing severe persecution. They were being tortured, imprisoned, thrown to the lions, and burned at the stake. Satan thought he could destroy them through persecution.

Peter warned them to be alert, to be aware of their enemy, and to resist him. The position of the early Church in the midst of this severe persecution was not retreat but resistance. The word “resist” in the original Greek is “lianthistemi” which means “to stand against and to oppose.”

This is the position the Church must take today.