Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take
your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh
and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers
of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly
realms. Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand. Stand firm then, Ephesians 6: 10 – 14
One of the hardest yet most essential abilities for
the Christian is to be able to stand especially in the face of the devil’s
attacks.
It can be so hard to stand when things go wrong in our
marriage, or with family, colleagues and especially in the church. The first
desire is to run or to hide. How often do you know people who have left their
church, their job, family or marriage when things have not gone well?
When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid. When Moses killed
the Egyptian he ran and hid in the desert for 40 years. King Saul hid in the baggage when God’s call
came. Elijah ran away and hid in the desert after confronting King Ahab. Jonah
did not want to be part of God’s plan for mercy on the Assyrians so he fled in
the opposite direction.
Of course this is what the devil wants. Paul is wise
to remind us where our struggle is because we so easily forget that our
struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the devil and his cohorts.
He doesn’t want us to stand. He wants us
to run away.
Too often we get bogged down in the politics of work
or church and let personalities determine our words and actions. Instead it is
helpful to try and see how the devil is manipulating people and circumstances
and our response must be to stand firm and pray. James reminds us ‘to resist the devil’ and the promise
that goes with it is most encouraging ‘and
he will flee from you’ James 4: 7.
These verses from Peter are a great reassurance.
Resist
him (the devil), standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family
of believers throughout the world is 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: 9 – 10
When circumstances are hard, when everything in you
wants to run, to hide, to get away at all costs – stand. Stand firm. Resist the
devil. Pray and let God bring triumph out of adversity.
