Stand

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.