Remember the old cartoons with the devil and his pitchfork on one shoulder of the character while a haloed angel sits on the other? The character is seemingly caught in the middle of a heated debate, his head whipping from left to right and back again. The devil is typically more persuasive and leads the character into temptation and the angel becomes an afterthought, no match for the little devil. It’s all fun and games and eventually the character sees the devil for who he truly is, yet conveniently leaving all the damage that has been done in the meantime for someone else to clean up.
Unfortunately, we don’t have the same luxuries in our everyday lives. When we choose the path of temptation, there are usually very real and painful consequences that follow. But what we need to remember is that we serve a God who is much greater than the devil. They are certainly not equals, even though the world depicts them as so.
According to Scripture, the devil is our enemy and he seeks to devour us and our families, but he is no match for the Almighty. John reminds us that we belong to God and because we do, His Spirit defends us. 1 John 4:4 says, “My dear children, you belong to God and have defeated them; because God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world.”
We need not worry because God is greater than the devil could ever think of being. And as a bonus, if we know God’s Word then we know how this story ends – with the enemy defeated once and for all.
So, when the devil comes to deceive us, as he undoubtably will, we are wise to call upon the name of the One who is greater than the one who is in the world. His name is Jesus!
This Reflecting Light and others will be published in April’s new book Made to Shine: 90 Devotions to Enjoy and Reflect God’s Light to be released on May 5, 2020. Preorder your copy from Amazon today!
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