Beautiful People,

My wife and I went camping this past weekend and saw a black rat snake climbing a tree. As we watched, we were amazed by how the snake curved around the tree to find its prey, a small rodent. The rodent, firmly lodged in the tree, evaded the snake and lunged to the ground; however, the snake pursued. I’m unsure what happened to the small rodent, but my wife commented, “We forget that the devil’s motivation is to steal, kill, and destroy.” The Devil’s tactics are subtle and attach three things: God’s character, our identity, and our sin. As the enemy of God, he will change God’s love, authority, and desire for good. As the Accuser, he will attempt to persuade us to identify with our sins, not God’s grace. As a liar, the Devil will cause you to think that those you disagree with are your enemies and warrant hate. He will climb any tree to lure us into disobedience, chaos, animosity, fear, anxiety, and separation from God’s presence.

Here is the good news: Satan is a defeated foe, and the champion who cut the head off the snake is Jesus Christ.

In a world inundated with evil, God’s grace shines through. Though the Devil slithers around, hoping to poison us with hate, fear, and dissatisfaction with God, James reminds us to “Submit [ourselves], then, to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee. Come near to God, and He will come near to you.” We can resist the Devil as we draw near to God. The more we draw near God and build our lives on His truth, the more we can recognize and defend ourselves from the Devil’s tactics. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. The power to live a godly life is available to us by faith (2 Peter 1:3); the power to love when hatred is easier, the power to tell the truth when gossiping is easier, the power to forgive when unforgiveness is easier, the power to serve when selfishness is easier, and power to love when indifference is easier. Because of Jesus Christ, we can think and act like Him instead of the Devil. By the power of Christ, I pray that we may resist the one that brings destruction and draw near to the One that brings life.