Resist

 Even Jesus had to resist the devil. I know it’s something those with certain denominational bends would rather forget, dismiss, or otherwise whitewash, but Jesus had to actively resist the devil in order for the devil to flee. It’s troubling how readily we cherry-pick the scriptures that allow for a particular lifestyle, a certain mindset, and a certain level of commitment, or lack thereof. We dismiss what Jesus said and what Jesus did because we like the way Paul phrased it more, even though to make what Paul said fit our narrative, we have to butcher the text and only quote half a verse.

One thing I’ve noticed from studying Christ’s encounter with the devil is that the more direct, to the point, and definitive your renunciation of him is, the more apt he is to flee and stay gone. We can’t be halfhearted in our resistance. We can’t resist the devil only when others are watching, but in the dark of night, we go looking for the same temptations we resisted only a few hours prior because it made us look spiritual in the eyes of others.

When you resist the devil, you resist him completely. You don’t resist just because the guy trying to get your number isn’t handsome enough or the girl making advances isn’t your type. You resist when afforded the opportunity to sin with your mind’s ideal, whether that ideal is Fabio or Frodo. People have types; it is what it is. The point is that some people feel mighty invincible when they resist the devil’s C-List advances, but when he sends in his A-listers, they sing another tune.

Become an individual accustomed to resisting the devil and one who can readily identify when the devil is at work. It can be a small thing that can snowball into a big thing if you don’t actively resist it, and given that the enemy knows where our sensitive areas are, he is quick to press them over and over again.

If I’ve ever given anyone the impression that I am perfect, it was not my intent. My sensitive area is slow drivers and overly aggressive drivers, depending on whether I have my girls in the car or not. I grew up learning to drive in California, then spent almost a decade driving two-lane roads in Romania, where every drive is an adventure and potentially your last. When I’m by myself, my feet tend to get heavy, leaden even, and since I’m always on my way somewhere and I like to be punctual, I don’t subscribe to driving under the speed limit.

It seems as though all the octogenarians with eye problems get the same signal simultaneously, and it’s when I’m leaving to go somewhere. Fifteen in a forty-five? Why, please, and thank you! I’ve come to realize that something as seemingly innocuous as someone crawling along in front of me or my having to swerve to not get t-boned can serve to sour my mood and shift my focus toward the negative. I’ve come to recognize the situations for what they are, and I will not allow myself to get angry or aggressive, knowing that it’s just the devil probing, being petty, and trying to distract me in some small way.

The same goes for when I have my girls in the car, and I’m as law-abiding as a guy out on parole who knows he’s done something naughty. Their safety is my primary concern, and getting wherever we’re going in a timely fashion is a distant second. It’s in those moments that the guy in the Dodge Charger with a death wish zips by at eighty miles an hour, passing on my right, giving me death stares as though I was responsible for him getting kicked in the head by a mule when he was a kid.

I recognize it for what it is and don’t take the bait. I don’t rise to the challenge, and it passes just as readily as it came. It may seem a small thing, but I’ve seen the aftermaths of enough road rage incidents to know that it can snowball into a big thing.

Be aware that the enemy probes every area of your life every moment of every day, looking for a chink in your armor, a way to get at you, and plant a seed that will grow into a sycamore.

I have a preacher friend who did a conference not far from where I live, and I went to hear him speak one of the evenings he was scheduled to be there. Ask any preacher, and if they’re honest, they’ll tell you that some sermons land better than others. If they’re remotely aware of their surroundings, they’ll be able to feel the audience and gauge whether the message is received or rejected, accepted or ignored. They know it when it happens. My friend gave a good sermon. The people were hungry, receptive, and eager, and the message was anointed.

When he was done, and we were standing in the back catching up, one of the men who’d attended came up to him and said, “I just want to shake your hand and say that was amazing. It was a great sermon.”

My friend shakes the man’s hand, and rather than thanking him, he says, “I know; the devil already whispered it in my ear as I was walking off the stage.”

It was an eye-opening exchange for me because he recognized that as well-intentioned as flattery was, he was prone to pride and would not allow the seed of it to be planted in his heart in the least.

Humility will keep you grounded. Giving all glory to God for anything He might do through you will keep you from allowing the enemy to plant a seed, and knowing when he is attempting to worm his way into your heart and resisting him will keep you from having to root out those things hard to remove once they’ve burrowed in and bloomed.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.