When the Devil Comes Calling!
Perhaps one of the most difficult things to learn to do as we stand on the power and promise of God’s Word for the restoration of our marriages is to CONSISTENTLY respond appropriately when the devil comes calling…and MAKE NO MISTAKE, HE WILL COME CALLING! Most of us have probably seen the email message going around in various forms, with the punch line that says something like “When Satan knocks, just send Jesus to the door!” But the problem with that is two-fold. First, we don’t seem to recognize when Satan is knocking; and secondly, we tend to forget to send Jesus to intercede on our behalf!
Yet, 1 Peter 5:8 warns: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. And based on what we know about hungry lions stalking and devouring their prey; There’s a great deal to be learned from this warning. First, just as with a lion’s prey, there is safety in numbers. So when we remain in close fellowship with other Christians, and probably even more so with fellow standers, we are not such easy prey for the devil. And in the same way we know that a hungry lion looks for isolated or weak prey; the devil is more likely to attack us and take us down when we are having a difficult time either physically (tired, hungry, sick, too busy, over worked, etc.), emotionally (angry, bitter, depressed, lonely, prideful, resentful, frustrated, etc.), spiritually (in sin, not in the Word, out of fellowship with the Lord and like minded Christians, etc.) or financially. And since we will most likely experience at least some of this during our stand for the restoration of our marriages and families at one time or another, we certainly need to be on the lookout for the devil and learn to recognize his attacks when they come. And one of the easiest ways to recognize the works of the devil is to keep in mind that when our reactions, emotions or behavior are negative and contrary to the Word of God in any way; the devil is almost certainly involved. So that’s our cue to pay attention, because we know he comes only to steal, kill and destroy according to what Jesus said in John 10:10 (AMP); The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). And since we’re standing for the restoration of our marriages and families, we already know the devil is bent on stealing, killing and destroying them.
So when the devil comes calling, what do we do? How do we send Jesus to the door to intercede on our behalf? The answer is pretty simple, yet we tend not to realize or believe just how simple and powerful it really is, so we often fail to DO it. But as 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And since we know that God is the Word and the Word is Christ (John 1:1-4), that means we have to take every thought captive and make them obedient to Christ and the Word of God. And what an awesome assurance we have in Psalm 138:2 (NLT), which says I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness; for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name. Wow! That’s how we KNOW we CAN stand and rely on the power and promise of God’s Word for the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families; it’s fully backed up with all of the honor and glory due the name of Jesus Christ!
As with everything else in our lives as Christians, we have no better example to follow than that of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the example He gives us in Matthew 4:1-11 for dealing with the devil when he comes calling is a perfect illustration of Paul’s instructions to take our thoughts captive as stated above. And it’s interesting to note that Jesus’ first response when the devil was trying to steal, kill and destroy the victory and glory of His divine destiny, as revealed in Matthew 4:4, was …”It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'” That’s really how simple it is to defeat the devil when he comes calling; by BELIEVING, CLAIMING and SPEAKING the power and promise of God’s Word! So, just as Jesus did, we have to SPEAK the Word of God back to the devil and just as he did when Jesus continued speaking God’s Word back to him, the devil will eventually flee and the Lord will send His ministering angels to take care of us! (Matthew 4:11)
Since most of us seem to have the SAME battles over and over again, it’s pretty evident that the devil doesn’t usually need to try something new when he comes to steal, kill and destroy. And why should he when he already knows what works so well against us; what our weaknesses are and where we’re most vulnerable. And when it comes to standing for marriage restoration, pride and unforgiveness are definitely two of the most common areas of weakness. Yet, the Bible is full of passages of scripture warning of the dangers and hindrances caused by pride and unforgiveness, as well as the bountiful blessings of forgiveness and humbling ourselves before others and under the mighty hand of God. That means we need to study those verses and MEMORIZE them so we’ll be ready to speak them right back to the devil when he comes to use our pride and unforgiveness to steal, kill and destroy the work of marriage restoration God has promised.
By looking at the way the devil came to tempt Jesus in the above passage (Matthew 4:1-11), we can learn a lot about how the devil works. Satan said, “IF you are the Son of God…” Well, of course, the devil KNEW that Jesus was the Son of God, just as he also knew that Jesus knew who He was AND that the devil knew exactly who He was; but did that stop the devil? No; because he thought he could tempt and provoke Jesus to react in pride and prove who He was. But that didn’t work, because Jesus truly understood the power of humility and He knew to put His faith and confidence in the power and promise of God’s Word, and He relied on its wisdom for guidance and instructions concerning how to effectively deal with Satan’s attacks. And even though Jesus didn’t take the bait the first time, Satan came right back with the exact same approach; which is exactly what he does with us! The minute we think we have overcome his attacks, he’ll come right back with the same thing! So we have to get in the HABIT of consistently talking back to the devil with the Word of God. And oh how tricky the devil was with his final attempt! What boldness and audacity he had to think he could trick Jesus by offering to give Him something that was already His! Yet, that’s exactly what he does with us as well! He just wants to make us lose site of the power and promise we have in God’s Word. Or just as he did with Eve in the Garden; he loves to ask “Did God REALLY say…?” Unfortunately, just as with Eve, simply asking the question is often enough to sow seeds of doubt in most of us! That’s why it is SO VITALLY IMPORTANT TO TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE AND MAKE THEM OBEDIENT TO THE WORD OF GOD!
Yet, even though the Bible provides very clear and concise instructions concerning how to deal with the devil when he comes calling, the sad truth is that many men and women standing for the restoration of their marriages and families fail to do it. In fact, I’m always surprised to learn how many never even THINK about taking their thoughts captive and making them obedient to the Word; much less do it! But every time we fail to do that, we just make it easier for the devil to steal, kill and destroy the power and promise God provides through His Word and the sacrifice of His beloved Son, because we give the devil entry into our hearts, minds, souls and spirit, and he will not fail to take full advantage of such opportunities. So it’s my hope and prayer that we will all seriously consider these passages of scripture and recognize when the devil comes calling (such as not experiencing and walking in the fruit of the Spirit, as described in Galatians 5:22-23) and then CONSISTENTLY rely on the power and promise of God’s Word to take captive every thought Satan sends to steal, kill and destroy the promise we have of marriage restoration, MAKING them obedient to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior! That’s HOW we send Jesus to the door to intercede on our behalf! And when we learn to do that CONSISTENTLY, we’ll truly be blessed and encouraged beyond what we could ever ask or imagine!