Text- Ephesians 4:27 – “And do not give the devil a foothold”
When you give the devil just a step’ he’ll go more than many miles. If he finds any foothold in your life, he will use it as an opportunity and an avenue to invade and take over other areas of your life.
It is for this reason that we are advised in scripture not to give a foothold to the devil in our lives. We have mentioned that some of the things that could give the devil a foothold in our lives are sin, folly and pride.
Today, I will show you yet another:
4. OFFENSES When we look at the preceding verses to our text, Paul was saying to the Ephesians:
“In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
Glaringly, the major discourse that led to Paul's statement on given the devil a foothold was on the subject of offenses (grudges, unforgiveness). I like that rendition: “In your anger, do not sin”.
Invariably, Paul said it is OK to be angry when you are provoked, but we must be quick to let go of our anger and walk in love and forgiveness so that we will not end up sinning. Paul in fact said not to let the sun go down while you are still angry.
Grudges and offences can create a loophole through which the devil can gain a foothold in the life of a man.
Anger, when left unchecked, always leads us to say and do things that the devil can hold on to. Usually when we are angry, we say things that we should not have; and once words are spoken, they cannot be retracted.
Again, when we give in to prolonged anger, the devil would gain a foothold in our minds and emotions; which would then propel us to make decisions (out of anger) that eventually turn out to be hurtful both to ourselves and to others around us.
Beloved, if you won’t give the devil a foothold in your life through anger, you must start by practicing being slow to anger. Then you must also make up your mind to quickly forgive anyone and everyone that may hurt you.
PRAYER
Father, please teach me to be slow to anger and train my heart to be quick to forgive. I refuse to give the devil a foothold in my mind and emotion through unforgiveness in Jesus Name.
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