Ephesians 6:11 (New International Version)
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your
stand against the devil’s schemes.
Did you notice that the first word of advice from the
apostle Paul against the attacks from the "devil's schemes" is to
"stand"?
According to our tour guide at the Royal Albatross Centre
in Dunedin, New Zealand, this is exactly what Dr. L.E. Richdale did in 1938.
Albatross eggs are vulnerable to predators, both of the
animal and of the human-kind, and because albatross can only lay one egg per
year, a vandalized egg means that the next generation of albatross will be
smaller in number than the current one. Dr Richdale was tired of finding
albatross eggs damaged by rocks that were thrown by humans, so the next time he
found an undamaged albatross egg, he set up camp next to it, watching over it
day and night, until the egg hatched. And even after that glorious event, he
continued to watch over the albatross hatchling. This eventually led to the
protection of all albatross eggs in the albatross colony near Dunedin, and the
stand Dr. Richdale took to save the albatross led to survival of the specie in
his region.
We, too, fall as easy prey to the evil one, and
therefore, we are told to stand. This is actually part of our fight. If there
is no standing, there is no victory, and we will find ourselves deflated and
discouraged.
What does it really mean to stand?
The Greek word for "resisting" is
"anthistemi" and is derived from the word "stand"
"histemi". Therefore, "to stand" means to resist!
This advice is encouraged all over the New Testament:
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from
you." (James 4:7 NIV)
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him,
standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the
world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV)
In other words, standing means to refuse to give in.
It's easy to say, but unfortunately it's hardly ever done
these days. Is it possible that we have forgotten how much greater Jesus is
than the evil one? Have we started doubting that He did indeed overcome the
"one who is in the world"?
Remember, our only duty is to stand firm! Defeating the
devil is Jesus' part!
But what do we do while we stand? We pray: "And pray
in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."
(Eph 6:18 NIV)
Have you noticed that in our spiritual battles, our
biggest areas of weakness lie in not standing firm? In not praying? In not
relying on God's Spirit and His Word? By neglecting these very things that lead
to our victory, we are giving in to the devil's scheme, which is to hinder us
from establishing an intimate relationship with our Creator and Savior!
Oh yes, we live at a time in history where rushing around,
huffing and puffing is the norm, where we are so busy that oftentimes we forget
we even have a family! But is it possible that this is a distraction to keep us
from finding time to be with God, which ultimately will lead to our victorious
living?
God cannot defend the defenseless if we don't do our
part. Just as a soldier is doomed if he is neither standing firm against the
enemy, nor communicating with his headquarters, nor reading the messages sent
from there, we are deciding our fate by not relying completely on the One who
is "greater than the one who is in the world".
Dear Lord we pray today that we would take the time to
not only pray but to stand against the things that come against us. We pray that
we would remember That “He is greater than the one in the world. In Jesus’
name, Amen.
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