Fighting Fire

Ephesians 6:11-12  CSB

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”

When I was a young man, I thought fighting temptation meant running away. I took the Biblical story of Joseph fleeing Potiphar’s Wife (Genesis 39)as an absolute instruction that the right way to deal with temptation was to run away as fast as possible.

To be fair, if your boss’s wife is putting the moves on you, the absolute best course of action is to skedaddle. Or, to abuse our firefighting metaphor, we practice a maneuver called the “Firefighter Bailout” in which we hurl ourselves headfirst out a 3^rd floor window. Look it up… it’s awesome and probably an appropriate move when threatened with a collapsing roof or a boss’s wife who won’t take no for an answer.

Since we are on metaphors, let’s try a different one. I hate snakes….. haaaaaate snakes. I know that it’s mostly an irrational fear but they absolutely terrify me. My family is currently in Michigan where we have a snake called the “Blue Racer,” and it will chase you is you run away from it. It’ll chase you. Nightmare fuel right there.

Blue Racer aside, what do they usually say about snakes?  “They’re more afraid of you than you are of them!”

It’s not irony that we first meet Satan as a serpent in Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). If you spend some time in the passage, you will realize that Adam and Eve offer the serpent very little resistance. If fact, they fall to his deception… at great cost.

The Bible offers a different strategy when confronting the Enemy. The Book of James says this:

James 4:7 CSB

“Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

If we are submitting to God, the Enemy is more afraid of you than you are of him!  He flees from you!

What kind of firefighter would look at a house on fire and say “Looks scary… I’m gonna stay across the street so the nasty fire won’t get me!”  No, he or she is gonna put on their big boy pants, kick the door in, and extinguish the flame.

Sadly, the Enemy has us tip-toeing around temptation and deception like a milqtoast middle schooler hoping it doesn’t get us when we should be stepping nose-to-nose with that punk and telling him to run!

In a brutal passage where the disciple Peter makes a statement that indicates that he’s been deceived into faulty thinking, Jesus rebukes him by saying “Get behind me Satan.”  Jesus calls out the deception and then proceeds to teach the disciples the truth. 

I’m going to challenge you for just a second. Some of us keep getting defeated by temptation because we’re far too comfortable being a victim. We’re easily deceived when we should see the deception for what it is.  It’s time to take your place as a conqueror and move with a little bit of confidence in who God is and what He’s capable of doing through you. And if the Enemy doesn’t like it, he can bog right off.  No more soft targets.

We serve a Jesus that defeated sin by doing the most courageous thing in all of history…. He could have avoided the task of redemption but instead He faced it head on and then He beat the devil with a big Roman cross.

So… if:

1. We know who the real enemy is.
2. We know how he attacks us.
3. And we know that we can resist him and easily win.

Then that leaves the question… why don’t we?

Debrief:

1. Could any part of your past mistakes or sinful behavior be attributed to passivity? Or perhaps fear?
2. How does it give you courage to face the Enemy knowing that all we have to do to make him run and hide is submit to God and resist him?
3. How are some ways that you can put up a fight from now on?

Report to the Chief:

Maybe start your prayer today by repenting of passivity and fear. Thank God for His unlimited power and ask Him to stand behind you as you confidently face the Enemy’s attacks.

Feedback

Please use the comments below to give me some feedback. What could have made this post more powerful in your life? Anything not make sense or flow well? Any comments to make it more faithful to Scripture?