That may sound like a funny question, but as I was studying this weekend a particular subject that was really strong on my heart, a certain verse stood out so profoundly to me. I’d like to share it with you for your consideration. Ephesians 4:17-32 is well worth reading and pondering; I’ll link it in the online version of this article @ askdrsharla.com if you want to have a quick reference.
Verse 27 instructs us, “and do not give opportunity to the devil.”
Some translations read, “and do not give a foothold to the devil.” The Greek word which our English is translated from there is Strong’s G5117 “topos” and the common definition is: a place, any portion or space marked off, power or occasion for acting. I’ll link this word at Blue Letter Bible as a study tool as well.
In other words, Paul is admonishing us:
DO NOT give the devil any place in your life.
DO NOT give the devil any portion of your life.
DO NOT give the devil any marked off space…don’t give him access in certain areas of life while you
believe you’re going to hold him out of others.
DO NOT give the devil power in your life.
DO NOT give him occasion to act.
So, what gives satan access to our lives to begin with? Sin. How do we know what sin is? 1 John 3:4 tells us it’s the breaking of God’s law; Romans 8:5-8 explains the difference between living a live submitting to God’s Spirit by His instructions (aka His law) vs. submitting to our own flesh. And HOW would we overcome it if we found ourselves actually giving the devil a foothold? I believe the best answer is in James 4:4-12. We subject ourselves to God, not sin, not our own flesh, not the world and certainly not the evil one. We resist the devil, and he will flee from us. We draw near to God, and He draws near to us. We cleanse our hands when we have sinned, and cleanse our hearts where we’ve been double-minded. We repent. We turn away from evil and we come to the LORD, to Whom we submit our lives and receive forgiveness and cleansing by receiving His Son, Yeshua (Jesus), who overcame sin and death once and for all that we may truly live. What an awesome gift that we no longer have to be slaves to sin!!!