I grew up in an old farmhouse and these were the steps to the second floor. (The ones to the basement were even worse!) As we were emptying the house after my dad’s death, I remembered as a kid growing up there how many times I slid down those steps on my bottom for fun. But as an adult carrying boxes down those steps, I thought how pure evil they were as I had to so carefully watch my step. If I had slipped on those steps with an armful of boxes, it would not have been fun, so I had to resist the urge to take one last slide down those old steps on my bottom. It would have been pure evil to my back!
As I read about peace by other authors, I’m amazed at how so many things affect our peace or lack thereof! One writer said that for peace to flourish, evil must be resisted. Oh how true that is! So how do we resist evil?
“So humble yourselves before God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
James 4:7, NLT
To resist means to withstand the force or effect of. The nature of the evil we need to resist dictates our response. If the evil is chasing you, an immediate decision to run is the best choice, and strength to do so is very much needed. If the evil is a subtle thing that catches us by surprise, we must be prepared in our mind how we will respond and not hesitate to respond accordingly.
Evil is not always a horrible monster that attacks us. Evil comes in a variety of ways. It doesn’t always look, sound, or feel the same way twice. It’s that constant urge to go to the refrigerator or the snack closet when you are trying to diet. It’s that unhealthy desire to take just a peek at something inappropriate on the internet. Or how about staying in the break room when you should be back at your work station? Evil is sin…sin is evil.
Whenever there is sin active in our lives, our peace will be short-circuited until we resist the sin. So again I ask, how do you resist sin (evil)? Just as there are shortcuts, remedies, and helpful hints for a lot of things in life, resisting sin has them, too. One is to remove yourself from the situation. You know what they say: out of sight, out of mind.
Instead of choosing to sin, decide beforehand what you will do in various situations. Part of that decision is being reconciled to God—having a relationship with Him, meditating on God’s Word—your resource for ammunition against Satan, turning away from anything ungodly, avoiding tempting situations, and being accountable to God and others.
We much too often underestimate how sin operates. Understanding the nature of sin is very important. To resist temptation and overcome sin, we must be aware that sin is deceptive, divisive, and destructive. But on the other hand, resisting temptation strengthens your faith because when you resist once, it shows you that you can do it and gives confidence for the next time.
The Bible declares that the devil is the source of all temptation and is called the “tempter.” Matthew 4:3 says “The tempter came to Jesus.” In previous posts (# 22 through 27) I wrote about the temptations Jesus faced and how He handled them. Go back and re-read those posts to find further help with temptation and resisting evil.
If we don’t resist the tempter and turn from evil/sin this time, it will be much harder the next time. Don’t wait for the next time to come to deal with it. Deal with it on the first encounter. Sliding down those steps in the picture may have been fun for a resilient kid, but not for an older adult. Know your strengths and weaknesses and don’t allow the weaknesses to dictate your response. Ask God for guidance in dealing with the tempter so you will be able to resist just as Jesus did. Then your peace will be protected.