… and do not give the devil a foothold.
Summary: The NIV Bible uses an interesting word to describe giving the devil an opportunity to sway your thinking and actions. The word is “foothold.”
The word “foothold” strikes me as an interesting choice of words for this passage. It is not a word commonly used, but because it is a compound word, we understand its meaning.
If we used the word “grip” or “handhold,” that would mean something else. To grip something with the hand is to hang on to it. Two people can be held together by a grip. If one falls, the other can save them by gripping them. Having a handhold on a tree or a grip on a tree is a connection, but the person and the tree remain separate.
A foothold is different.
If you have a foothold, you have a place to put your weight. A foothold allows a person to climb up. For the devil to have a foothold means he has a grip, and a place to stand.
Not good!
When we hang on to our anger, we not only invite the devil in, we give him a place to stand. The next thing you know, he will make himself at home. He won’t want to leave!
This is true for many temptations. Any opportunity we give the devil is dangerous. The devil will argue for putting self above God and others. He will make it seem like indulging myself is the only “fair” thing to do. The devil is certain to put the focus on me and throw shade on everyone else.
Anger is an easy mark for the devil because anger sneaks up on us. We can be walking along minding our own business when someone does something that startles or threatens us, and — POW! Anger rears its ugly head. Without the training offered in God’s Word, it seems natural to attack back. We don’t think, we simply “do.” Most often, when motivated by anger, what we do is less than helpful and is probably hurtful.
Justice based on our human perspective is no justice at all. There is too much we cannot know. The best we can hope for is equal injustice, but as my mother always said, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
Application: Keep your eyes on Jesus!
Food for Thought: Once the devil gets a foothold, how do we get rid of him?
Satan is very crafty in his strategy: to keep you and me from submitting to Gods Will. Once he has a foothold, he will employ everything to stay there. One way, in my experience, that he does this is something I call “posturing.” My concept of his posturing is to make me feel like I am “doing something”, “making a change”, “heading in the right direction”, “taking control.” He is really just stringing me along. He is able to do this because he has a foothold. And he is really setting me up for a greater failure, one that tries to bring me greater shame and self-loathing. One that could become a great barrier in my walk. To make me feel like I cannot talk to Jesus about it. Just like a lion on the hunt, to isolate me.
I am reminded of what God said to Cain in Genesis 4:6-7
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
“Why has your face fallen?” To me that sounds like the space between posturing and the type of sin that can drastically change the course of your life on Earth. Of course we know what Cain chose.
The Bible tells us in James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I think is important to understand that is not a “one and done” endeavour. Keep submitting, keep resisting, and be on guard.
Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
Once the devil gets a foothold, how do we get rid of him?
Go where he cannot go; kneeling in the presence of Jesus in your heart.
Chris,
Great description of how the devil deceives us while he ‘strings us along.’ Your example of Cain illustrates this well. Your solution is spot on: Go where the devil cannot go. Well said!
Once the devil gets a foothold, how do we get rid of him?
Initial thought, have Jesus cast him out!
……
The main thing is to make Jesus Lord in your life. Be humble, pray, be in His word. He wins more than I do.
TAN,
Absolutely!
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Repent, embrace Jesus afresh and obey Him, pray and resist the enemy by putting on the full spiritual armor of Ephesians 6. See James 4: 7 – 10; 1 Peter 5: 7 – 9.
Rich,
Great verses! (…er … passages! 🙂 )
Repentance is to “turn away” from the devil. When we do that, there is only one way to turn.
Once the devil gets a foothold, how do we get rid of him?
We need to live armored up with our sword in hand.
In the military, to gain a foothold is to gain a position usable as a base for further advance, a place to consolidate forces, and reinforce your position as you prepare for the next assault.
We exist in the middle of a universal war, a war between light and darkness, good and evil, where Satan and his demonic forces have gained a sizable foothold in this world, and are determined to increase their numbers as they constantly prepare for their next advance. God respects our free choice, and will never force anyone to do anything in this war. God has sent His Holy Spirit to help men and women understand His truths as written in the bible, and will dwell in the hearts of all choose to become believers in His son Jesus Christ. He reveals truth and provides the power to resist and overcome all evil.
John 16:7-8, But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
God used Paul to describe the reality of our position, the spiritual forces against us and the armor provided by God as we walk through this battle we see all around us.
Ephesians 6:10-13
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
God provides the full armor of God which we are to put on, securely live in as we stand our ground in Jesus.
Ephesians 6:14-17, 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
God also provides our offensive weapon, the sword of His word as used so effectively by Jesus in Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13.
Ron,
Thank you for the military perspective, and I agree, we are in a war. I used to think that if I kept my eyes closed the war would pass me by. Now I know that it has already overtaken us. We are all in it. Fortunately, it is never to late to turn to Jesus, come clean of devils and everything else, and get armored up!