Ever watched someone doing resistance training? They get stronger every day as they lift more and more weight. That’s one way we can view the instruction to ‘resist the devil.’ In John 10:10, we’re told that ‘the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy’ (NIV). The thief is the devil, and he wants to steal, kill, and destroy our peace, our joy, our identity, our hope, our purpose, our gifts, and our blessings from God. Wherever we are weak, he knows that he can attack us easily in that area. He tries to push us to breaking point. He wants us to give up on ourselves, and on God. So what can we do about it? How can we ‘resist the devil’? We need to use every spiritual weapon God has given us – prayer, praise, the Bible, and spending time with other Christians. The Bible tells us to: ‘Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes’ (Ephesians 6:11 NIVUK). In the following verses, Paul tells us about the armour we can put on (read about them in verses 14 to 17). When we’re filled with God’s Spirit, He will fight in us, through us, and for us. Even when we’ve won a battle, we need to keep putting the armour on. The enemy won’t give up, he’ll just try a different approach. We need to be continually asking God to strengthen our weak areas, and ensure our armour stays on. When we stop praying, reading the Bible, going to church, or being passionate for God, we leave ourselves vulnerable to attack. But when we keep up our resistance training, we’ll be able to recognise the enemy’s attack, strengthen ourselves, and see God win every battle we face. 

What Now?

Take some time to think about which areas of life you are weaker in. Maybe it’s your identity? Your temptations? Your relationships? Ask God to help you become stronger in those areas.