CHOOSE YOUR RESPONSE

“. . .Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

James 4:7 (KJV)

Scripture encourages us to resist the devil and assures us that he will always flee. For every reason available the devil needs to be resisted, most especially when he comes against us in a bid to take us off the path of God’s purpose for our lives. The devil dreads anyone who is in alignment with God’s purpose for his life: this is because the fulfilment of every God ordained purpose brings the Kingdom of God closer to earth, and the full manifestation of God’s Kingdom will lead to the exile of the devil from the earth. Hallelujah!

I discovered from scripture that there are three levels at which the devil comes against a believer. I also discovered that there are three responses to give to the devil when he comes against us. Each response corresponds to a level of temptation – devil’s attempt on a believer. In a case when we use a response that is not intended for a particular level of temptation we will lose out to the devil.

The first level of temptation is PERSONAL LEVEL. On this level, you deal face to face with the devil: he doesn’t come through a third party. This level is experienced in our thought life: the devil suggests contrary thoughts to you and expects you to adjust your behaviour to suit his suggestion. This was the level the devil operated on when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. The befitting response at this level is to declare what is written in God’s word. Do not entertain a discussion with the devil on this level; do not reply with your own words – you will never win. Eve did entertain a discussion with the devil on this level and she lost out. Just find a scripture that contradicts his suggestion and declare it. He will flee.

The second level of temptation is RELATIONAL LEVEL. On this level the devil comes against us through a close person, most often one we have authority over or share the same authority with. He incites the person to suggest a contrary opinion: this was the level he operated on when Peter rebuked Jesus for speaking about his death. Your response should not be to declare it is written or embrace the response of the last level; it should be to rebuke the person sharply. This will surely offend the person, but do not care about that, if the person is really your friend he or she will stay, but if the person is not your friend he or she will leave. Good luck! Jesus rebuked Peter sharply. Adam and Samson failed at this level. They paid dearly for playing soft with the devil on a relational level.

The third level of temptation is CRITICAL LEVEL. On this level the devil comes against you through enemies. This is a level where people criticize you for no evil that you have done. They are also those that speak contrary to God’s purpose for your life. The identity of this people is that they are not close to you. This was the case for Jesus when he was on the cross. The other thief was no friend of his, and he was incited by the devil to speak against Jesus. Jesus’ response was to ignore him. This is what you are to do to critics. Do not reply them or rebuke them. They will persist in their attempt to get you off track. The young prophet in 1 Kings that was sent to Jeroboam failed at this, he talked with the old prophet – who was an enemy – and he experienced death.

Remember, an attempt to interchange responses on the different levels of temptation will make you lose out to the devil. Discern the level; choose your response.

PRAYER

Request of God that he grant you intelligence of the spirit to identify the devil at the three levels; and request he give you the wisdom to respond accurately.

                                                                          

FURTHER READING

Job 6:25; 1 King 13:1-34