The title is
essentially this morning’s verse “Put on the whole armour of God,
that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil”
(Ephesians 6:11). This command assumes we have already put off of the
works of darkness (4:22-24; Romans 13:12). The Scriptures tell us
that the devil is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour
(1Peter 5:8). The lion of course, roars to frighten his pray into
running. So here Paul is speaking about the need to simply stand, and
having done all to stand against the onslaught of the devil’s
wiles. His “wiles” have to do with his cunning arts, his
deceit, his trickery, his disarming and seductive ways. We must not
be ignorant of his devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). His wiles seem to
consist of two primary and often alternating strategies, firstly to
get us to either fear or be fascinated with him and his power, and
secondly to convince us he does not exist.
I regard it as no
coincidence, that as I have been meditating on these things, I have
been wrestling not only with an old addiction, but also with the
discovery of the return of cancer in a loved one. Both of these
things were dormant for a very long time, but now suddenly as I seek
to blog on this important subject, they are threatening to distract
me. The devil knows both our weaknesses, and how to distract
us. He also knows how to deceive us. He is a liar and the father of
lies (John 8:44), and can even transform himself into an angel of
light (2 Corinthians 11:14). In recovery circles we talk about
ungodly beliefs (UGBs). There are UGBs about ourselves personally
(i.e. “I’m a looser, I am unworthy”), UGB’s about the nature
of mankind (i.e. “we are basically good,” or “you can’t trust
anyone”), UGBs about the devil (he either doesn’t exist, or is
equal to God - the yin and yang of life). Then there are UBGs
about God. “He took your child, because He wanted another
angel in heaven,” or “This cancer is His punishment!” If I as a
father wouldn't do that, neither would God. It would be (His)
child abuse!
One of the reasons I
talk a lot about recovery in these blogs, is that it's likely only in
recovery that we can unmask many of these UGBs. In particular we are
all in denial at some level. One UGB that comes up over and
over, is that victims of abuse believe they are to blame for the
abuse. The problem is compounded by the fact that the abuse tends to
be accompanied with toxic shame. Shame hides (Genesis 2:25; 3:10), and keeps us silent. And as we keep saying, we are only
as sick as our secrets! Another common UGB is that if we forgive a
perpetrator for the wrong done, we will be letting him off the hook.
But unforgiveness hooks us into rehearsing the wrong over and over
and keeps us stuck. Unforgiveness is toxic in and of itself.
Father, most of us are
in survivor mode, just getting through, and the evil one is happy for
us to stay there. But we're meant to be overcomers, Your leading is
always in truimphant procession (2 Corinthians 2:14). We're made in
Your image and You tell us that those who truly know You will do
great exploits (Daniel 11:32). Help us not to settle for anything
less than all You have for us Lord, in Jesus Name Amen
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