Overcoming the Wily One - Martin Wiles

God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming too strong that you can stand up against it. 1 Corinthians10:13 NLT

With the wily ways of his nature, the opossum lured my chicken to her death. 

After a recent move, I decided to buy a few chickens. I saw no need to fence them since I lived in the country—but I was wrong. Some immediately headed for the woods. Others became food for wild varmints. 

Finally, only one chicken remained. I did my best to protect her by putting her in a cage with small holes and placing her next to the back porch. Surely, a wild animal wouldn’t get her here. I was wrong again. The next morning, the cage was completely empty. Not a feather in sight. An opossum had lured her with his charming ways and sucked her out of the cage piece by piece. 

Satan came in the form of a serpent in the Garden of Eden, and Peter classified him as a roaring lion seeking to kill. Paul, however, gives us encouragement. God controls Satan’s temptations.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that being tempted isn’t the same as sinning. Satan tempts, God allows it, and I’m the temptee, but temptation isn’t sinful. Rather, temptation demonstrates my desire to live obediently to God’s commands. If I was already living as Satan wanted, there would be no need for him to tempt me.

Satan would love nothing better than for me to adopt an I-can’t-win attitude. Having this mindset sets me up for defeat—and Satan loves it when a defeatist attitude overcomes me. With a defeatist attitude, I’ll give in to temptation easier. I won’t be able to summon up enough energy to fight. Why bother, I’ll muse. I might as well give in. 

Through interaction with me, Satan learns my weaknesses and targets them. Once he discovers where I’m prone to fail, he’ll attempt to suck the life out of me like the opossum did my chicken. 

But giving in to temptation isn’t necessary. The One who lives in me is greater than the one tempting. Through prayer, depending on the Spirit’s power, putting on my spiritual armor, exercising caution, staying in the Word, and by associating with Christian encouragers, my chances of winning over the wily one increase tremendously.

Has Satan duped you into thinking you can’t win over his wily tricks? Through Christ, the victory is yours.

Prayer: Father, thank You for providing the power for us to be victorious over the enemy’s tactics.

Looking for a wide selection of genres in Christian books at discount prices? Use coupon MWiles for 20% off. Click here to see selections.

Thanks to all our faithful followers who are "sharing" our posts--please keep it up! We also invite you to follow and like us on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Help us spread God's encouragement through his love lines.