“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16
In the Bible, snakes are equated with the devil, temptation, sin, and evil. Doves, in the Bible are equated with the Holy Spirit, peace, promise, innocence, and holiness. The Bible tells us that we are just passing through this life, and, as a result, we face the wiles of the devil.
Incase we forgot, the devil is very much alive and active. He is furious when Christians advance the kingdom of God. He will do all he can to cause strife, chaos, confusion, fear, and unforgiveness.
Everything we do is a choice. As humans, we house eternal souls that will spend eternity in one of two places- heaven or hell. Because we have eternal souls, we are part of a raging battle. The fight against good and evil, light and darkness, God and the devil. We play a part in winning souls or losing them. This is why the Bible imperatively tells us to live as Jesus lived, to let Christ be evident in all we do, the put off the old self and take up the new, to flee from wickedness and cling to holiness, to be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves.
Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” This verse can fit in a few applications. Today devote yourself to being prayerful, setting a guard about your lips and really watching every word, motive for action, and choice that you make today. Watch how others are affected by the words that you speak and the actions that you do. Be thankful that God has seen fit to give you the gift of life, a place and purpose, and determine to use it well. Souls are depending on you.
The devil is behind each lie spoken. He’s behind each judgmental thought. He behind every cruel and careless word. He’s behind selfishness and pride. He’s behind destruction and hurt and fear. He stalks in the shadows and bounds in the darkness looking for lives to tear apart. We must be aware of the methods of his madness.
Nothing happens by accident. Remember how the devil asked God, let me ruin Job and prove he only loves you due to your blessings. God allowed Job’s faith to be refined through much pain and loss, but Job’s faith proved true and strong and genuine.
We must be wise to the devil’s schemes. We must abstain from letting him work in us and through us. We must let the Holy Spirit work His refining power in us and through us. We know that love covers a multitude of sins. The devil will use people around us in an attempt to destroy us. We will get discoursed, hurt, and run down, but we don’t have to stay that way.
We must be so attuned to God as His works that anything not of God is obvious. We must spend time in the Word, so that we can recognize His Spirit and the spirit of evil. We must pray and seek His wisdom. We must fill ourselves with more of Him that the ways of the world are obvious. Anything not of God is of the devil. Like anything else, the more we spend time reading
the Bible and meditating on its words, praying and pondering His presence, and seeking His leading and listening to the Holy Spirit’s discernment, the easier it becomes to distinguish God and holiness from the devil and evil.
To fight the onslaughts of the devil, we are to rest in God and let Him fight our battles for us. We aren’t supposed to retaliate, rather by our goodness and forgiveness, we reap hot coals on the enemy. Paul tells us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
We are told that we will speak a testimony through our actions and reactions. The fruits of the Spirt are proof of a supernatural work inside of us. Whatever attacks the devil has heaped on us-physical, emotional, relational- our reactions speak to the source we hold to.
A gentle answer turns away wrath. There can be no strife where there is no pride. There can’t be endless conflict where gentleness abides. Forgiveness thrives where compassion lives. a hasty reaction is not to be found where patience is. Kindness sees the one behind the hurt.
Through the Holy Spirit abiding in us and Jesus as our role model, we can overcome evil with good. We are told to turn the other cheek as we won’t be able to fight evil with evil. Our gentleness should be evident to all. This is much easier written than lived out. In those throes of hurt or humiliation, injustice stings keenly, but Jesus took every insult and pummel silently believing God would have the final justice. If silently withstanding the harassment of the enemy was Jesus’ method, it should be good enough for us.
*(Some situations are not safe, and forgiving and turning the other cheek is not wise. Do not endure abuse or cruelty as a cause for Christ. You know the difference between life-threatening abuse and the “assaults” mentioned in the Bible and this devotional. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide as drugs, alcohol, and some mental health conditions can be dangerous situations.)
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3: 12
