Don’t Let the Devil Use You

Scripture: Proverbs 15: 1-4 -  A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good. A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

One day a sister in Christ shared how she deals with others when their behavior toward her may cause her to be ungodly. She told a story about a woman who approached her aggressively.

A sister in Christ approached her with a raised voice and an angry tone. Clearly, this could have gone bad quickly. Instead, the approached sister took a deep breath and said, “Don’t let the devil use you, Sis”! Those seven words were so powerful. I have never forgotten this story and the lesson behind it. Instead of lashing out and mirroring behavior, she gave her a reminder. This reminder works two ways -- it acts as a warning and a directive. It warns not to allow Satan to get you into an unpleasant situation, and it also acts as an authoritative instruction from God.
The Bible tells us to let no corrupt talk come out of our mouths, but only such as is good for building up (Ephesians 4:29). It also says, whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble (Proverbs 21:23). However, sometimes God’s instruction gets pass us and we fail to abide by His words. If Satan had it his way both of these ladies would have started arguing and damaged their testimony. Often it doesn’t matter who started the argument or what it’s about, because to people watching both look foolish. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 26:4-5, that we shouldn’t answer a fool according to his folly or we will also be like him. How many times have you been used by Satan? We all have been guilty of being used by Satan. Guilty of forgetting that Satan uses people to do his bidding. The Bible tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. We struggle with temptations that will grieve the Spirit if we give into them. As you go through your day, remember to not let the Devil use you and instead be used by God. Amazingly, God has given us an instruction book to guide us.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the people that You bring into our lives who live according to Your Word. Thank you for forgiving us when we fail You and destroy our testimony with our tongue. Thank you for Your Word that gives us guidance. But, more than anything, thank you for Your Son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. Where would we be without Him? Thank you, Lord, Your love is immeasurable. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
 
(by Patricia Towns)