Scripture of The Day
August 20, 2021
Be angry, and sin not: don’t let the sun go down on your wrath. Don’t give place to the devil.
(Ephesians 4:26-27)
By Ed Henderson ( 2017 )
How do you give no place or room to the devil? Let’s take a close look at some other translations of our “Scripture for the Day” in Ephesians 4:26-27: God’s Word Translation says, “Don’t give the devil any opportunity [to work].” The Weymouth Translation says, “and do not leave room for the devil.” The Amplified Bible says, “Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him].”
If you are a child of God, the devil really can’t touch you unless you give place or room to him. How do you give place or room to the devil? Verse 26 says that one way (of many such ways) we give place to the devil is by holding on to anger. I believe he’s never actually holding you but he gets hold of whatever you have hold of, like anger, unforgiveness, an addiction, or anything that gives the
devil place, an opportunity, room, or a foothold. The devil grabs onto whatever unholy thing you’re holding onto and as soon as you let go of it the devil loses his grip on you. He will also try to convince you to go back and pick back up whatever it was that he had hold of in your life. Because he knows if you do, he’s got a way in, but you must resist him. That’s why the Bible says in James 4:7:“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Someone once asked me, “How do you resist the devil?” I told them “By submitting to God!” By submitting to God, you are resisting the devil. Submitting to God is submitting to His Word. The devil can’t stand the Word of God and he will flee from it every time. If you don’t let go of what you’re holding on to it can become a stronghold. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; …” Submitting to God is bringing every action and thought into captivity and to the obedience of God and His Word. That is how you give no place or room to the devil. Jesus was the Word made flesh. You and I are flesh to be made the Word.
