Beware of Footholds

For a long time now we have had predators in our garden in the form of pigeons. We have tried different ways to get rid of them but they are very persistent. Our consolation was that despite their efforts, the pigeons had not been able to get at the food in the containers intended for the small birds. Pigeons are the wrong size and the wrong shape. They had to be content with the small bird’s leftovers that fell to the ground.

However, we recently bought a new bird feeder and noticed that this was empty within a very short time. The reason soon became obvious. The new feeder had on it a foothold. This was ideal for pigeons. It enabled them to get to the bird food and steal what was never intended for them. The only way to prevent theft was to get rid of the foothold.

The enemy works hard to get footholds into people’s lives. Our text today gives one example of how he does this. The Bible teaches us that there are two kinds of anger – righteous and unrighteous. Anger against unrighteousness and injustice in our world is righteous anger, as was demonstrated in the life of the Lord Jesus. As Christians we should be angry and intolerant in the face of evil that is all around us. The kind of anger that gives the devil a foothold is personal, prolonged anger that bubbles under the surface, or overflows, with bitterness and resentment and hurts others.

Any persistent sin in the believer’s life is a foothold for the devil. He lurks around, hoping to exploit it to his own advantage. Jesus described him as a thief and a robber. His motive is to steal that which is good, to rob the child of God of peace and to spoil the effectiveness for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Footholds are dealt with at the cross. Confession of sin and receiving forgiveness from God removes the foothold. There is no longer room for the enemy of souls to continue his work. Thank God for the power of the blood of Jesus.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me to recognise anything in my life that would give the devil a foothold and rob me of my effectiveness for You. Thank You for all that Jesus accomplished when He died on the cross. I choose to live my life today filled with the Holy Spirit so that I walk in righteousness and truth. Amen.