Getting the Devil Out
As we travel the paths of life, we are often tempted and tried. One who is struggling while facing these sorts of things, are often said to be “facing their demons”. Some seek help and are successful. Others succumb and allow them-selves to be led astray. We need only the help of God as we bravely fight that “good fight of faith” and strive to win the battle.
It is clearly indicated in God’s Word, the method we are to use to overcome the evil one. In James 4:7 we are told that this is within the power of each of us. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. And, we read in Ephesians 4:27 that we also are not to allow the tempter a chance to trip us up. Neither give place to the devil.
We are also directed, as were the brethren at Corinth, that we are to always be on guard so that the devil cannot get us. 2Corinthians 2:11 is where the Spirit had the apostle Paul warn us all. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Then, in 2Corinthians 11:14 we are told of one of these evil devices. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
God has also given us the means to defeat the demon that so desires to keep our souls for eternity. In Ephesians 6:11 we are told what God has provided so we can win the fight, if we will but use it. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. And we are also told in 1John 3:8 how those who don’t “get the devil out” can be identified, as well as why Christ was made known. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Perhaps my wife’s father was thinking of these scriptures in the early 1980’s when he wrote the following poem that bears the same title as this article. We are all to do all we can to “get the devil out” while we can and before it is eternally too late.
Getting The Devil Out
There are things about me that I don’t like,
And I’d be the first to say,
That it’s never been easy for me to do right,
And be what I should each day.
But I have some good features, somewhere, no doubt,
The devil knows this, you bet.
‘Cause he never stops trying to “root me out”,
But he hasn’t succeeded yet.
He can put bad thoughts inside of my heart,
And he knows all of my weak places.
When I don’t obey him, pretty soon he departs,
But returns in other forms and faces.
That “two-edged” Sword, that he knows so well,
Is the only weapon I need.
To believe and obey, it keeps souls from Hell,
Yes, there’s power in the gospel indeed.
Friends, I don’t know a trick that the devil won’t try,
Nor one that he’s never used,
When it comes to Truth, he’s the father of a lie,
Which explains why so many are confused.
When you look at “beauty”, it may be him that you see,
Or, when you hear what the preacher just said,
When tears fall down, is this sincerity,
Or, just to make a point, instead?
Please remember dear one, you are being “disarmed”,
Like the story of the spider and the fly,
For, with no armor on, soldiers suffer great harm.
And victory won’t be by and by.
Resist the devil and then watch him flee,
“It is written” are the words he should hear.
Insured and assured every Christian can be
Delivered from danger and fear.
O.D. Wilson – deceased
As we read the poem above can we “see ourselves” in some of these words? Let us all diligently seek counsel in God’s Word and then follow that Word as if our eternal soul depends upon it, because it does. One cannot succeed in defeating the enemy, Satan, unless the Word of God is followed. As Jesus said in John 8:32: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Don’t allow yourselves to become a servant to the devil. Remember what we read in Romans 6:16. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Yield yourselves to God today. Serve Him.
Dennis Strickland – Mooresville church of Christ
