When The Devil KnocksSýnishorn

The Destroyer

When the devil knocks, you don’t always hear it. Right? He’d rather sneak in an open door. He’s the deceiver who targets your mind with lies, trying to cover up God’s love and truth. Other times, he blows situations way out of proportion as the accuser who targets your heart with accusations. Today, let’s talk about a word Jesus used when He talked about the devil: destroy. He’s the destroyer who targets your will with pride. 

In John 10:10, Jesus utilized one of the simplest forms of human thinking to show the difference between real good and real evil. He put them next to each other. What happens when you look in a dark room? You see the dark. What happens when you look at light? You see the light. What happens when you put the light next to a dark room? You see the light. Light wins. In this one sentence, Jesus showed the whole world the light. 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 NIV

In other words, the devil takes away. Jesus gives. But what do we do with this? How does Satan destroy? He targets your will with pride. Pride happens when you look past God to fulfill your desire to do good, to matter, to get your needs met, and to be loved. Pride is what convinces you to act without God, or worse, to use Him to accomplish your purposes. Pride comes before the fall because pride is trying to walk without God, in the dark. Your destroyer wants you prideful, in the dark.

How do we destroy pride then? With its opposite. Humbly surrender to the other side of John 10:10. Jesus gives life, and life to the full. Humility happens when you realize full life comes only when you receive (there’s that word again) what you don’t deserve from Jesus. Light, salvation, freedom, grace, power to fight your daily battles. It’s all a gift. It can’t be earned. Humble submission to Jesus defeats pride.

What do you have that you think you earned? You didn’t earn it. Humbly thank God for giving it you. Tell Him He can do whatever He wants with it. Then, obey.

Here’s what else. We receive freely, so we give freely. Pride says, “I earned this, so I’ll give God and others a little.” Humility says, “This was a gift, so have it all.” When we respond to God and others with this kind of humility-fueled, open-handed living, the thief can try to steal, but there’s always enough. He can try to take life, but it’s an unending gift. He can try to destroy, but we’re forsaking pride to humbly receive life to the full. Because when you put darkness next to light, you see the light. 

Pray: God, thank You for everything I have. I don’t deserve any of this. I repent for the ways I’ve tried to work around You to do my will. You can have it all, Lord. Amen.