Oct – 23 – DO NOT GIVE PLACE!

“Nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27).

Do not give even little place to satan. When even a small space is allowed to him, he will somehow grab the entire area. 

A traveller was crossing a desert on a camel. One day, it was cold during the night and he made a small tent to spend the night. In the night, the camel told him that it was cold outside and requested him to spare some space for it also. But the man refused saying that that by nature, the animal had a hairy cover and it would not be feeling the cold much. 

The camel told the man that there was no hair on its nose and insisted for a small place in the tent so that, it can save itself from the chillness. The man showed mercy on the animal and gave a small space for the camel to keep its nose. After a little time, the camel pushed in its entire head into the tent and told the man, “The nose and the head are the same and they cannot be separated. What can I do?” The man also accepted this with pity. Within a few minutes, the camel pushed in its entire neck and a little later it forced its forelegs into the tent. Step by step, the camel fully came into the tent and kicked the man out of it. The man who mercifully gave someplace in the tent to the camel had to suffer in chillness, leaving the whole comfort to the animal. 

That is why the Scripture cautions in this regard. Saul, the king of Israel, gave a little place to satan who is the spirit of jealousy. Following this, the spirit of irritation came upon him. In the end, he lost the presence of God, lost the power to rule and died in backsliding. 

Look at Ananias and Sapphira. When they kept the sale proceeds of their property at the feet of the Apostles, they gave place to satan. They cheated and lied. They stole a part of the proceeds for themselves. Thus, they caused a loss of lives.

One day, Peter gave place to satan by preferring to give importance to things of the world and not to that of God’s. He even rose to rebuke Jesus Christ. Jesus preferred to put a stop to this, right at the beginning itself. He cast out the enemy saying, “Get behind me, Satan” (Mathew 16:23).

Dear children of God, let your thoughts be around God and not around man. If you do so, divine thinking will protect your holiness. Do not give place to satan. 

To meditate: “…those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Romans 8:8, 9).