“For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:14-16)
The devil is called the accuser of the brethren and he roams around meddling in people’s lives trying to pin something on us so that he can then take it to the courts of heaven and hinder our answers to prayer, blessings and the plan of God for our lives. (Revelation 12:10; 1 Peter 5:8) If he can’t find something to bring against us because we have chosen to walk in love and kindness then the devil determines to use his weapons against us. However these weapons are powerless to harm us unless we choose to step out of relationship with Jesus and living a love centred life.
But we must be aware of the devil’s tactics and be careful not to fall for his tricks. One of the most harmful weapons he has in his evil arsenal is strife. Strife means “vigorous or bitter conflict, discord and antagonism; to quarrel, struggle or clash; competition, and rivalry. When we allow strife into our lives it’s like an open door to evil, and limits the effectiveness of our faith and prayers, because our faith works by love (Galatians 5:6). Strife gives the devil an invitation to bring confusion and every type of evil into our lives. That’s why he’s always tempting us to argue and speak harsh words, and pushing us towards getting offended, impatient and critical of others.
Before we ask Jesus into our lives we are under the control of the dominion of darkness, but the bible says our salvation delivers us out of this kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God. (Colossians 3:1) At that point the devil loses any authority over us. The blessings of our salvation; peace, healing, wellbeing, provision, and abundance in every area of our lives belongs to us from the moment we become part of God’s family.
However the devil does not want us to enjoy any of the benefits of our salvation, but since he has no right’s or authority over us any longer he has to use trickery and deception to gain access to our lives. So he tries to get us into strife and offence, orchestrating opportunities for us to fall into conflict. He knows the moment we step into strife he can begin to gain a foothold in our affairs and try to gain control over our lives.
If we want our faith to work as it is designed; that nothing is impossible for us, that our prayers are answered, that we walk in supernatural miracle working power, experiencing peace, joy, provision, and blessing in every area of our lives we must kick strife out, and keep it out! On a daily basis we must be mindful that if we step into arguing, selfishness, bad temper and speaking harsh words with others that we are quick to go to God and ask forgiveness, and forgive others so that the devil can gain no foothold.
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1:9)
Today examine your life and see if and where the devil has been using strife to gain access to you and your family’s lives. Determine to remove strife out of your life, out of you family, and out of any other relationships. Refuse to allow the devil to bring strife and envy as a means to cause confusion and evil, and choose instead to allow the Holy Spirit to guide your life into peace and blessing. (Galatians 5:14-16)
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” (1 Peter 4:8)
“Avoiding strife brings a man honour, but every fool is quarrelsome.” (Proverbs 20:3)
Prayer: Lord I ask for your forgiveness for allowing strife, arguing, anger, and bitterness into my life. I don’t want to give the devil any further access to my life, and I ask that you help me to walk in peace and love towards others. When someone annoys me or there is an opportunity to get into strife please help me to be self-controlled, and to walk in love instead. In Jesus Name Amen.