Ephesians 4:27- "Neither give place to the devil."
Six little words. The small size of this verse often causes people to just "skim" it or to overlook it entirely. For some reason, we tend to think that more words equals more to say. In thinking this way, we miss some precious and vital nuggets of Scriptural wisdom.
The command here is simple: we are not to give the devil even the slightest place in our lives. He should not have room to work, and we should not feel comfortable with him there. However, let's look beyond the obvious command itself and get a full picture of what God is saying here. You see, I think that the key lies in the word "give". It's our choice how much room we give to Satan in our lives. If Satan has a foothold in a person's life, it's because that person let him have it. Let that sink in for a moment. The Devil doesn't force his way into our lives. He fights to get in, but whether or not he succeeds is entirely up to us!
To me, this shines a whole new light on the situation. Sadly, our world is full of carnal Christians who have become comfortable with Satan's footholds in their lives. They let him stay where he is because their pride has caused them to see nothing wrong with it. And, a majority of the time, these people are spiritually weak because they are not reading their Bibles, praying daily, being faithful to church, exercising their faith in God through service, etc. In short, they are not tapping into the Divine source of power needed to obey the clear command of this verse. Their laziness and/or apathy has caused them to allow Satan a foothold (or footholds) in their lives. And, as the old saying goes, if you give him an inch he'll take a mile.
I think it's time that we undertook a fresh examination of our hearts and lives. Have we allowed Satan any footholds? Are we comfortable at all with his presence? Does our pride cause us to justify things that, deep down, we know God isn't pleased with? It's an easy trap to fall into, folks. This is why it's so important that we tap into the power of God's Word and the Holy Spirit daily. It's time Satan stopped getting victories! Let's keep Jesus first and foremost in our lives so that there's no place for the devil!