Watch Out for That Rat!
From 2 Corinthians 2:11 we read, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
WATCH OUT FOR THAT RAT!
I hate rats! They are nasty and disgusting, to say the least! My wife and I lived in a mobile home right behind the church at my first pastorate. There was a huge field behind our home. During the winter months, field rats would seek a warm place any where they could find it…including a mobile home and even under the hood of a warm car engine. One morning I came into the kitchen and found my wife standing on a chair cooking breakfast. I asked, “What in the world are you doing?” She screamed, “There’s a little rat running all around the house! Do something, please!” I laughed and made fun of her for a moment because she was so afraid of a little rat. But I didn’t laugh for long! Later that morning, I got in my car to go somewhere and, as I was driving down Hwy 35, a little rat ran up my pants leg! OH MY! I kid you not! I stopped on that highway, jumped out and did a dance right there in the middle of the road trying to shake that little varmint out of my pants leg! That little rat didn’t hurt me but he almost made me hurt myself! That cured me from making fun of my wife! She got the last laugh on me!
THE DEVIL IS A RAT! Rats, big or small, traffic in disease, death, and decay. They are very active at night because they love darkness. They remind me of the devil and his demons. And they have a particular stench or smell about them. You can literally smell rats if they’ve been in a place for very long. So how do you smell a rat? And, on a more serious note, how do you recognize the schemes of our enemy, the devil? In our verse for today, Paul warns us not to be “ignorant of Satan’s devices” or schemes. The Lord reveals four things in His Word He wants us to know about Satan’s tactics he will always use against us:
1. Remember that he always comes disguised. When he appeared in the Garden of Eden, he didn’t appear as the devil. He appeared as a serpent. Most of us are afraid at the sight of a serpent, but Eve had no such reason to fear. Before the fall, in God’s perfect world, all the creatures made posed no threat to her. Now, if the devil had appeared as he really was and what he was up to, she would have ran. But he didn’t. And he never does. He appears as an angel of light, not the devil of darkness (2 Cor. 11:14).
2. Remember that he always tries to make you have doubts about God. The first thing he says to Eve is in the form of a question … a question meant to get her to doubt the Word of God and the character of God. “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Genesis 3:1). His intent was clear. He was telling Eve, “Surely, God hasn’t made all these fruit trees and then said no to your eating from them. How mean and evil is your God. He’s just holding out on you! How can God be good and do something like that?” Never put a question mark where God has put a period in His Word. And anytime you hear someone questioning the truthfulness of God’s Word and God’s character, stay away from them because that person is doing the work of the devil.
3. Remember that he always denies the consequences of disobeying the Lord and promises instant gratification. Concerning the forbidden fruit, he told Eve, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5). Let this truth sink down deep in your heart: sin has consequences. It will bring forth death! The path of sin will kill your hopes, dreams, family, and future. Look at the alcoholic or the meth addict and see for yourself what forbidden fruit really does. The Bible states there is pleasure in sin (Heb. 11:25). But that passing pleasure comes with a hefty price tag that no one in his right mind would ever want to pay.
4. Remember that Satan always works to get you to focus on what the Lord has forbidden. Once Eve believed the devil’s lies that she wouldn’t die and that she would be like God, she focused on the forbidden fruit. She filled her mind with how good and tasty and helpful that fruit would be. Once a person does that, it’s over. You can’t fill your mind and heart with the devil’s lies and overcome temptation. A little boy was told by his mom, “No cookies before dinner!” His mom came in the kitchen and caught him with his hand down in a cookie jar. He said, “Hey mom, I was just getting you a cookie!” If we focus on the forbidden, we will surely fall. And Eve fell, taking Adam with her.
YOU CAN OVERCOME THE DEVIL.
In order to have victory over Satan, our enemy spiritual rat, you need to be able to readily recognize his evil schemes and understand how he operates. That’s why God gave us His Word. His Word exposes him and his diabolical ways. So, watch out for that rat! Learn from the way he came at Eve so long ago because it is the same way he comes at you and me today. Be assured that God is good and His Word is true. God’s Word exposes the devil’s ultimate desire…”to steal, kill and destroy” (John 10:10). But those who obey God and His Word enjoy His peace and His victory. Don’t allow the devil to get you to think negatively, doubtfully, and lightly about God. If you do, you will find yourself in a house infested with little rats and, believe me, you will not like the results! Think it over…🙏