Storm the Beach

Ephesians 4:26-27 (AMP) "When angry, do not sin; do not ever let your wrath your exasperation, your fury or indignation last until the sun goes down. Leave no such room or foothold for the devil give no opportunity to him."

Footholds are areas of our life where we have opened the door and allowed the enemy admittance. The example here in Ephesians is anger, but it can be any negative emotion: fear, resentment, shame, worry, etc. 

Our emotions are powerful. God created us in his image and he is full of emotion.  Mark 3:5 "He looked around at them angrily and was deeply saddened by their hard hearts. Then he said to the man, 'Hold out your hand.' So the man held out his hand, and it was restored!"  Here we see anger and sorrow, two very strong emotions. Jesus felt the same emotions we do, yet he did not allow himself to be controlled by them. He didn't sin by allowing them to get out of control. 

When we allow our emotions to run out of control, we open the door for the enemy. When given a foothold, he will inch in and build a stronghold. 

Rick Warren explains it this way. "On D-Day, the Allied forces landed on the beaches of Normandy. It was critical that they establish a beachhead, that is, a foothold on the beach that would allow them to set up a staging area to bring more men and equipment in for the battle. From that tiny foothold, the Allied forces were able to push inland in an effort to liberate France."

The enemy isn't out to bring us freedom. Quite the opposite is true; he wants to destroy our lives by bringing us into such deep bondage that we cannot see any hope of freedom. 

Like the soldiers on D-Day, we must storm the beach. We must take on every emotion and keep it in check. We must take every thought captive. 2 Corinthians 10:5b "...and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

For example, when we feel worry starting to creep in, we can't afford to ignore it. We must fight back using the Sword of the Spirit, the Word. Quote Philippians 4:6 "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."  Then do just what that verse commands us to do. PRAY!!!!  

If fear rears it's ugly head; 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

Shame is a big one. The enemy likes to remind us of our mistakes. Remember, when we confess our sins and repent, God doesn't remember them any longer. The enemy does, however, and he will bring them up when we least expect it. If we are not careful we will "buy into" those feelings and open the door for him to set up camp.  

Shut him down with these:  Psalm 103:12 "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west."   Romans 8:1-2 "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death."

Ephesians tells us," Do not to let the sun go down on our anger." This is vital with any negative emotion. We must deal with it quickly. We cannot allow it to fester and grow. If we do it will destroy our lives like a cancer. 

I have watched too many people I love allow themselves to be overtaken by the strongholds of the enemy. It doesn't happen over night. It begins with one out of control emotion that goes unchecked. Over time the stronghold is so large that they cannot see a way out, or in some cases don't feel their sin is wrong anymore. They have allowed themselves to believe the lies of the devil and are now living lives that they would have condemned a few short years ago. 

What emotion do you need to keep in check today?  We must storm the beach and remove the footholds before they become strongholds in our lives!