“Neither give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:27)
Even as sin crouches at the door and its desire is for us (Gen. 4:7), so the devil lurks as a lion, waiting for the opportunity to devour his prey. (1 Pet. 5:8) If we would be kept we cannot be ignorant of his devices. (2 Cor. 2:11) He works like an opportunistic germ that enters through an open wound.
The pains of life place us at a crossroads between life and death; where God and grace or Satan and sin will be chosen. If we will not let God work all things together for good, the devil will surely take those situations and work them for evil. Without our active and diligent seeking of God and all the help He would give us, the enemy wins by default.
It’s good to catch and treat a cold or sore throat early, it’s even better to spot and neutralize the movements of the enemy of our soul afar off. When we’ve been hurt, we must let God show up. We must turn to Him and ask Him to properly tend to our wounded heart and broken spirit. If we let the sun go down on our wrath without paying the “Doctor” a visit, the evil one will surely have secured a firm place in us by morning.
Coming boldly to the throne of grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need is essential if we are not to end up in the lion’s mouth. Park yourself in the presence of God. He will nurse you back to health.