Don’t Give Satan an Opportunity 

My daughter and son-in-law walked out of their house one morning to find the back windshield shattered in their truck which had been sitting overnight at the top of their driveway. While vandalism was their obvious first conclusion, upon closer examination they discovered a different cause. They realized that the window had not been broken from the outside but rather from the inside. And found among the many pieces of glass scattered in the bed of the truck was animal fur. One of the back windows of the truck had been left partially open by one of their sons riding in the backseat the previous evening. Apparently some animal had climbed in that open window and in a panic to escape had busted the back glass. What was it? From those who examined the remnants of the fur, they concluded it was a deer. Certainly a panicked deer could have caused the damage, but it was just surprising that it would have climbed through that small opening in order to get itself in that predicament.

Their situation reminds us how trouble can slip in on us if we leave any room at all for it to get in. But it is not just wild animals who innocently wander into places where they shouldn’t. It can be those who are intentionally seeking to do harm. And I am not just talking about vandals or other criminals. We have an adversary to our spiritual well-being who is always looking for some way to squeeze his way into our lives and cause trouble. The Bible warns us to “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).

One reason we need to be so watchful is because Satan doesn’t always just come announcing his presence and bursting through our door. He doesn’t always come pounding on the door like the big, bad wolf in the fairy tales, declaring that he is going to huff and puff and blow our houses down. He may simply sneak in through a window left open or a crack in the door. While he can be like a roaring lion, he can also act like a slithering snake who can find a vulnerable spot through which he can gain entrance into our lives.

Paul warns us not to “give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:27). Another translation says not to let the devil gain a foothold. The idea is not to give Satan any opening of opportunity. Don’t leave any room for him to be able to squeeze in and infiltrate your life where he can cause havoc. Keep the windows of your heart closed and the doors to your soul locked tight to this deceitful and deadly intruder.

How might we give the devil an opportunity to sneak into our lives? We might open that door by flirting with some sinful behavior or attitude rather than steadfastly refusing to have anything to do with it. We may open the door by seeing how close we can get to the edge of God’s will without falling off into some kind of immoral behavior. We may leave a crack in the window when we allow our minds to wander off in certain foolish directions rather than immediately resisting those thoughts or fantasies. In the context of that verse in Ephesians, we may be opening the door for Satan when we don’t deal quickly and wisely with conflicts and anger in our hearts. He can get in, incite explosive reactions, or encourage us to brood in our anger until it turns into bitter resentment.

Leaving a window open in a truck can lead to trouble, but leaving a door cracked for the devil can do much greater harm.