Published February 11, 2024
by Andy Berges
The perpetual battle between good and evil thoughts is waged within everyone’s minds throughout our lives. Nobody is excluded from this never-ending fight.
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Nearly 2000 years ago, 1 Peter 5:8-9 forewarned everyone to - “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
Paul the Apostle discusses his struggle with his good and evil thoughts in Romans 7:15 & 19 when he stated, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to - this I keep on doing.”
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Even Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert for 40 days during a period in His life when he was most vulnerable. However, each time He was tempted He resisted by citing scripture to the devil and stood firm against his attacks. This is the same way we need to combat the devil when he attempts to lure us into his wicked trap.
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People often say, “The devil made me do it” when they act maliciously. However, the truth is that people often cave into the devil’s desires and they need to hold themselves accountable for their misdeeds in life rather than blaming the devil or anyone else.
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Always keep in mind that the devil’s intentions are to impoverish us and inflict pain upon us, while making us feel hopeless and depriving us of our destiny. On the other hand, God has “plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future” as it is written in Jeremiah 29:11.
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God blessed all of us with free will. We can choose to listen to act upon our God-inspired benevolent thoughts, or the malevolent thoughts that the devil instills within our minds. The devil cannot force us to do anything, and it is ultimately our choice whether we decide to listen to him or not.
Whenever we are tempted by the devil, we must submit ourselves to God's word while standing firm against him just as Jesus did. As it is written in James 4:7-8, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."