Beware the Foothold
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:27
Following the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944, U.S. forces under Gen. Omar Bradley pushed forward under fierce opposition amidst the easily defendable hedgerow countryside. The Yanks were able to capture the vital communications center of Saint-Lo, cutting off forces led by German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Then Allied supreme commander Dwight D. Eisenhower threw George S. Patton’s Third Army at the Germans, and he broke through the enemy’s left flank. Patton was on his way to Paris, liberating France from four years of merciless occupation.
Many consider D-Day to be the “longest day,” a day that will stand forever not only as a watershed in the war but also in human history. Those small footholds along the coast of France proved pivotal in securing freedom for millions as an entire continent was liberated from Nazi oppression.
As I work with men, I have seen how giving up certain inner beach-heads––spiritual footholds––determines our spiritual destinies time and time again. These footholds are the small but strategic areas of a man’s life that either keep him under the rule of the world, the flesh, and the devil, or by overcoming them, birth victories that liberate him spiritually to achieve the next level. Control of these beachheads is critical, which is why the Bible warns us not to give the devil a foothold.
King David famously learned this bitter lesson when he allowed his eyes to linger too long on Bathsheba—unleashing a sequence of terrible consequences born in hell. He understood the devastation of giving the devil a beachhead when he wrote, “Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before my face” (Psalm 5:5, NKJV).
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your vulnerable areas and to remember always to be on the lookout for the element of surprise.
Father, thank you for the intel that you have given through your Holy Spirit.