HE DOES NOT GIVE UP

"And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season" (Luke 4:13). 

Trials and temptations are unavoidable features of a genuine Christian life. The devil brings them in all shapes, from every angle, and from time to time. His purpose is to make the faith journey cumbersome and frustrate the believer, hoping to turn him into an enemy of God. However, God allows these temptations to prove us and make us strong. 

Here is what I have found out. The devil never gives up. If there is any virtue Satan has, it is persistence. He will tempt the Christian again and again with the hope of getting him one day. Only heaven knows how long he'd been trying to get Noah to have a drink and get drunk. For the first six hundred years of Noah's life, Satan watched keenly for an opportunity to get Noah drunk and misbehave. He failed again and again because Noah walked with God and stood strong, not allowing for any slip. But because the devil never gives up, he eventually got the patriarch at the age of 601 to do wrong. Noah became drunk and didn't even know when he stripped himself naked (Genesis 9:21). 

I have also found that Satan never takes a break because he is tired, for he never gets tired. When Satan seems to have taken a leave, it is only to restrategize for a relaunch of his attack with the hope of delivering a more devastating blow. After the initial threefold temptations he brought against Jesus, the Bible says that "The Devil retreated temporarily, lying in wait for another opportunity" (Luke 4:13, The Message). And you can be sure that the devil came back again and again because the Bible affirms that Jesus "was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). 

The Bible tells us that in dealing with this enemy of our soul, we have got to exercise self control and be vigilant, not allowing for any careless slip. We must resist him steadfastly with strong faith (1 Peter 5:8-9). We must not be tired of doing this because our enemy never tires. The other way to put it is that if the devil is stubborn, the Christian must be twice as stubborn in the faith. In this contest, there is no room for drawing back and risking God's displeasure. There is no room for chickening out because perdition is the fate of those who draw back. But by the grace of God, we shall not be of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul (Hebrews 10:38-39). 

Amazing that we can learn a thing or two from the devil. But the truth is that if you don't give up, you will eventually get what you want. If you will take every failed attempt as an opportunity to re-learn, re-plan and re-launch, you will ultimately be rewarded with good results. Friends, stay positive because it is not over until you are on top!