Authority to Trample on Snakes and Scorpions

Authority to Trample on Snakes and Scorpions

 

We Christians are in a war – an all-out spiritual war with evil. The Bible tells us that we have been given all power and authority over our enemy, the devil, in this aggressive fight. A friend of mine says that God will fight all our battles for us.  Yes, the Lord does fight for us but we have our part in the fight. Jesus tells us that we are either for Him or against Him. (Luke 11:23 and Matthew 12:30) There is no middle ground.

 

 We get to choose between good and evil.  And often evil can appear so tempting that if we are not on guard, we can rationalize our reasons for choosing it. We must stand firm in the Lord if we are to fight the good fight and not end up fighting on the other side.

 

God has spiritual armor for us to use for this spiritual battle.  The Bible says: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.  For our struggle is not against flesh and blood (people), but against the rulers, and the authorities, and the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm.” (Ephesians 6:11-12)  We think our enemies are people who are against us.  And we get angry at these mean people but actually Scripture says that our real enemies are dark spiritual forces. 

 

Scripture describes our armor. We are given the belt of Truth and the breastplate of Righteousness and our feet are fitted with the gospel of Peace.  We are to take up the shield of Faith with which we can put out all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  And we are to put on the helmet of Salvation and carry the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  (Ephesians 6:14-18)

 

 We do our much of our fighting with the Word of God – the sword. And along with fighting with our armor on and using our sword,  we are instructed to pray in the Spirit and keep on praying for ourselves and for all of the other believers who are also in this spiritual war with us.  (Ephesians 6:18)

 

The battle can become treacherous, especially when our loved ones are being harmed by the powers of darkness.  How many parents have watched as their precious children have been destroyed by drugs or bad influences?  And how many families have been broken up by violence or adultery or abandonment.  The devil is out to steal and to kill.  He appears as a snake or serpent in the Garden of Eden and he is often referred to as a snake in today’s world as well as in Scripture.

 

 One of the ways we tread upon demonic forces by using the Word of God.  (the sword) Scripture says: “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy: nothing will harm you.”  (Luke 10:19)   God has given us power to tread over evil and win the battle.  We have the Holy Spirit in us to help us, and He is stronger than the evil forces. Scripture says:  “Greater is He (Jesus) that is in you, than he (Satan) that is in the world.”  (1 John 4:4)

 

We can fight and win using the weapons God has provided for us.  If we submit to God, He has guaranteed victory to us through the name of Jesus.  Often submitting to God causes us to see and do things differently.  A friend of mine used to work as a nurse in an abortion clinic and she strongly believed that every pregnant woman should have the right to abort their baby up until birth (9 months). She believed that society had no right to interfere.  But now that she has submitted herself and her will to the Lord, she sees things differently.  Now she is working to change hearts and minds against abortion and especially these terrible late term (9 month) abortions!

 

The name of Jesus is powerful. Scripture says: “I will do whatever you ask in My Name so that the Father will be glorified in the Son, Ask anything in My Name and I will do it.”  (John 14:13-14)  And the blood of Jesus saves the believer from sin (1 John 1:7) and also empowers the believer against evil. (Revelations 12:11)

 

We can fight against evil by praising God. The Israelites were sometimes instructed by God to march into battle praising God. They would watch God miraculously rout their enemies while they stood by and sang praises to Him. (2 Chronicles 20:21) There is power in praise and worship.  Praise leads us into worship, and worship brings us into the very throne room of God. And there is also power in prayer.  The prayers of the righteous are heard and responded to by God. And we can fight the battle by believing and counting on the Word of God.  Stand on God’s Word.  Feed your mind on the word of God. Put His Word to the test. There is power in the living Word of God.

 

Scripture says: “Submit yourselves then to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  (James 4:7)   Submitting to God means trying to live your life according to God’s Word.  Trusting God and obeying Him.  Staying away from bad influences. Living a morally clean life.  Helping the poor. Loving and forgiving others. Being humble and confessing our sins to God and asking His forgiveness.

There are snakes out there in our world hiding in holes in the ground or under dark bushes, coiled and ready to strike.  And their bite is deadly. And there are scorpions hanging around in sticky webs waiting to entrap their victims or hiding in dark corners ready to sting with their wicked stinging tails. And their sting is poisonous. But our heavenly Father tells us not to worry because He has given us the authority to stomp and trample over the snakes and scorpions and all the powers of evil.  And He promises that “Nothing will hurt us.”  (Luke 10:19b)  With promises like that, isn’t it awesome to be a child of God?