“No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  Genesis 3:4-5

Middleman is defined as someone who buys goods from someone and sells them to others to make a profit or someone who arranges business or political deals.

But, for today’s purposes, I am talking about someone who comes between relationships and causes problems. In our Scripture passage, the middleman is the serpent. Adam and Eve had a good relationship, but the serpent slithered in there and caused problems for them. They had a good relationship with God, but the serpent slithered into the middle of it and caused problems there as well. He uses lies and manipulation to get into the middle of all type of situations in our lives.

This is what the devil likes to do, he likes to worm his way into our lives and he likes to take over in any area we allow him to do so. He likes to get in the middle of everything we do. He likes to get into our relationship with our spouse. He likes to get into relationships between parents and their children. He likes to get into relationships between siblings. He likes to push his way into our workplaces and effect relationships there. He’ll creep in anywhere he can.

When we make up our minds to attend church, he will step in and do everything he can to stop us from doing that. When we make up our minds to serve the Lord, he will try to stop that. If we determine that we will set aside time each day to study our Bible and pray, he will try to sabotage that as well.

He’s also really good at being camouflaged. He gets in there and stirs up trouble and has us believing that it is the people around us and not him that’s causing the problems. He works through people. Some gladly allow him to do so, while some have no idea that he is using them. This is why we must be wise when dealing with the devil. In Genesis 3:1 we are told that the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals God had made.

Where we often mess up is by thinking we can outsmart the devil. We think that we can dabble a bit with sin and not be taken in, but this is where we are wrong. Proverbs 3:7 tells us that we should not consider ourselves wise in our own eyes. We are wise when God gives us wisdom. When we go it alone, that is pride and it brings destruction (Proverbs 16:18).

Take a few minutes to think about where the devil has crept into the middle of something in your life. Has he gotten into relationships at work? Does he often hang around in the midst of your marriage? Does he like to slither in and out of your relationship with your child or children? Has he crept in between relationships with your siblings? Has he destroyed friendships?

The biggest mistake we make as mere mortals is failing to understand just how determined the devil is to destroy our lives (1 Peter 5:8). He will stop at nothing. The second biggest mistake we make is thinking we can fight him alone. Only God wins over the devil. When we try to do this alone, we are fighting a loosing battle. But, with God we can rest assured He will fight this battle for us and will win.

If the devil has slithered into any area in your life, isn’t it time that you removed him and made him understand that he is not welcome? If you suffer from addictions that occurred when you failed to resist the devil’s temptations, isn’t it time you gave them over to God and bid the devil farewell? Oh, he will continue to rear his ugly head, but we know from Romans 8:31 that if God is for us, who can stand against us, right? We know that even when we go through hard times as long as we love the Lord and are called according to His purpose, He will work things out for our good (Romans 8:28).

The devil often creeps into our lives because we invite him in. We think that a little sin won’t hurt. But, before you know it we are enslaved to the devil. If you are tired of being in bondage and want the devil out of your life, turn to Jesus today. Confess your sin to Him and trust in Him. Repent and allow Him to cleanse you from all unrighteousness.

Eliminate the devil from the middle of any situation he may have crept into by giving it over to God and trusting in Him.

Have a great day!