We give the devil a foothold into our lives many times without even realizing it. Giving the devil a foothold means that we are giving the enemy legal ground to stand on to enter into our lives or our bodies. We don’t want to give the devil a foothold into any areas of our lives, because when we do we are allowing demons into our bodies, and opening up portals for human spirits.
As I have grown closer to Jesus and have freed more areas of my soul I have become very sensitive to the enemy attacks. When I am somehow dishonoring the Lord or disobeying His Word, I can feel the physical the repercussions, sometimes almost immediately. Jesus has been working with me to help me to learn to surrender more and more of myself so that I can be convicted and repent right away.
I have lived with certain behaviors, thought patterns, and emotions that I have allowed to rule my life for a very long time. I never gave them any thought, I just lived in each moment by my flesh, not even thinking of how it dishonors God’s commandments for my life.
As I have been working towards coming back into alignment with who God created me to be I have felt very convicted to stop some of these negative patterns I have allowed to dominate my life. Things such as negative thoughts, complaining, arguing, usurping my husband’s authority, unforgiveness, cussing and taking the Lord’s name in vain.
Here are some of the ways we can give the devil a foothold over our lives without realizing it:
With Our Words
Emotional Manipulation Leviticus 25:17
criticizing
complaining Philippians 2:14-15
arguing Titus 3:2
lying Colossians 3:9
cussing/swearing Matthew 5:27, James 1:26
foul language/crude joking/foolish talk Philippians 4:8, Ephesians 5:4, Matthew 15:11, 2 Timothy 2:16-17
taking the Lord’s name in vain/blasphemy Exodus 20:7, Galatians 6:7
dishonoring others/slander Philippians 2:3
slander/cursing Ephesians 4:29
With Our Actions
Idolatry 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
sexual immorality Colossians 3:5
coveting Luke 12:15
not submitting to authority (including the husband) Ephesians 5:22-24, Romans 13:1-5
With Our Feelings
unforgiveness Matthew 6:14-15
wrath, malice, rage Colossians 3:8
anger James 1:20, Matthew 5:22
allowing our feelings to rule us Romans 8:5
focusing on self Colossians 3:1-2
With Our Thoughts
impure thoughts 1 Peter 1:15-16
negative thoughts of self and others Philippians 4:8
allowing social media, friends, celebrities, etc. to shape your thinking Romans 12:2
allowing our thoughts free reign, no matter the content 2 Corinthians 10:5
When we give the devil a foothold we are allowing demons into the body and opening up portals into our bodies for human spirits. We are giving them the rights to enter into us. Demonic and human spirits can affect our thoughts and feelings. They can also use these rights to attack our bodies down to a molecular level. When we rebel against God’s Word we are making agreements with Lucifer, just as Adam and Eve did. Arguing, complaining and lying are forms of emotional manipulation and that is witchcraft. Coveting, which is wanting what you cannot have, lusting after it and plotting to have it or steal it is idolatry. You are worshiping things above the Lord and it leads to jealousy, envy, and strife. Romans 12:2
Foul language and course talk and crude joking are bad habits formed with constant use. We are to leave behind the old self which has been molded after our ancestors who are the corrupt and twisted generation. Deuteronomy 32:5 It takes a daily surrendering to the Lord in order to renew our minds to God’s Word daily. If you are struggling with any of these areas you have strongholds of sin within you. These can come from generational curses or roots of deep emotional pain partnered with mind control programming. Each of these things has demonic entities that attach to them to keep them in place so that no matter how hard you try you cannot separate from these sins. Proverbs 15:16
I have struggled with every single one of these sins myself, even as a Christian. It has taken a lot of deep and intense work with my soul and spirit to align myself back to where I was when I first was saved. I thought that being saved meant complete healing and cleansing of the soul, but what it means is submission and surrendering to God’s authority over your life so you can begin to relinquish the power of Lucifer over your life to Jesus. John 15:2
This is a work that takes a lifetime. It is important to stay strong through the process and never give up, always trusting that no matter how bad it looks that Jesus has you and everything happening inside of you. You have to keep faith that you will come back around to a place of joy in the Lord, rejoicing over the freedom He is bringing you. Colossians 3:1-2
Every single person has to go on this journey and it looks different for every one of us. For me, I had to swim in deep oceans of pain in order to understand how far gone my soul was to Lucifer. However, it only took one tiny fraction of my soul to chose Jesus in order for Him to come in and change my whole life. He can and will change your life too, you just need to trust in the process, have patience, and lean on Him so you can endure until the end.
You will endure. You will be refined by these trials like gold and come out pure and whole again in the end. Believe in Him who has started this good work in you will be faithful to complete it.