Daily Devotionals

Have you ever had everything going smoothly, seen your faith working and really seeing results, only to have something odd creep up inside you? Maybe you began to feel just a little irritated at the success of others. Or, maybe you’ve begun to feel a little discouraged that a circumstance hasn’t yet changed.

Watch out! It could be that you’ve allowed envy or strife to enter in. You see, Satan knows that if he can stop your faith from working, he can disrupt everything. But he also knows he can’t very well just come barreling in the front door and steal the faith right out of your heart, so he slips in the back way. He uses envy and strife to interrupt the flow of love in your life.

The minute love is disrupted, your faith stops working because “faith works by love” (Galatians 5:6).

Many Christians don’t understand that principle, so they struggle along, quarreling and fussing with one another—and wondering all the while why their faith isn’t producing results. They don’t realize that if you want to walk in the power and blessing of God, you cannot allow envy or strife into your life. Period.

According to James 3:16, envy and strife give the devil an open door into your life.

What kinds of “evil work” will the devil bring through that open door? Everything from depression to murder. Yes, murder! That was envy’s first recorded act in Genesis 4. Cain murdered Abel because he was envious.

So what should you do?

Shut the door! Stubbornly resist those fleshly pressures and temptations of the devil. Treat strife just like you’d treat a rattlesnake, or any other deadly invader. Refuse to let it in!

If you’ve become aware of someone around you who is being more successful than you, don’t be naive enough to fall into the trap that envy is setting. Trick the devil. Turn the tables on him! Start praising God for the success of that person. Do what you can to help them be even more successful.

In other words, whatever your situation, start walking in love and laying down selfishness. If you’ll do that, you’ll keep the door open for the blessings of God. You’ll keep the devil from pulling the plug on your faith!

Speak the Word

I walk in love and resist envy and strife. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. (James 3:16)