Pablo slowly moved along the tree trunk that stretched out over the river that wound its way through the Colombian jungle. Leaning against a thick, upright branch of the fallen tree trunk, he tossed his machete into the canoe and then reached one foot down to step into the boat. Suddenly a hideous head shot out from the jungle growth, and huge jaws locked onto Pablo’s ankle. With terror, he realized that the gigantic coils of a big boa constrictor were rapidly wrapping around him!
Panic-stricken, Pablo tried desperately to pry the evil jaws loose from his ankle with his hands. When that didn’t work, he dug his fingernails into the eyes of the monster snake, hoping that would loosen its iron grip on him. Instead, he began to suffocate as every muscle in the boa’s thick body tightened around him, squeezing one arm and the rest of his body against the thick, upright branch of the fallen tree where he had been leaning. The tightening coils gripping his chest made each breath more painful than the last.
Suddenly Pablo’s eyes caught sight of his machete lying in the canoe below. As a last resort and using every ounce of strength he could find, he strained forward and grabbed the machete with his free hand. He brought the blade crashing down on the head of the beast. Pain shot through his chest as the boa’s coils tightened even more. With the last of his strength, Pablo slashed again and again at the snake’s head, locked on his ankle.
Maybe you have never been gripped by a huge boa constrictor, but have you ever felt Satan’s sudden hold on you? We aren’t always aware of his presence, but Genesis 3:1 Says, “The serpent [Satan] was more subtile [crafty] than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.” We may try to resist his advances by our own efforts and strength, just like Pablo tried at first to fight the boa with his hands. But Pablo wasn’t strong enough to shake off the boa, and you and I have no strength in ourselves to fight off Satan. We find in Romans 5:6, “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” For those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ as our Saviour, our real strength lies in God and in His Word, the Bible.
As Pablo slashed again and again at the snake’s head with his machete, he slowly felt the coils of the huge beast begin to loosen. Finally the enormous snake slid quivering into the canoe below, nearly filling it with its enormous bulk. His one free arm and the nearby machete had enabled Pablo to break free from the deadly hold of the huge, hungry boa.
Pablo had just one arm free and a machete within reach. God has made a way to save you and me from Satan’s deadly hold on us. All we need to do is realize that we can’t defeat Satan on our own and turn to the Lord Jesus. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21). He is the only one who can save us from our sins and break Satan’s strong grip on us.
Even after we are saved, Satan will still attack us at times to discourage us and cause us to make unwise decisions. But God is always on call. He assures us, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15). He also gives us a sword, His Word the Bible, which is the Spirit’s strong weapon in our warfare with Satan. Just as Pablo found that the machete helped him to escape from the attacking boa, we need “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17) to escape from Satan’s attacks. We need to read His Word and let His Spirit use it to help us in the battles we may face even today. Will you do that? Then you can claim this verse as your very own: “Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
ML-12/16/2007