Spiritual Gnats

"Get out of here, satan." Matthew 4:10

I sat in our parked car near a marsh in St. Augustine, Florida, while my husband competed in a skeet shoot. These minuscule insects have other names: "no-see-ums" or sand fleas, but whatever they are called, their bite was more than annoying.

They would nibble me and I would swat them, killing some and brushing others away. They bit through my hair and under my clothes, relentless in their attack. The pattern was: a bite, the area would itch, I would scratch it, then that area would hurt from scratching so much. The only hope I had was to apply gnat repellent before I was attacked again. It worked remarkably well, keeping the annoying insects at bay.

The gnats remind me of satan, the adversary of God. He also has two other names, as we learn in the book of the Bible called Revelation. He is called the dragon and the beast. He will send his demons to bite us, with sin. 

When the sin gnats bite with obvious evil, we may swat at them and knock some out. Their bite, however, once it penetrates, may give us an itch - perhaps for immorality, greed, or self centeredness. 

We may scratch that itch with wrong actions which can give us a puffed up ego, an attitude of dishonesty or self centeredness, or a heart to worship false idols. Eventually, we will hurt, just as my gnat bites hurt.

Thankfully, God has given us a sin repellant, and that is the armor of God. These pieces - the helmet, breastplate, belt, shoes, sword, shield - are very effective for keeping satan and his fiery arrows of sin away from us.

Let's remember to put on our armor each morning, just as we would remember to apply gnat repellent, to keep adversaries away. God has given us the equipment; it is up to us to use it.


Marion Smith