stock-still, and faced the angry animal. It
came charging down till it was almost upon him, then suddenly stopped,
looked at him, and ran around him. The Indian stood motionless. The animal
bellowed and pawed and ran round and round him. He did not move, and the
animal did not touch him, but presently went off and left him alone, after
which the Indian went on his way as though nothing had happened. There is
a good lesson in that for us. There is no use to run from the devil, for
he can run faster than we can. Our victory is often won by our standing
still to see the salvation of God.
_Third, watch._ That is what our Lord commanded, but he did not say,
"Watch the devil." The thing that we need to watch most is where our own
feet are going. If we allow ourselves to be occupied in watching Satan, we
may get out of the path and not know it. The Bible also says, "looking
unto Jesus," not, "looking unto Satan." It is from God that our help
comes. When we look at Satan, he appears great and terrible. When we look
to God, We see his greatness and realize how much greater he is than
Satan, and our courage rises, our strength is increased, our fears vanish,
and we become confident. Look to God and where your own feet are going,
and let God manage the devil.
_Fourth, ignore him._ There is nothing Satan hates so much as to be
ignored. For us to calmly go upon our way unafraid and trustful, not
dismayed by his roaring, is not at all to his liking. If we will keep our
hearts and minds occupied with good things and pay no attention to his
threats, we shall find that he will go off and leave us. He may soon
return, but if you meet him in the same way, he will not linger around you
as he will if he can hold your attention upon himself.
You have better use for your time than to let the enemy occupy it. Use it
in active service for God. Jesus said he would give us "rest unto our
souls." Do you have that rest? God means for you to have it, but you can
not have it if you keep your attention on Satan all the time. He will
tantalize you if you will let him. While you are looking unto Jesus, you
will not see the faces that Satan makes at you, and so will not be
troubled. If you will listen to God, you will not have time to listen to
Satan. If he is constantly troubling you, it is because you are giving him
opportunity. He is a conquered foe. The victory is yours, if you will have
it so.
TALK TWENTY-TWO. WAITING ON THE LORD
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