And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
- Genesis 3:15
What is an Achilles Heel?
According to brittanica.com "It is rooted in the myth of Achilles mother dipping him in the River Styx, making his entire body invulnerable except for the part of the foot where she held him—the proverbial Achilles heel. "
Due to satan's deception and short but challenging relationship with Eve, God put enmity (hostility or hatred) between satan and humankind — a distance. Many of us are asleep to the fierceness of satan's hostility toward us, and we need to rise from our slumber.
Scripture says there will be bruising between both species, to the head of the snake and the heel of the human. This is an allegory of prophetical times to come. But it is also a running commentary of our Christian walk.
The term is bruising thy head, not cutting it off. Hence, we see Jesus conquering the power of death by rising from the dead, but not killing satan. This resurrection bruised satan's head or ego by showing that death was no more. Jesus removed the fear, which satan uses on everyone. We also see in the Book of Acts, the Apostle Paul flicking the viper into the fire when it sunk its teeth into his hand. satan thought it would kill Christ's foremost disciple, but Paul lived and even healed a person after that.
We don't need to slap or punch someone to bruise them. We just need to remove our fear of their power by our faith. satan is bruised every time we stand our ground on faith.
and thou shalt bruise his heel.
We don't win all the spiritual battles we fight. Some we lose because we lack faith, or we haven't fasted and prayed at those times we've been asked to, or we've been hasty and heroic, or proud and presumptuous. For whatever reason, satan or his troupe bruise our heel. They wound us. For a snake to bruise a heel, the bite must take place. If they miss when they strike, there is no bruise. It is when they sink in their fangs that the poison transfers from the host to the recipient. As James states, "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1:15).
King Ahab of Israel, when fighting Syria, was struck by an accidental arrow in his back. In a small gap between two pieces of armour, a random arrow struck Ahab, and he died that evening. (1 Kings 22). Circumstances can and do happen when we leave ourselves uncovered.
This begs the question, why would our heel be uncovered?
Paul warns us to make sure our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and too often, our preparation lacks. (Ephesians 6:15). To give peace to others, we must first walk in the pathway of peace or rest ourselves. Yet, many Christians walk in anxiety, apprehension and fear that God won't be there when He is needed. How can God provide His covering of peace through faith when we keep throwing it off like a blanket on a warm night?
So, what is your Achilles Heel?
Have you removed every evil thing from your life yet? Or are there questionable thoughts and activities that will hinder you in the future? An Achilles Heel turns into an Achilles Hell when we don't rid ourselves of wrongdoings and put our full armour on, as God has asked. It is a weakness we didn't fix.
Galatians 5:19-21 (Living Bible) mentions a few of them. "But when you follow your own wrong inclinations, your lives will produce these evil results: impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism (that is, encouraging the activity of demons), hatred and fighting, jealousy and anger, constant effort to get the best for yourself, complaints and criticisms, the feeling that everyone else is wrong except those in your own little group—and there will be wrong doctrine, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties, and all that sort of thing. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God."
We may have already overcome a number of these things, but if we think of them, it's as good as doing them. If we believe or do something in secret that conflicts with the goodness and favour of our Lord, it has to go. satan has found the Achilles Heel of many great Christians. So closing our own Achilles weakness is worth the time, commitment and diligence.
Today's prayer:Dear Lord, thank you for salvation and the grace given me to grow into the person you want me to be. Please help me close all the weak points of my Christian life.
Photo by Felipe Giacometti
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