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I had survived the mission trip to an orphanage in Guatemala.

As I enjoyed my last day in the country with our group touring Antigua, the peaks of two volcanoes, Volcan de Fuego and Volcan de Agua, reached up to the clouds in the distance. The beauty of Parque Central and the magnificence of the Santa Catalina inspired picture taking. The day was perfect—almost.

Strolling through the streets of this UNESCO world heritage site, I was repeatedly accosted by children selling t-shirts, trinkets, and other items. I had no need for any of these items. My purpose in Guatemala was to serve orphans, not to accumulate material things. If I said “No” and shook my head once, I did it a hundred times. These vendors were relentless. Jokingly, I told my companions what I really needed was a t-shirt to wear with the word “No!” on it, which I could point to in response to a sales pitch.

After a while, I tired of turning away repeated sales propositions. Giving in and buying a trinket to make the vendor go away would have been easy. Had I done so, they would have labeled me a customer who could ultimately be worn down to purchase something. Other vendors would see I had forked over money and would swarm around me to attempt a transaction. I reminded myself I was not in Guatemala to shop. I stood my ground, continued to say no, and purchased nothing. Eventually, the vendors realized I was not going to cave and backed off.

As Christians, we’ve all been in similar situations. The Devil entices us to do something we really don’t need to do. He’s a relentless vendor of evil, wanting us to buy into sin. He won’t take “No” for an answer, but keeps hawking his seemingly innocent wares, hoping to break us down.

With God’s help, we can stand our ground and resist the Devil and what he’s selling.

Let God help you say, “No, no, and no!” to the Devil. Then, watch him flee.

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)