Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
8 14 2026
The Spirit That Divides — You Are Not Immune Part 1 of 2
But before you tune me out because you have a solid marriage and think, Well, this one isn’t for me, stay with me. Because I don’t think the spirit behind division limits itself to marriages. In fact, I think we make a serious mistake when we only recognize its work when somebody finally calls an attorney.
Right now, I know three families where there are serious rumblings of divorce. Two of them are Christian families. These are not people who started their marriages planning for an exit. They loved each other. They made promises to each other. They built lives, raised families, shared memories, prayed prayers…
and somewhere along the way something began pulling apart what had once been joined together.
I am calling it the spirit of divorce…not because the Bible names a particular demon called “divorce,” but because divorce describes so well what the enemy loves to do. He divides what God intended to be joined. He isolates what God intended to live in relationship. He takes something that was once “us” and slowly turns it into “me against you.”
Jesus said something incredibly simple and frighteningly profound:
“If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25)
We usually hear that verse and think about a marriage, a family, a church, maybe even a nation. But think about the principle. Division destroys. And Satan doesn’t necessarily care what he divides as long as something God values gets torn apart.
Sometimes it’s a marriage. But sometimes it’s a friendship that survived twenty years until one offense suddenly became bigger than twenty years of love. Sometimes it’s a father and son who both remember exactly what the other one said
but neither remembers how much they once meant to each other.
Sometimes it’s brothers and sisters who haven’t spoken in years.
Sometimes it is a church where a disagreement becomes gossip, gossip creates sides,
sides become camps, and suddenly Christians who worship the same Jesus can barely look at one another.
It happens in our workplaces. Rivalry replaces teamwork. Somebody gets offended. Somebody talks behind somebody else’s back. Trust disappears. People who once worked together begin protecting themselves from one another.
And, amazingly, division can even happen inside us. We know what God says, but another voice keeps arguing with Him. Fear battles faith. Shame battles grace. What I feel begins shouting louder than what I know to be true. James describes the double-minded person as “unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8) There can be a civil war going on inside a human heart.
Here is what frightens me about division: it seldom introduces itself as division.
It usually arrives carrying a very convincing argument about why I am right.
I was hurt. I was disrespected. They started it. She shouldn’t have said that. He should know better. I’ve forgiven enough. Somebody needs to teach them a lesson. I’m not bitter; I’m just done.
And maybe some of those things are true. Maybe you really were wronged. But being right about the offense does not make us immune from what the enemy can do with it.
Paul gives us an extraordinary warning: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26–27)
Think about that. The offense may have come from another person, but what I do with that offense can give the enemy an opportunity.
That’s where this gets personal for all of us.
The enemy doesn’t have to destroy my marriage if he can destroy my relationship with one of my children. He doesn’t have to destroy my family if he can destroy a friendship God placed in my life. He doesn’t have to close my church if he can get the people inside it suspicious of one another. He doesn’t have to make me hate somebody
if he can simply convince me that I am justified in never forgiving them.
And perhaps his most effective strategy is getting us to rename division so we don’t recognize it.
We call it boundaries when sometimes it is bitterness. We call it discernment when sometimes it is suspicion. We call it standing our ground when sometimes it is pride. We call it moving on when sometimes we are simply refusing to forgive.
Please hear me carefully. There are legitimate boundaries. There are dangerous and abusive relationships from which someone may need to separate and seek protection. Forgiveness does not mean allowing someone to continue harming you. That is not what I am talking about here.
I am talking about those places where something that could be healed is being allowed to die.
Paul wrote, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:18) I love the honesty of that verse. God doesn’t pretend every relationship can be repaired. If possible. And He doesn’t tell you that you control what the other person does. So far as it depends on you.
But that leaves me with an uncomfortable question:
What depends on me?
Is there a phone call I haven’t made because I’m waiting for them to make it first? Is there an apology I owe but pride keeps rewriting the story? Is there someone whose name immediately changes something inside me? Is there gossip I have participated in because I convinced myself I was only telling the truth? Is there an offense I keep feeding every time I replay it?
Maybe the spirit of divorce is nowhere near your marriage.
But has division quietly found another room in your house?
Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) Notice He didn’t say blessed are the peace-lovers. Most of us love peace. Peacemakers do something about its absence.
So before we examine someone else’s marriage, perhaps we should allow the Holy Spirit to examine our own relationships.
Where has division quietly gained a foothold in my life…and have I been calling it something more respectable?
Prayer: Father, search my heart and show me where division has gained ground in me.
Show me the relationships where pride, hurt, anger, gossip, unforgiveness, or fear have begun
separating what You desire to heal. Give me the humility to apologize where I have been wrong,
the grace to forgive where I have been wounded, and the courage to pursue peace
wherever it depends upon me. Protect my marriage, my family, my friendships, my church,
and my own heart from the enemy’s work of division. Make me not merely someone who loves peace,
but someone who makes peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Thank you for spending these few minutes with me today. My prayer is that these devotionals don’t simply give you something to think about, but draw you into a deeper love for Jesus Christ.
If someone forwarded this devotional to you and you’d like to receive future devotionals each week, you can subscribe here: 👉 http://eepurl.com/i_nlb2
If you’d like to go even deeper, I’d love to invite you to join me beginning Tuesday, September 1st, for my free six-week online course, Discovering Jesus. We’ll meet Tuesday evenings from 7:00–8:30 p.m. as we explore the foundational truths of our faith and, more importantly, deepen our relationship with Christ. You’re welcome to invite your spouse, family members, friends, or neighbors. I’ll provide all of the materials at no charge. Just let me know. To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/zkb-dxcq-iau
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus…because He truly is the Treasure.
Blessings,
United Ocean (Where feet may fail)
Leave a Comment