Have you ever slipped on a wet floor because you weren’t paying close enough attention to your surroundings and the conditions? Did you anticipate that you would slip? No, that’s why you slipped. If you had seen the wet floor, could you have avoided it? Yes, if you were watching.
Sometimes the devil gets us to sin because we are not paying close enough attention to our surroundings and the conditions. Paul wrote about being “caught in any trespass” (Gal. 6:1). The Greek word for “caught” indicates that “one is taken unexpectedly,” because he is “off his guard.” There is an element of surprise for the unanticipated.
Brethren, the devil will come straight at you sometimes, and then other times he will slip up behind you unexpectedly and catch you by surprise. Maybe it’s letting a word slip, or slipping in a bad habit, or causing you to slip from a good habit, or slipping a person in your life who gradually leads you down the wrong path, etc. You are still responsible for your actions when the devil slips on you, so always be watchful (1 Pet. 5:8-9)!