Those facing defeat will try anything to survive. Deception. Distraction. Discouragement.
Humanity’s old adversary, Satan, is doing just that. 1 John 3:8 says that Jesus came to defeat and destroy the works of the Satan. Satan knows his time is running out and that at the end of the age, he will be thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur. (Rev. 20:10) So, to take as many people with him as possible, he uses an arsenal of lies, trickery, and setbacks to deceive, distract, and discourage us from embracing faith in God.
Jesus warns us that Satan comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. (John 10:10) John 8:44 says that Satan is a liar and the father of all lies. Revelation 12:9 calls him the deceiver of the whole world. 1 Peter 5:8 calls Satan our enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
How does he go about this?
While Satan can use circumstances, the actions of others, and the limitations of our human form, his greatest weapon is words. Satan uses lies to deceive us, whispered temptations to distract us, and murmured reminders of hindrances and failures to discourage us.
Satan will mutter to us that we aren’t good enough for God to save us. He will try to tell us that our salvation depends on doing good works. He will point out that God didn’t answer this or that prayer according to our wishes. He will bring up past sins and failures that haunt us. He will encourage us to compare our lives with others. He will remind us of injustices and hurts that so-called Christians have inflicted on us. He will place us in situations that tempt us to sin and will show us things he knows we want even though they aren’t good for us. The list of prevarications, schemes, and deterrents concerning faith that Satan uses goes on and on.
How do we fight such an enemy? What is our greatest defense? We use the weapons God has given us for such a battle. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments; we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.”
In Ephesians 6:11 God tells us to put on the whole armor of God so that we my stand against the schemes of the devil. One of them is a counteroffensive of words! Not our words, but God’s Words! As our example, Jesus himself used God’s Word in His encounter with Satan in the wilderness. If we want to overcome the three D’s of Satan, we need to read, study, and truly know God’s Word. It is both our defense and our offense.
James 4:7 promises that if we resist the devil, he will flee.” Satan is not the final victor. Jesus is! And because we belong to Jesus, we can win those battles!
Be encouraged!
©2023 Pamela D. Williams.
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