Are you ever overwhelmed by how difficult it is be to live a life that is pleasing to God? If the temptations of the world and the sin within our own hearts isn’t enough, Satan is also working overtime to see to our destruction, downfall, or weakening. He has no compassion, he doesn’t care how hard life is for you or all the things you have gone through. He rejoices in our difficulties and only wants to add to them.
Satan is cunning and crafty. He is also more powerful than we give him credit for and therefore a being to be guarded against and fought against. He has the experience of all kinds of evil on his side as well as the fact that he never grows tired and never gives up spewing his hatred for Christ and his bride.
He hates them because . . .
they have escaped out of his hand,
they oppose his kingdom and government;
they hate sin, and pant, and pray, and strive for holiness.
James Smith
Here are some ways that our great enemy seeks our destruction.
1. He plants doubts and lies (Gen. 3)
One of the biggest doubts he plants in your heart is about the goodness of God. “How can a good God possibly let some of these horrible and hard things happen to you?”
2. He fights against your faith (Eph 6:12)
One thing the Devil is not is lazy. He is very active roaming around seeking to destroy. He has an arsenal full of tactics and will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to maim our faith.
3. He will tempt you with sexual immorality (1 Cor. 7:5)
Both in person and online sexual temptations abound and Satan will make sure to set them before your eyes. He would like nothing more than to take your purity and ruin your marriages.
4. He will try to cause disunity amongst Christians (Mt 13:38-39; 2 Cor 11:13-15).
Beware of even the smaller conflicts that arise between brothers and sisters. The Devil is well skilled at using such things to erode fellowship and breed discontent.
5. He will slander you before God (Rev 12:10)
Over and over, he will throw all your sins before the throne of God in an effort to discredit you. While he will not succeed, he won’t give up trying.
6. He will try to take you down through pride (1 Pet 5:6-8)
Pride is a dangerous sin because it gives birth to almost every other sin. So Satan will spend a lot of time trying to convince you of the fact that “self” is king.
7. He will persecute you for your faith (Rev 2:10)
The torture and murder of Christians thrills Satan in the most sickening way. But the persecution of Christian can also be brought about in a milder way, through shunning, discrimination, slander, injustice, and unkindness.
8. He will try to cripple your faith through fear (2 Cor 4:8-9)
Fear has its place--you are called to fear the Lord. But Satan will tempt you to fear earthly things instead. This kind of fear will blind you to the power, goodness and sovereignty of God. It will cause you to take your eyes off of Jesus and onto our circumstances.
9. He will try to sidetrack you with worldly things. (1John 2:15-16)
We are a people who are easily distracted especially by all the new, shiny and exciting things that world has to offer. Therefore Satan will use the beautiful things, even good things, to draw your attention and devotion from Jesus.
Satan can never take away our salvation. God is greater and will lose none who belong to him. But he can do a lot of damage and cripple us in our quest for intimacy with God and personal holiness. Therefore we must be alert because Satan will attack when we are not ready (1 Peter 5:8-9), we must know the devils antics (2 Cor. 2:11), and we must stand firm against the attacks and deceits of the devil. (Eph. 6:11). God has not left us defenseless. He has given us an armor that we must know and wear at all times.
Someday we will be able trade in our armor for a royal robe and crown. Battles will be a part of the past and our future will hold nothing but peace and joy. But until then we must encourage each other to not give up in the fight, or to run away in fear. We have a most powerful God on our side!
"Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." Deuteronomy 20:3, 4.
Jen Thorn lives in Illinois where she serves alongside her husband, Joe, at Redeemer Fellowship. She loves studying theology, reading the Puritans, and has a passion for all things chocolate. Jen has 4 children and blogs at jenthorn.comas well as goodmorninggirls.org. Follow her on Twitter@jenlthorn or on Facebook: Jen Thorn
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