Satan’s whole purpose is to steal from, kill, and destroy us (John 10:10). He is very good at his deceptive devices and making up lies that appeal to our carnal nature, at the same time that he arranges circumstances to trap and defeat us.
If he can make us fall, he will ruin our testimony to our family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors, which can discourage them from following the Lord with their life. Our failings make others skeptical about believing the Bible or anything we have to say.
A debilitating device that Satan uses is to stir up strife among the Saints of God. Hurt feelings, jealousy, insecurity, and grandstanding give way to gossip, backbiting, discord, and division in the Body of Christ. God hates a person who sows discord in His Body (Proverbs 6:18-19). It is like a cancer that spreads like wildfire.
God designs for us is to prefer each other, to have compassion for each other rather than criticism of one another’s weaknesses, to help each other to accomplish His goals for our individual lives, and to humble our self as well as to ask for help when someone else has a better idea than we do.
Another of Satan’s favorite traps is to tempt us to live by our human reasoning rather than following the guidance of the Holy Spirit moment by moment throughout the day. He knows that our success rate in following God’s will is too high for him to overcome.
Therefore, he deceives us, as he lied to Adam and Eve, that we can be just like God (Genesis 3:5). If we get praise for our accomplishments on this earth, we diminish our rewards in heaven (Matthew 6:3). When we think we are “somebody,” we demote our self to subsisting as a “nobody.”
Prayer:
Father God, remind us that Satan’s devices to destroy us are multiple, but we can avoid falling into his traps if we are aware of them and Your counter-behaviors that can ruin his intentions. Teach us to devour Your Word in order to recognize the spiritual warfare that satanic forces use to sidetrack us from following after You. When we do believe his lies, we stand the chance of stepping over onto the wide road of destruction (Psalm 63:8; Matthew 7:13-14).
We want to live wisely as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16); therefore, help us to avoid demonic devices, and instead, to walk by Your Spirit each moment of the day (Galatians 5:15-25). We receive so many more blessings when we follow Your perfect purpose for us, rather than our own human plans. We want to live for Your praise and glory and to build up Your Kingdom on this earth.
Thought for the Day:
Our Biblical defense against satanic warfare is twofold and in this order:
1. Draw near to God
2. Resist the devil
If we follow this advice, he must flee from us, because God’s Word guarantees it; thankfully, God’s Holy Spirit gives us power and wisdom, while He is sanctifying our whole being, to have the resources to stand against the devil’s schemes.
- James 4:7-10; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11
