As authentic Believers, greater is He who abides within us than the god of this world, the father of lies, and the deceiver of the brethren (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 8:44; Revelation 12:9-11). Satan’s strategies to obliterate us are multiple, and we can avoid stumbling into his snares if we are aware of them, as well as God’s counter-behaviors that can ruin his deceptive intentions.
Satan often plants prideful thoughts in our mind to take the praise for what God does in our life. We may not want to sound “spooky spiritual” by saying, “God led me to …” or “The Lord told me to … “ Therefore, we just say something like, “I decided to …” or “I realized … “. This robs God of His glory and puts the focus on our self instead.
Satanic spirits also tempt us to use our natural talents and abilities rather than depending on God’s wisdom and power within us. This habit robs us of receiving God’s grace to do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13); and we never really accomplish the greater works, which God prepared for us to do before we were ever born (John 14:12; Ephesians 2:8-10).
Pride in our heart always comes before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Our failings and disappointments in life multiple by the day if we think we are smarter, more talented, have more initiative, or strive harder to reach our humanistic goals in life rather than to humble our self in the sight of the Lord (James 4:10).
Prayer:
Father God, our communion with You through Your Spirit is more pleasurable than any habit or hobby that we develop as we grow into adulthood. When we delight in You, depend on You, and develop our spiritual ears in order to hear from You each moment of the day, we walk in step with Your plans for us through divine appointments and opportunities. Remind us that a three-fold chord cannot be broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
Help us to see that when we weave together Your presence in us, and our combined lives, we can withstand spiritual warfare no matter how intense it becomes. Bring unity rather than division in Your individual church families across the world and convict us when we spread discord or gossip or are tempted to say mean things to one another. We want to be a lighthouse for others to see Your goodness and to avoid the wide road to destruction.
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, satanic forces 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
