Before you read this, ask the Holy Spirit to hover over you, your thoughts and your heart. May you be transformed and be freed through Christ our Savior.
The devil is not the red guy with the horns who media likes to portray. The devil is a spirit, a shrewd and aware spirit. The devil took hold of the world through sin, Jesus undid this but free will of man allows man to choose between good and evil.
I used to think evil only meant things that are shockingly bad and vile. Evil is anything that contravenes who God and His holiness. Which is essentially who are by default cause of sin. Jesus came and made us right with God and made us as white as snow .
“Therefore my people have gone into captivity, Because they have no knowledge; Isaiah 5:13 NKJV
Remember the Bible does also say God's people are perishing as a result of a lack of knowledge. A knowledge I believe we lack is who the devil actually is and how he actually operates.
The Aim of the Devil
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. John 10:10 NLT
STEAL:
What is important to you that the Lord has given to you? Meditate on this.
It could be your calling, your job, your family, your friends or a relationship. The devil is after the good things in your life not the lukewarm parts of us and the greatest good thing is the pillar of relationship you have with God.
KILL:
I guess I should clarify that the killing in question is not the types of things you see in Law and Order (cue Law and Order theme song).
You know how when someone puts you in a chokehold long enough, your air supply wanes and you pass out, and if the air supply is cut out long enough, you can become brain dead or just dead.
The killing here is a suffocation of the good things God has placed in our lives e.g His word, the gift He put in us. If you are suffocated long enough, you stop bearing any fruit. Remember the parable of the sower, when the seeds were thrown on the thorny ground, they were choked out. The Devils plan is to keep us preoccupied mentally, physically and spiritually. The longer you are preoccupied with things that feed your flesh and not your spirit the longer you wither away.
A practical tip is, a cue that I am preoccupied is not only the recurrence of my sin but my reaction to my sin after the fact. If repentance is my response then the Holy Spirit is doing His mighty work in me, if I am nonchalant about it I am in trouble.
DESTROY:
I believe a good example of destruction is the story of Adam and Eve. I believe if we look at what the devil asked Eve, we see who's image he tried to destroy in her eyes: did God really say?
This is an insinuation that God is a liar, a God who holds out on us and that is an absolute lie! A God who was willing to give up His only son so you could be with Him is a God who knows love beyond what we could ever understand.
The only one holding out on us is the devil, the devil gives you parts of the truth and hopes you bite the bullet.
The Devil is after the image we have of God and His position in our lives. Stand guard to your heart.
A little nugget is these steps happen in this exact order when the devil is after our affections. He steals our heart for God, suffocates the supply of what fuels our heart for God (scripture, worship, the church) and destroys the position of God in your life.
Dear God, I pray that whoever is reading this may the light of God shine in the darkness that resides in areas of your life. May truth take hold of what the devil has hidden. You are free, Jesus has made you free. We are free and if Jesus left the grave behind, so should we.
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE WHEN THE DEVIL IS AT WORK AMONG US
The simple and true answer is you act out of character with what the Bible says.
The fleshed out answer is as they say “the devil is in the details”. Most of how the devil operates is in the day to day thoughts, actions and opinions .
In Friendships
”Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”“ Matthew 16:23 NLT
Friendships are good for us, two are better than one, sweet friendships freshen the soul. There’s countless verses in the bible exalting healthy friendships. There’s also verses warning of the effects of association with fools or leading each other astray in friendship.
In the verse above, Peter although his heart was in the right place, temperament made him advise against God's will. The devil will speak through friends even when we do not realise it or even if our friends do not realise it. If Peter had taken time to dig deep and look back at all the prophecies he would have realised what Jesus was doing was in fulfilment of God’s word.
It is important to pray for our friends that God may give them the strength to discern what scripture says. As friends we need to stay close to God and close to scripture so that we may give sound advice.
Our Fears
”What I always feared has happened to me. What I dreaded has come true.“ Job 3:25 NLT
The difference between Satan and God is, Satan takes our fears and uses them to berate us and accuse us of not believing in the first place, God uses our fears to sanctify us. Our fears are a great indicator of where we need to ask God to touch us.
Some fears we have are to losing our jobs or to not get the job, to lose a relative to lose a partne or to lose our lives. The question I have is behind all the fear, where do you think God will be as the fear unfolds.
I will share a personal experience I had a year ago, my worst fear as an international student happened. The extension of my visa was rejected in a country I had lived for 5 years. My whole early adulthood and relationships were uprooted and I had to leave. I had to leave the comfort of the home I had created, my job, my partner, my church and all the dreams and hopes I had of what my life would look like at that age. I had replayed this scenario in my head many times and thought if this ever happened to me, I wouldn’t survive it. My faith and my relationship are a 100 times stronger because of it.
On the other side of your fear, is the key to the connection you’ve been longing for with God. Trust me, I know.
In Relationships
”His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”“ Job 2:9 NLT
For those in relationships, actually not only relationships. For those with friends, parents, lovers etc you know they root for you and will always want to see you at your best or out of a hurtful situation.
I know a few times I have advised my friends to handle a situation in a way God would not agree with, because I love them. We must not hold the opinions of our loved ones closer to our chest than the word of God.
God loves us with a love that is not temperamental but a love that is sound and true. Our loved ones sometimes love us with a love that is not true and sometimes temperamental.
I pray we love our loved ones in the way the Lord loves them. An honest, true and correct love.
Within Ourselves
”What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever?“ 2 Corinthians 6:15 NLT
This I believe is the most common way the devil operates, we are ourselves after all. We spend the most time with ourselves.
What things do you say to yourself, or convince yourself that the Bible has rejected.
Do you choose yourself or do you follow your heart? Do you say it as it is regardless of what people feel or do you live your life as you please because we live it once?
I am praying for anyone who reads this that God lights through the darkness and the lies. Next week will be the second part of this, which is How Do We Combat The Devil.
Love you all! Thanks for reading!
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