Dancing with the Devil

One thing is certain, Satan is smart. It has become so clear over the last year that he doesn't attack all Christians equally. Think about it. If you were the devil, who would you spend your time attacking? Would you waste a lot of time on Christians who are discouraged by troubles or defeated by sin? Or would you focus your efforts on those who were living radical lives for God? The answer is obvious. If you are attacking Satan's kingdom, Satan is going to attack you. His primary goal is to block God's work in our lives.

Take a look in the book of Job and you will see Satan in action. Job was a man of God. He lived a life that honored the Lord and was making a difference with his life. He helped others. He served others. He shared God's truth and God's love with those he encountered. Job was doing damage to Satan’s evil kingdom. As a result, Satan unleashed his full arsenal against Job.

What does this mean in our daily lives? If you are living a life of sin and compromise, you probably don't have to worry much about spiritual warfare. Why would Satan waste his time and efforts on you. But if you are living a life that impacts others and honors God, watch out. Satan has you in his crosshairs.

The devil is clever, sneaky, tricky, deceptive, and works in all sorts of ways. He knows our weaknesses and focuses his attack on that particular area of our lives. One of his favorite tricks is to fill our minds with sinful thoughts, assumptions and lies in order to pit us against our own Christian friends, family, and even our spouses. In this sneaky approach he attacks many Christians at once and quickly gets them doing his evil work for him.

So what can we do to resist the devil?

• We must stay close to God and ask Him to help us recognize and overcome the devil’s attacks. God knows the evil one hates us and He has given us the ability to resist.

• We must regularly fill our minds with the truth of God's Word, and meet every temptation with prayer. If we resist the devil in accordance with the bible’s instruction, he won’t have a chance with us. He will flee away from us in terror.

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:7-8
Right now, the devil and his demons are loose on the earth. God expects us to resist every time they lash out at us. We don’t need to fear the devil. We must prepare ourselves by knowing our own weaknesses and by being cognizant of the devil’s schemes. We must stand against him face to face and resist him. We must fight the good fight of faith like good soldiers of Christ.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17