Many people who have trusted Jesus as their Savior have suffered repeated defeat throughout their lives simply because they don’t realize they have a spiritual enemy. It’s a deliberate, willful assault by Satan upon an individual for the purpose of doing harm in the body, mind and spirt of the believer and the quicker you recognize these attacks for what they are, the easier it is to defend against them.
Satan’s battleground is in your mind. He infiltrates the world with his lies, and even believers can be deceived. He’s always ready to interject his ideas into our minds and lead us astray by convincing us that there will be little to no consequences for sin or disobedience to God.
He directs our attention toward a need or desire.This strategy began in the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden when Satan drew Eve’s attention away from the abundance of God’s provision to the one thing He withheld, the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. And the devil has been using this same technique ever since to stir up lust for a particular person, greed for a certain possession, and envy for what belongs to another person. He promises that having the objects of our desires will satisfy us, but nothing outside God’s will ever brings lasting joy but only disaster.
Satan chooses times when we are the weakest. After Jesus fasted for 40-days and nights, Satan came to Him suggesting that He turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. Yet Jesus didn’t come to serve Himself but to obey His heavenly Father. In the same way, the devil comes to us when we are Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired? We must stop and consider that this is a satanic attack?
He creates doubt in our minds. Satan’s biggest target is the Word of God. He wants believers to rationalize themselves into disobedience by misinterpreting verses or taking them out of context to support their desired sin. Once the devil gets people to doubt the veracity of any part of the Bible or to declare those parts irrelevant or outdated, he gets a foothold in their lives from which he can promote his lies.
The devil uses deception as his key weapon. To deceive is to mislead by obscuring truth. Satan does this by making what is evil look good. He wants to create division. He tries to convince young people that the Bible is outdated and that older people lack understanding of reality. His goal is to replace unity in the family, church, and society with strife, distrust, and division. Since the Word of God promotes harmony, peace, and godliness in relationships, he begins by stirring up doubts about its truth.
To put it into context, Satan’s goal is to destroy us. If he can convince people to doubt a portion of Scripture, he can then persuade them to reject even more of it. In fact, the verses that address the area of their temptation are the first ones they begin to doubt. Here are a few passages of scripture to help you to better understand how God can help you to identify and defend against the enemy.
The Bible tells us in Romans 8:7-8; “Because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Since unbelievers are controlled by the flesh and influenced by Satan, their thoughts are opposed to God. Furthermore, without the Holy Spirit, they have no ability to obey Him or please Him.
Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” The indwelling Holy Spirit, not church attendance, baptism, or good behavior is the distinguishing mark between Christians and the rest of humanity. Although Satan still deceives and tempts believers to sin, their disobedience does not result in the loss of their salvation.
In 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” Satan is always working to mislead and blind people to the truth regarding Christ. The result is a world characterized by sin, conflict, and deception.
What kinds of battles is Satan waging in your mind? Have you been listening and considering his ideas? Or do you look to Christ and stand grounded in your faith when adversity comes? Once you gain and understanding of where these thoughts and misconceptions come from, you can trust in God that He will be your shield and deliver you from all evil.