Who: Satan

What: His schemes, plots, tactics

When: ALL THE TIME

Where: In your home, in your family, in your neighborhood, in your city, in your state, in our country, in the world. In essence: EVERYWHERE and ANYWHERE he can find a way in.

Why: To divide us from God and each other

How:  The isolation tactics of guilt, judgment, shame, and suspicion (pg. 156)

Reading through the above list may seem daunting and a bit scary to you. In one sense, I hope it is. I say that because if you do not understand the reality of Satan working in this world, you will not prepare yourself. You will not be ready for the battles that will eventually come your way, if they haven’t already. When these battles come, they are a prime opportunity for Satan to try to wiggle his way into your life. But if you know his tactics…if you know his schemes…if you know where he can target your weaknesses…you can better prepare yourself NOW.

Our author presents three methods of countering Satan’s attacks – love, power, and a sound mind.

Love

“Hate lives in the dark; love lives in the light ” (pg. 157).

Biblical love is something that is impossible for us to achieve on our own. Thankfully, we have a Lord who is capable and wants to work through us to show that love to our broken world. He wants us to seek Him. He wants to teach us what true love really is. We get a glimpse of it in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

Love is patient; love is kind. Love does not envy; is not boastful; is not conceited; does not act improperly; is not selfish; is not provoked; does not keep a record of wrongs; finds no joy in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (HCSB)

Taking this one step further, we are not called to just love our spouse or family in this way.

And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these (Mark 12:31 MSG)

The first commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second is to love others (some translations say “your neighbor”) as yourself. Humans, generally, are a pretty selfish bunch. We are pretty self-centered and pursue what pleases our own selves to the detriment of others. Jesus is saying in this passage that we are to love everyone around us (no exclusions) as much as we love ourselves.

When we walk in love, in the light, our perspective changes. We are no longer looking for the things someone did to wrong us or the ways in which someone should pay us back. When we walk in light, when we are “Jesus with skin on” to those around us, we defeat Satan’s schemes. He cannot do his dirty work through us when we love every person we come into contact with. The light snuffs out the darkness. Strongholds are broken, relationships are restored, trust is rebuilt, Satan flees, and the Lord rejoices!

But, I must restate again… we cannot do it on our own. We must seek God to learn how to live out this type of love. Study His Word and let Him show you how to love others as yourself. Ask Him for answers and He will give them.

Power

“You are his prized possession, redeemed to proclaim all that he did when he called you out of a life of darkness to live forever in the glory of his light. That’s the power of your testimony” (pg. 158).

The second way we counter Satan’s attacks is by knowing our position with God. Satan tries to divide us from God. He attempts to make us think that we are not worthy or good enough. He uses our past sins against us however he can. But, ladies, we must remember that we are descendants of a ‘chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession’ (1 Peter 2:9). We were called out of darkness to proclaim the glorious riches that we know exist in Jesus Christ our Lord. The power of the Holy Spirit resides within each of us, as believers, to do His work here on earth. We must seek Him and allow that power to work in and through us to effect change in our world. Ultimately, our #1 assignment is to be an ambassador for Christ and to let His Will be done in our lives.

Sound Mind

“The Word of God has the power to renew your mind and change it from unsound to sound” (pg. 158).

One of the ways Satan attacks us is through our mind. Our thoughts can wreak havoc, breeding a multitude of negative thoughts before we even know what happened! Lately, I have felt so distressed with the events of our world. I was bogged down in the misery, tragedy, and ugliness of the events that surrounded me. Day after day, I would read another news story about a tragic event in the world and my thoughts would spiral. Thankfully, my Lord (and some good friends!) helped me through this time. It does not take long; Satan will use any trick in his arsenal to try to get you. He will target you however he can.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is. Romans 12:2 NLT, emphasis added

This is my life verse. God brings it to my attention quite often. I constantly need to remind myself that I need to change my mindset. I need to counter Satan’s attacks by centering my thoughts on God and His Truth. When our minds are filled with God’s Word, we can immediately wield it against Satan’s attacks.

Love, Power, and a Sound Mind. It all comes back to God’s Word. Satan wants to divide us from God. We must stand firm and wield our weapon of truth and light in the midst of these attacks.

*****

Let’s Pray: Father, Your Word is Holy and True. We know that Satan wants to defeat us. He wants to destroy our relationship with you. Thankfully, Lord, we know that the ultimate victory is already won. Strengthen us in our daily walk, Lord. Help us live out a bold faith. Give us courage and strength to face the attacks when they happen and to turn immediately to You for wisdom and discernment. We thank You that we can come to You at any time, with any need, and we know that You will hear it and answer it in Your perfect timing. Thank you, Father. We love You and praise Your Holy Name. Amen.