Stop Blaming Satan. Resist him
Dear Saints,
Stop Blaming Satan. Resist him.
God knows whatever you are going through right now and knew it before you were born. Please read Psalm 139, one of my favorites. We act as if our struggles in life are surprises to God. Is He the Father or not? Is He God or not?
Are you giving too much credit to Satan than he deserves? Satan is a being created by God. If we do not have the proper perspective of our Father God, we may think everything of pain that comes our way is from Satan. Some of us are chasing/binding/casting Satan from morning till night. Can we give much of this airtime in thanksgiving and praise to God instead of Satan? Our Father God loves us too much and can discipline us even with things that are painful for our good and for His glory.
Is there Satan in this world? Yes for now until bound up - Revelation 20. Jesus talked about him and his job description is to “kill, steal and destroy.” Satan was totally defeated by Jesus on the cross. “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” Colossians 2:15.
On this vantage, apostle Peter picks up to remind and instruct the suffering pilgrims as follows:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-11.
Before we embark on resisting the devil, Peter had said, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7.
We must first humble ourselves before God; knowing that He is the only God. Then we must cast all our cares upon God, who loves and cares for us very much. With confidence that our Father is in charge and in control all the time, we can then go forward to resist Satan. Satan is no equal to our mighty God. There’s no power sharing between God and Satan. It’s not 50/50. It is 100/000. We must resist Satan. But how?
First thing is to be “sober” or clear headed, not drunk with foolish thinking. No wonder we are instructed to “be filled with the Spirit” Ephesians 5:18. Next is to be vigilant and watchful. We must pay attention to our surroundings, business, children, spouses and anything of eternal value to us. What is going on we should ask. Is it in line with God’s will and character?
The Holy Spirit will show us when Satan is messing with us and when God is disciplining us. We must distinguish the two. We dare not resist the discipline of God but rather repent and accept it and turn to God for His grace.
If it’s truly Satan, then we are instructed to resist him “steadfastly in the faith.” Steadfast is not a one-time thing. It is repeated acts of multiple times. “The faith” is the faith in Jesus Christ, our ultimate faith in the cross. It’s the faith that saved us from iniquity and sin. We go back to the cross and remind Satan what happened to him as a result of Jesus’ death on the cross. He was totally defeated and as such he must get out of here. He has no enforcing rights.
Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. If you are not rich in the Word of God, you may be meat for Satan because you cannot adequately resist him. He “devours”.
Jesus rebuked and resisted Satan by the Word of God. Our Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. We must speak Jesus Christ to Satan because he cannot withstand Christ.
I often use the words of Jesus, “get thee behind me Satan”. I repeat it often during the day as Satan comes to harass, reminding me of what God has not done for me. Tell him all the great and countless things God has done; and the number one is that He has made me righteous in Christ. Satan is still in sin and never repented so he will be in hell with human roommates who refuse to repent and turn to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
We are not ignorant of Satan’s “devices and schemes.” He is a liar all the time. Jesus called him the father of all lies. Satan’s strategy is to lie to us that our Father God is not good and cannot and is not taking care of us. It’s the same lie he told Adam and Eve. Please don’t listen to Satan.
Our God is good all the time. He loves us too much and died for us. “He who spared not His only Son” what else could He not do for us. For God so loved the world He gave His only Son Jesus Christ, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. If God be for us, who can be against us? No one. A life of constant gratitude to God will keep Satan away as we resist him.
Another thing going for us is that “greater is He that is in us than he that’s in the world.” 1 John 4:4. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead lives in us. We have all authority to resist Satan. In the midst of all we go through we come out better, thus, we conquer and much more because God takes the good, the bad and ugly to make the best in us and conform us to the likeness of Christ. Who shall separate us from the love of God that’s in Christ? None, not even Satan and his demons. Please read Romans 8.
I close with memories from my childhood. We had a big German shepherd dog named Bingo. He can bark so loud and will terrorize our neighbors and people feared coming to our house because of Bingo. When people came close and Bingo is doing his thing, my dad would say, come here, sit and shut up. Bingo always obeyed my dad. Satan is God’s Satan. He is a created being so God can tell him to shut up and Satan does all the time.
Like Bingo, Satan is “like a roaring lion seeking whom to devour.” Yes, his roaring will intimidate and make you fearful. Don’t back down. Run towards him and speak the Words of God, the truth to your situation. Remember David running towards Goliath? “But I come to you in the name of the LORD All-Powerful, the God of the armies of Israel.” 1 Samuel 17:42-51.
Another memory is that of confronting some of my childhood bullies. When they came after me, all I had to do is run towards my dad. They dare not come close. James 4:7-8 tells us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”
Are you submitting to God in humility and repentance? Are you drawing near to God in prayer and His Word? If not, you will be full of fear and not faith. Fear is faith without confidence in God. There must not be double minds about who God is and His mighty power. See Hebrews 11:6.
Now, let’s run to God in prayer. Lord, I thank you for dying on the cross for me. I confess my sins and lack of your Words and faith in me. Please forgive me for doubting you. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit to live holy for you. I cast all my cares upon you and I will trust you in every of my challenges and situations confronting me. Lord, please help me to resist Satan in your mighty name. Thank you, Lord, for your grace and peace. Amen.
If Jesus Christ is not your Lord and Savior, confess your sins, repent and receive forgiveness. If not, you are maybe meat for Satan and He can only “devour” forever those who are not in Christ. Satan can harass a believer in Christ but we have eternal life so he can never kill us forever. Amen.
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