The Bible tells us that satan is a formidable foe. He steals, he kills, he destroys. When he speaks, lies are all that come out of his mouth. He slanders, he deceives, he coaxes, he bullies; he does whatever he can to trip up as many people as he can.
Remember this: “The prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:11). He wants to take as many victims down with him as he can! Look what the Bible says about his powers—
- He is more crafty (Genesis 3:1). This means he is extremely subtle. He seldom throws a huge blatant sin right in your face, but he whispers subtle suggestions.
- He operates with mighty powers (Ephesians 6:12). He knows how to match strength for strength.
- He knows the Bible (Luke 4:9-11). The difference is he only knows the words, but the scriptural text is not illuminated by the Holy Spirit to him.
- He waits for the most opportune time (Luke 4:13) to pounce.
But “…that satan might outwit us… we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11). What are his schemes?
- Pride—“You can do it yourself.” This was his original downfall, and now he will use it on you.
- Second-guessing—“Did God really say…?” (Genesis 3:1). He will try to make you think that God’s Word is out-of-date or irrelevant to you.
- Condemning. Notice that satan wasn’t around when God showed up in the Garden of Eden. Instead he leaves you feeling like you’re unacceptable to God and that you need to hide from Him.
The way we overcome satan is the same way Jesus did it: Jesus quoted Scripture to refute each of satan’s temptations (see Luke 4:1-13). We are victorious in the exact same manner!
Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony… (Revelation 12:10-11).
Don’t try to go toe-to-toe with the devil because he is too strong for you to handle on your own! But with God’s Word as your weapon and the Holy Spirit as your Counselor, you can hurl him down every time!
Craig T. Owens 