It's sad to see in the news today what's happening in the Middle East. War is a terrible thing and it always brings destruction. But seeing in the news the conflict and destruction, I am always reminded that sometimes we are no better off. What do I mean by that? Well, in the physical, we may not be experiencing much conflict. But in the spiritual, we are all at war.
We all have an enemy: Satan. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." We have an enemy and we have to watch out for the ways that Satan attacks us.
Here are three attacks from Satan that we must always be on guard against and how we can fight them.
Deception
John 8:44 refers to the Devil as the "father of all lies." One of the ways Satan will try to take you off God's ways or God's plans is to deceive you into thinking something that may appear to be the truth but is actually a subtle and pervasive lie. We can best protect ourselves from his deceptions by always remembering God's Word and meditating on it day and night.
Psalm 119:11 says, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." More than just the act of reading the Bible, we must line up with the principles and values of God and be led by the Holy Spirit to live out God's Word so that His truth and His light will shine to and through us.
Condemnation
We've all made mistakes, and the enemy wants to never let us go beyond them. Satan is the greatest guilt-tripper the world will ever know. He wants you to believe that you are beyond forgiveness and that the damage your mistakes can cause is irreversible. But God's forgiveness knows no bounds because Jesus has paid all the penalty there is for sin on the cross two thousand years ago.
Isaiah 59:1 says, "Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear." Whatever sins you have committed, if they have been surrendered to God, we are now free of their power and consequences. In the same way Jesus spoke to the condemned woman, He tells us to "go and sin no more."
Accusation
Satan doesn't just stop with sins we have committed. Sometimes he also tries to accuse us of things we have not committed. If you feel bad about something that is beyond your control or beyond your doing, know that it may be one of Satan's ways to strip you of God's best.
We face a formidable enemy, but greater is He that is in us that he that is in the world. Prolonged guilt is not God's will for you, He longs for you to feel freedom in His love. In John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
