The Lord Jesus said the thief comes not except to steal, kill, and destroy (see John 10:10). This means the enemy has no good purpose for our lives; whenever he comes, it's always to do something bad to us.
The enemy makes use of everything at his disposal in order to do his thing to us: he deceives us, harasses us, sets up bad things to happen to us, and simply harms us.
If you're in Christ Jesus, that's all the enemy can ever do to you. Christ's finished work and victory on the cross and over the grave assures us of total victory every single time the enemy comes to attack us.
Knowing that, we've got to learn how to respond to the enemy's attacks.
Do you feel like the devil is attacking you? Here are three Biblically victorious ways to respond to him.
1) Be immovable
1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us that we must be immovable and steadfast, knowing that our labor for the Lord will never be in vain.
We've got to set our face like flint to pursue the Lord's will no matter how much the devil will try to harass us.
Neil Anderson, author of the "Bondage Breaker," tells us that our walk as Christians is best illustrated by a man walking through a straight street.
Imagine yourself as a man walking down the street, towards the other end where Christ is waiting. On both sides of the street there are houses and buildings where demons stay. They can shout insults and discouragements to you from the windows and doors, but they can never go out to pull you into any.
As you progress further the harassment increases: a while ago they only shouted, now they're throwing things at you. But these things can't kill you, only hurt you.
All you need to do is keep going towards Christ. The enemy will try to harass and discourage you from pursuing Jesus, but he can't kill you. Just keep going.
2) Rebuke him
Ever noticed that Jesus empowered the disciples to cast out demons and evil spirits? In Mark 16, we read that He empowered every believer to do that.
"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17-18)
In Christ, we have the authority to drive the enemy away. When he tries to confuse your mind and throw it into a chaotic state, choose to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
When your emotions rage and you feel discouraged, stand fast on the truth that God is the Lifter of your head.
Rebuke the enemy is Jesus' name. He makes the enemy tremble in fear.
3) Ignore him
Did you know that in Christ, you can simple ignore the enemy's attempts to tempt you? That you can ignore his attempts to discourage you?
Yes, you can do that in Christ.
Fear is like that: the more you entertain fearful thoughts without confronting them with the truth of God's love, the more you will fear. The best way to shut it down is to dwell on God's truth and ignore the devil's lies.
Philippians 4:8-9 gives us a list of things to meditate on and do:
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
When we meditate on these things, we won't have room for the devil's antics anymore. We only have room for God.
