Many writers have spoken of the “enemy of our souls,” And it stands to reason that if this enemy is targeting our souls, then he must be “unseen.” If fact, that is exactly what the Apostle Paul told the Church in Ephesus,

“Our struggle is not against flesh and blood (the traditional enemy), but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:11-12).

Paul makes it clear that there is an enemy out to destroy us, and that the real battle is a “spiritual battle.” The important thing for each of us to know is that there are rulers, powers, and evil forces in the unseen spiritual realm that are out to destroy us. Traditionally, we understand this unseen enemy to be the devil (Satan) and his entourage of demons, those who do his bidding. When challenging the religious leaders because of their pride and hardness of heart, Jesus bluntly told them that their real “father” was the devil, and that,

“…you want to carry out the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44). 

Jesus recognized the influence of the devil in a person’s life. In the context of Jesus’ encounter, he was confronting the religious leaders because they refused to believe that He was the Messiah, the Son of the living God, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. Instead, they were believing the lie that the devil had placed in their hearts that Jesus was nothing more than an “imposter,” a “charlatan.”

In addition to the devil being a “liar, and the father of lies,” Jesus also identified him as a “murderer.” Furthermore, Jesus also called him a “thief,” that is, one who is out to “steal, kill, and destroy us” (Jn. 10:10). Thus, this unseen enemy, the devil, is bent on “stealing” and “killing” our hopes and dreams, our integrity, and even our faith. These are the primary character traits of the one who is out to “destroy” us.

But that’s not all. The Bible says that he is also our “accuser,” and stands accusing us “…before God both day and night” (Rev. 12:10).

And so, in order to steal our hopes and dreams, our integrity, and even our faith, the devil focuses his attack by implanting in our hearts and minds a lie that will destroy us. His lie would go something like this,

“It’s OK to follow my plan instead of God’s plan for you. After all, my plan will give you everything that you need and desire – power, prestige, pleasure, and possessions” (the devil’s voice in your head and heart).

And then, after you have bought into his lie and acted upon it, he begins to accuse you by saying,

“See, you always knew that you were no good, and now you have proven it. You have failed as you always have. You will never be the person God wants you to be. You might as well hang it up and forget about what you call, ‘living for Christ.’ He just can’t use you anymore” (once again, the devil’s voice in your head and heart).

Once we believe the lie and then act upon it, the accusations start bombarding our hearts and minds. How do we combat this? For starters, we confront the devil’s lies with God’s truth. And that’s the subject of next week’s blog. Hope to see you then.