Have you ever wondered why the enemy tries so hard to bring you down? When you get a Word from the Lord and then begin to question it more and more as you ponder, why is the enemy trying to disrupt what I believe? It is important that we take those thoughts and doubts seriously and remember the truth of God’s Word.
The enemy has been deceptive from the beginning of time. In Genesis 3, the enemy uses deception to bring sin into the world. As God gave specific instructions to Adam to eat from any tree in the garden except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17), we see things shift quickly. The instructions were clear. God gave Adam the freedom to eat from all the trees except one, but yet, the enemy, in his crafty ways, used that to his advantage as he spoke to Eve, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”(See Genesis 3:1).
Although this took place when the world was first created, we see the same thing continuing today. The enemy wants nothing more than to disrupt God’s plans for our lives. He desires to place doubt and uncertainty and make us question the Word given to us by the Creator of this world. The enemy is crafty, evil, yet strategic as he desires for us to look to him instead of our Father.
Whether or not you grew up in an environment where you acknowledged the enemy at work, the truth is while on this earth, there are spiritual battles happening all the time. As Christians, we should have a desire to live a life pleasing to the Lord, but there is an enemy constantly fighting against that. The enemy wants to keep us stagnant; he wants us to not populate the kingdom of God. Spiritual warfare is real, and we have to be intentional in recognizing the enemy at work. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Scripture is clear that we will wrestle because of the warfare taking place on earth.
Have you ever wondered why the enemy tries so hard to bring you down? When you get a Word from the Lord and then begin to question it more and more as you ponder, why is the enemy trying to disrupt what I believe? It is important that we take those thoughts and doubts seriously and remember the truth of God’s Word. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 reminds us “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.”
When I think about the sneaky tools of deception the enemy uses to keep me from being obedient to the Word, it bothers me. When I see him doing the same thing to my loved ones, it makes me mad because I know that there’s something beautiful behind our obedience. There is something great that the enemy wants to keep us from. When God gives us instructions, it is never just for us; He is always using our obedience to bless others, and the enemy despises that. He will stop at nothing to disrupt the Gospel message from moving forward.
This is why it is important for us to recognize his attacks and stand firm on the Word of God.
Below are some of the sneaky tools of deception from the enemy:
Twisting the Word of God: When Jesus was led into the wilderness, we see the enemy attempt to use the Word of God out of context to tempt Jesus (See Matthew 4:5-7). This temptation shows how even the enemy knows the Scripture, yet he will try to use it to twist the Word of God for his benefit–not the benefit of those doing the Lord’s will. As believers, it is important for us to get the Word in our hearts so we can recognize when our Father’s words are being used for the greater good versus personal agendas. We have to contend for the faith.
Planting Doubt Amongst the Truth: This was evident in the garden as the enemy asked “did God really say?" (Genesis 3:1). It is the enemy's oldest trick, yet it is still working on believers today. The enemy knows our weaknesses, but we have to be bold Christians standing on the truth of God’s Word–if God said it, we need to believe it no matter how unqualified we may feel or what we lack. As believers, we have to protect what we put into our minds that will make us question the truth.
Elevating Fear: The enemy uses fear to cripple us. Throughout Scripture we read, “do not be afraid” and “fear not”. I think Jesus was showing us how fear will keep us from obedience if we listen to the enemy versus trusting Him. It is not by accident that those words are written many times in the Bible. We have to remember how we will experience fear in this life, but we cannot allow fear to keep us from being obedient to our Father.
The enemy is always looking for an opportunity to get ahold of God’s children. He knows God has placed something beautiful inside of you. Take notice of his timing and get yourself prepared.“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).
To combat the enemy, we have to remember we have the whole armor of God. Our Father has already equipped us with the tools needed while on earth. Ephesians 6:11-18 says to “put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
We can’t forget to pray. It is our way of communicating with the One who will guide us throughout life. We have been given direct access to our Father, and prayer is a powerful tool that can help us combat the tricks of the enemy. Let’s recognize the enemy at work and always pray to our Father when we feel warfare taking place. Prayer is powerful and can shift a situation.
You are precious to your Father, and the enemy sees it. He would not try this hard to deceive you if there wasn’t something special on the inside of you. Stand firm against the enemy, and remember, your Father has already equipped you for spiritual warfare while here on earth. God is faithful to His word, and we have to be confident in His truth.
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