Just yesterday I had a person come up to me and say they had finally been able to forgive a person for something they had done. This person had been offended personally without a doubt. It was a huge step forward in life to be able to come to this point. My last word to this person was to remember that the devil would do everything possible to bring it back up in his mind. I saw this same person just a couple of hours later and it was amazing how quickly the devil acted. When this person got home they received a call. The person on the other end of the phone was unknown but wanted to let this person know that they knew who had offended and that it really did happen. Now, how does a person who does not even know a person call and bring something like this up in a conversation? The adversary is at work. Scripture tells us “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” (Eph 6:12, ESV). The devil wants to but barriers in your way when you make a decision for Christ. This decision can be for salvation, restoration, reconciliation, forgiveness or any direction God leads you. You must know that you will be faced with opposition in these areas of your life. We must remember “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” (Rom 8:37, ESV).
Warren Wiersbe gave a great study of the Strategies of Satan in his book by the same title. The devil is going to:
1. Lie to you to make you ignorant of God’s will (Eve).
2. Attack your body to make you impatient with God’s will (Job)
3. Lift your pride to make you independent of God’s will (David)
4. Accuse you to make you indicted by God’s will (Joshua the high priest).
Your defense is:
1. The Word of God
2. The Grace of God
3. The Spirit of God
4. The Son of God.
This is why we must wear the armor of God (Eph 6). It is not to look like a Christian. It is to be ready for battle. Are you ready?
