The Devil Has You Convinced

It’s been interesting to see, as I’ve
traveled around the world, the different ways in which the devil
works. It’s undeniable that he is at work when you see young girls
being sold in the bars of Thailand. It’s undeniable that he is at
work when you see the poverty in places like the Philippines or
Africa. It’s undeniable he is at work when you see starving children.
But one thing I’ve come to realize is that it’s not so easy to see
how the devil works in America. And that’s just the way he wants it.
He doesn’t want us to catch on to his schemes and mess up his plans.
The devil has done a very good job convincing us that he doesn’t
exist.

I’ve realized it is hard to identify
the spiritual warfare going on in America. I’ve felt the heaviness
and the weight of the spiritual realm when I’ve been in certain
countries, but back home, I really didn’t think there was an issue.
WRONG. A major way our country is under attack is that we are blind
to what is going on. How could anyone fight what they cannot see? I
love the song called ‘This is War,’ by Dustin Kensrue. There is a
line in the song that says, “This is war, like you ain’t seen…”

The devil has gotten our focus off of
God by putting distractions in our way. These distractions look
different for ever person. Living a comfortable life, for
example, could be a distraction. The devil likes to work in
subtle ways. He starts convincing us to make small compromises and
they start to pile up, until we aren’t sure how we got where we are.
In our lives we start relying more on ourselves and less on God to
provide for our needs. I know I didn’t fully understand what it meant
to be in need, until this year. For prayers to be so fervent, that the Lord would hear them and come to their rescue. In
a sense, the devil has given us the illusion that we have the power
to control things, and that’s when things get messy. Many of
us go about our days and don’t even think twice about the ways we are
being affected.

I recently listened to a podcast by
Brad Baker, called ‘The Author.’ In Brad’s sermon, he talks about how
often we ask God what His plans are for our lives, but have we ever
thought to ask what the devil’s plans are? You see, God and the devil
both have plans. Thank goodness we know whose plans will prevail, but
the devil will try many things in order to see his plans
played out. He will get you comfortable in your lifestyle, where you
work, your home, your friends, your relationships that you begin to
become fuzzy on the truth. He slowly is breaking us down, and many of
us don’t even see it. And not only is Satan real, HE’S ACTIVE. “Be
self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” (1 Peter 5:8).

How many of us have thought or said,
“well, it’s just the way things are, they’re never going to
change?” And with that said, we give up and stop fighting. NO!
That’s NOT the way things have to be; God doesn’t call us to that
life. He says in Him we can have LIFE and have it to the fullest
(John 10:10)! And one way to have LIFE to its fullest is fleeing from
the devil and not allowing him to have a foothold in your life. (Eph.
4:27)

We can do ALL things through
God! That’s exciting! And it freaks the devil out. He doesn’t want us
to realize that. He’s afraid of what we’re capable of when we
realize this power, and my friends, can I tell you…it’s BIG.
He knows, he’s known all along (why do you think he showed up in the
garden?) and he is trying everything is his power to distract us. If
the demons who lurk around on this earth tremble at the mention of
Jesus’ name, what more must they think when His followers start
waking up and fighting the battle?! Could you imagine if those who
say they are Christ followers actually prayed for nations to know
God? Could you imagine if people fasted, if they gave more than the
kept? If they reached out to the poor, the homeless, the
“untouchables,” doing those things alone, could you imagine how
very different this world would be?

Another thing I’ve realized this year
is that if you have spent time with the Lord, if you have experienced
what real love is, if you have felt what real joy is-once you’ve
encountered all of that, you can’t settle for the fake stuff any longer. In
Brad’s sermon, he put it this way, “you recognize the counterfeit
when you’ve been with the authentic.” You will know when you are
being handed the cheap stuff that the devil will try to sell you. You
will start to recognize the truth, the real deal and you won’t be so
easily convinced anymore. You won’t fall for his tricks anymore (2
Timothy 2:26). Oh sure, he will try and come up with new tricks, but
that’s why it’s so important to stay connected to God. In order not
to believe the devil’s lies, you need to be FILLED with GOD’S TRUTH.
If we know the truth, we couldn’t possibly believe the lies. AMEN!
The Lord will give you everything (the full armor and all) that
you’ll need to fight these battles for the rest of you life. And we
can rejoice in the victory we have! The war was won when Christ went
to the cross, but the devil will try to wage battles on your
life, so stay strong and don’t let him! It may even help you to sit
down and think about the areas in your life that the devil is using to try to destroy you, areas where he might have a foothold- but not for
much longer, ’cause you’re going to take that back! It could be
problems in a marriage, it could have to do with money, addictions, a
job, even something like your weight…But once you’ve identified it,
you can give it to God and ask Him to safeguard your heart against
the devil attacking you in those areas. The devil will also try to
tell you that God wouldn’t forgive you for the things you’ve done and
that’s a COMPLETE lie. God already forgave you. He loves you. You’re
His sons and daughters, how could He not love you?

And [more] good news…

For he HAS rescued us from the
dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13-14