“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand.”
– Matthew 6:12-13 [KJV]
There’s a saying in the black church, “there’s a devil on every level.” Satan will do anything to make us feel anxious about everyday life; so many Christians I know struggle with anxiety because the world has gotten crazier. This past year has made people scared of giving a handshake because of Coronavirus.
Satan is a very tactical spirit. He doesn’t just come with a cliched pitchfork with horns. Satan comes as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). His goal is to deceive us into thinking God is not good enough for us. He uses the things we like as replacements for God.
Satan hates a Christian who’s on fire for Jesus, so he’ll use any and everything to turn us away from God. Satan could be at your job, in your family’s barbeque, or even at church. Identifying Satan isn’t always easy, but here are some common ways Satan comes at Christians:
1. Turning Our Desires Into Sin. Satan (as I mentioned earlier) comes as an angel of light; he pretends to be our best friend until we hit rock-bottom. The Devil knows what we crave, so he uses those earthly desires and turns them into sinful desires. You may desire to be with a man or a woman, so The Devil will leverage that by making us lust after people who God would never want us with in the first place. When you find yourself overindulging in things, not of God, then something is up.
2. Evil Thoughts. Our thoughts aren’t always pure, but Satan will suggest to us thoughts that are just plain wicked. I’m talking about thoughts of suicide, self-harm, murder, adultery, etc. Paul told us to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) because our thoughts are where our actions began.
3. Lowering Our Self Worth. This is a big one, right here. Many Christians struggle with insecurity because of their family upbringing, being bullied in school, or being rejected. The Devil wants us to feel that we’re not good enough by making us compare ourselves to the world. God doesn’t create us all the same, and not all of us will have the same life (1 Peter 2:9).
Those are just a few common examples of how the Devil attacks Christians. None of us are exempt from temptation, but we all can fight it through the power of Scripture, just like Jesus did in Matthew Chapter 4.
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