Can A Christian Stop An Animal Attack?

Fatigue. Feet. Stress. Temptation. Fright. Despair. Lies. Revenge. Sound familiar? These are some of the devil's favorite schemes for eroding our organized religion in God. He wants us to believe that nosotros're stuck, that our situation is hopeless, that defeat is our destiny. If we're not careful, these deceptions prepare the states on a glace gradient to spiritual defeat.

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Satan's Contour: The Father of Lies
Satan's Playbook: 8 Spiritual Attacks
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Satan'due south Profile: The Begetter of Lies

John Wesley wrote, "As the almost unsafe winds may enter at little openings, so the devil never enters more dangerously than by picayune unobserved incidents, which seem to be cipher, yet insensibly open the heart to dandy temptations."^ane The all-time way to wall off our heart from Satan's enticements is to know the Scriptures. They teach the states how to withstand the enemy's ploys by giving us a glimpse of his character, tactics, and purpose. Hither are a few descriptions of Satan from the Bible.

• Murderer. Jesus told a group of unbelieving Jews, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your begetter yous want to exercise. He was a murderer from the showtime" (John 8:44).
• Liar. Standing in John 8:44, Jesus described Satan'due south deception: "[The devil] does not stand in the truth, because in that location is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the male parent of it."
• Predator. According to one Peter 5:viii: "Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."

Knowing these facts about our enemy, why do we all the same fall into his traps? Oft, we give in to distractions. Corrie x Boom said, "If the devil cannot make usa bad, he will make us busy." Satan creates all sorts of distractions to proceed us from studying our Bibles, attention church building, and praying. He volition do anything to continue us from realizing that Jesus already defeated him at the cross (Colossians 2:15) and that we can overcome his schemes (Ephesians 6:11).

Some struggles accept physical solutions. We might reduce our fatigue past getting more than residual or amend our spirits by enjoying the company of loved ones. But if we're not careful, Satan moves the boxing to the spiritual realm. He waits for a moment of weakness and then tells us we're solitary in the struggle. As worry fills our centre, we wonder how we volition always see the deadline, restore that relationship, or pay all the bills. Fear and feet abound to the point that they seem like unavoidable realities.

Nothing could exist further from the truth. We can be confident that "He who has begun a good work in [us] will consummate it until the solar day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Psalm 121 describes God as a helper, a keeper, and the preserver of our soul. "He will non allow your foot to be moved…. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this fourth dimension along, and fifty-fifty forevermore" (Psalm 121:3, 7-eight). God never leaves us helpless.

Satan'south Playbook: viii Spiritual Attacks

In addition to assurances of God's beloved and support, the Bible promises that God will equip u.s. to overcome the enemy's schemes.

Fatigue.

For generations, the nation of State of israel rebelled against God. Eventually, He withdrew His protection and allowed the Babylonians to carry them into exile. The people quickly lost middle. When they complained that God was no longer concerned about their welfare, He sent a prophet named Isaiah to assure them. Isaiah asked the people, "Why exercise yous say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel: 'My way is subconscious from the Lord, and my but merits is passed over by my God?' Have you not known? Have you non heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength" (Isaiah 40:27-29).

Accept you lost heart? Do you feel as if God has forgotten you lot? Residue assured, when y'all are at the end of your rope, God is simply getting started. Just equally He delivered Israel from Babylon, Almighty God will give y'all force to endure your trials.

Anxiety.

Proverbs 12:25 says, "Anxiety in the center of man causes depression, just a good discussion makes it glad." The campaigner Peter offered a good give-and-take simply before the poesy that describes Satan as a prowling king of beasts. He said, "Apprehensive yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you lot in due fourth dimension, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter five:six-vii).

What is the key to living in God'due south presence? Humility. When we understand that we are powerless to face Satan in our own strength, nosotros begin to grasp the depth of our need for God. And if we are feeling overburdened, there is an fantabulous chance we are hanging on to responsibilities that aren't ours to carry. They belong to God.

Stress.

The Bible does not mention stress, simply it has enough to say about stressful situations. King David was someone who faced many trials. He fought wild fauna, a giant, and a king every bit a young homo. Afterward in life, his own son attempted to assassinate him. Although God did not remove the stressful situations from David's life, He sustained David through them. And Scripture promises that God will do the same for us. In Psalm 55:22, David wrote, "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

Our office in the matter is to trust God's promises and rely on His loving kindness. When Satan attacks, may nosotros bring together Male monarch David in saying, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my middle greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him" (Psalm 28:7).

Temptation.

Success oft presents a greater danger than trouble. When things are going well, Satan encourages usa to trust our abilities rather than relying on God. Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a autumn." Information technology is the oldest play in the enemy's book. He convinced Eve to eat forbidden fruit past telling her it would open her optics, and she would "be like God, knowing adept and evil" (Genesis 3:5). Our weaknesses may exist different from Eve'due south, simply the tactic is the same: Satan appeals to our desires.

For this reason, Paul warns, "Allow him who thinks he stands have listen lest he autumn. No temptation has overtaken you except such every bit is mutual to man; merely God is faithful, who will not let you to be tempted across what you lot are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may exist able to carry it" (ane Corinthians ten:12-xiv). With a humble heart and God's guidance, we can withstand temptation.

Fear.

The only thing we have to fear is… God. Wars cannot be won without bravery, but President Roosevelt'south famous speech overlooked a crucial factor. Jesus instructed His disciples not to "fright those who kill the body just cannot kill the soul. Merely rather fearfulness Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew x:28).

The disciples had more reason to be afraid than near. Those complicit in Jesus' expiry actively hunted down His followers. How could Jesus expect them not to exist frightened? Considering He besides said, "I volition never leave y'all nor abdicate you lot" (Hebrews 13:5). Their greatest adversaries were no match for the Rex of kings and Lord of lords. This truth gave them the courage to respond, "The Lord is my helper; I will non fear. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews xiii:6)

If you feel overwhelmed, shift your focus from the trouble to the solution. In the midst of your struggle, Jesus is standing beside yous. He volition never abandon you, and zero is incommunicable for Him (Mark 10:27).

Despair.

When Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthian church, he had endured 5 lashings, iii beatings, a stoning, three shipwrecks, frequent imprisonments, and more than (2 Corinthians eleven:23-27). To make matters worse, imitation teachers in the church were slandering him and questioning his credentials equally an apostle. Under such force per unit area, many believers would have doubted their calling or God's goodness. Merely Paul did non waver. He explained, "We are difficult-pressed on every side, yet non crushed; we are perplexed, simply not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck downwardly, simply not destroyed" (2 Corinthians four:8-ix, emphasis added).

Becoming a Christian does not mean our trouble ends. As Paul testified, it often intensifies. Even so, faith assures u.s. of ultimate victory in the course of eternal salvation through Christ Jesus. We may non see the purpose behind our pain, just we can trust the Lord to smooth through our brokenness. His grace is sufficient, and His "force is made perfect in weakness" (ii Corinthians 12:9).

Lies.

Luke 4 records one of the most bright accounts of spiritual warfare anywhere in Scripture. While Jesus was fasting in the wilderness, Satan tempted him three times. At that place are many rich lessons we tin can draw from this passage, but let's focus on the third temptation in verses 9-12:

And then he [Satan] brought Him [Jesus] to Jerusalem, set Him on the elevation of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For information technology is written: 'He shall requite His angels charge over you lot, to keep you,' and, 'In their easily they shall behave you up, lest you nuance your foot against a stone.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'Yous shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"

Satan's set on began with an set on on Jesus' identity as the Son of God. From in that location, he tried to erode Jesus' dependence on God. And did you catch what he did next? Satan tempted Jesus to sin past quoting Scripture (Psalm 91:xi-12). While his recitation was authentic, his application was not. Instead of fabricating an out-and-out prevarication, Satan attacked Jesus' human relationship with the Father and distorted biblical truth.

Nosotros don't have to look far to find this tactic at work in our globe today. Many sincere Christians take wandered from sound doctrine past accepting fractional truths and doubting their relationship with God. Our best hope for resisting Satan is to respond as Jesus did and anchor our thoughts in Scripture. In the words of the apostle Paul, "We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments" (2 Corinthians 10:iv, NLT).

Ephesians six:fourteen commands u.s.a., "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth." Earlier, Paul wrote that "the truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians four:21). The truth we stand on—the truth of who God is, what Jesus did for u.s.a., and who we are in Christ Jesus—is meant to permeate everything we do. In the battle for our minds, we tin refute Satan'southward lies.

Revenge.

Have you lot e'er watched a movie or a play in which a character seemed to be getting away with such a grave injustice that you could inappreciably await for the offender to go his due? Travesties of justice stir the emotions. They create momentary, knee-wiggle reactions that stoke our longing for revenge.

The biblical writers were not immune to this struggle. Throughout the psalms, David cried out to God against injustice. On one occasion, he said, "Arise, O Lord, confront him, cast him down; deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword" (Psalm 17:13). In other words, "God, take him out!" Simply David was far from blameless. When he fell for Bathsheba, David sent her husband—one of his most faithful soldiers—to certain expiry (2 Samuel xi:15, 17).

Sometime later, God confronted David through a prophet named Nathan. As you might imagine, Nathan was reluctant to rebuke his king, so he started the conversation with a parable about a rich man who mistreated a poor man (2 Samuel 12:1-four). Non realizing he was the rich man, David became incensed and said, "As the Lord lives, the human being who has washed this shall surely die! And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this matter and because he had no pity" (ii Samuel 12:v-6).

David's response teaches united states of america something most our desire for vengeance: We deal much more severely with others than nosotros would deal with ourselves. Like many of Satan'due south other schemes, longing for revenge begins with righteous intentions—we don't want to run into abuses of power or stand by equally innocent people get hurt. The danger comes when we effort to stand in God's place and verbal vengeance on our own terms. Scripture says, "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, merely rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 12:19).

Our Protection: The Truth of Scripture

When spiritual battles mount, Scripture is our first line of defense. It contains the mind of Christ between ii covers. John's Gospel says, "And the Word [Jesus] became flesh and dwelt amongst usa, and we beheld His glory, the glory equally of the only begotten of the Male parent, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Afterwards, Jesus told His disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Begetter except through Me" (John fourteen:half-dozen).

Past standing squarely on the truth of who God is and who we are in Christ, we can resist the enemy's attacks. Christ Jesus has already claimed victory, and He will not leave us caught. In the words of ii Peter 2:9, "The Lord knows how to evangelize the godly out of temptations." When nosotros walk in Truth, nosotros gain the power to overcome deceptions like fatigue, anxiety, stress, temptation, fear, despair, lies, and revenge.

Sources:

ⁱ John Wesley, A Apparently Account of Christian Perfection, (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1966), 110.

Proceed your study of spiritual warfare with these other manufactures by David Jeremiah:

8 Signs You're in a Spiritual Boxing

How to Defeat Satan

iv Strategies for Confronting Spiritual Darkness on Halloween

What Does the Bible Say Virtually Lucifer, Demons, and the Nephilim? Understanding the Origins of Evil

Spiritual Warfare Prayer

20 Verses for Taming Temptation

Angels and Demons Q&A

See all spiritual warfare articles hither >

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