by Justin Morton
When you think about an enemy, what comes to your mind? Maybe an enemy is someone who has harmed or hurt you, someone who has set out to make your life miserable or just someone you clash with for whatever reason. Sometimes our enemies are intentional, strategic and relentless in their pursuit of destroying us. Satan, the great adversary of our souls, is no different. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” (John 10:10). We must not forget, Satan’s ultimate goal is our spiritual ruin.
And while we would like to think that Satan only sets his sights on the weak and immature, that is not the case. He attacks those who are strong and faithful too. Throughout Scripture, we see Satan attacking individuals and causing them to stumble. David, a man after God’s own heart, fell into the sin of adultery and eventually murder (2 Samuel 11). Ananias and Sapphira were deceived into lying to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5). Demas, who at one time was a coworker of Paul’s, abandoned Paul and the ministry because of his love for the world (2 Timothy 4:10). And then there is Diotrephes, a brother who fell into the sin of pride (3 John 9). Each of these are examples who allowed themselves to be overpowered by the evil one.
We know our enemy is on the prowl, looking to destroy us (I Peter 5:8), but how does he do that? According to Paul, he disguises himself as “an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). In the garden, he took on the form of a serpent, a creature made by God, to attack Eve (Genesis 3:1). Today Satan attacks us through our friends and relationships, our culture and society, and even our own greed and selfishness.
Satan is a great schemer and while some of his attacks are obvious, other times he attacks us in very subtle ways. Sometimes he uses schemes like distraction to shift our focus to worldly things (Colossians 3:1-2) or to become more focused on ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4). Other times, he uses something like discouragement to try to make us give up because of our physical suffering (Hebrews 12:3). Satan is crafty and looks for any and every opportunity to attack us in such a way that it will lead to our spiritual ruin.
In sports, knowing your opponent’s next move is invaluable. The more you know how your opponent operates, the better you can defend against them. The same is true spiritually. The more we understand Satan’s attacks, the more equipped we are to resist him. So, as you walk out the door every morning preparing for battle, be mindful of the schemes of the devil and how he will attack you. Pray that God will help you to resist the enemy.