The Devil is After Me!
I know a lot of people say that the devil is after them in a joking way. I’m not joking! For several months now, I have felt like I am under attack, and, no matter how hard I try, it still seems like the devil is right there just two steps behind me and has me in his sights.
I know I’m not alone in the way I am feeling because when I spend any time on Facebook, I see this same sentiment (or something like it) from many of my friends and acquaintances.
I know the Bible descriptions of how Satan comes after us, “…Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). here has been plenty of roaring going on in my life and in the lives of those I know. Peter begins that verse with “Be sober-minded; be watchful.” It seems to me that it is much easier to see Satan when he goes about like a roaring lion.
But the devil also comes after us in another way. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made” (Genesis 3:1 emphasis added). It is that sneakiness–that behind-the-scenes kind of work the devil often does–that gets to me the most. Maybe it’s the Satan who “disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). That might really be the worst one because we so want to be able to trust our friends and our brothers and sisters in Christ.
No matter how he does it, at some point in all of our lives we realize that the devil is really after us. Let me share just a few thoughts with you:
- He causes us to doubt. When it seems like everything around us is negative and giving way to what appears to be chaos, we sometimes begin to doubt that God is in control. It is when I take my focus off of what God has taught me in his word and begin to focus upon what is going on around me that I begin to doubt God’s control. Then I remember that Peter had that same problem. When Peter focused upon Jesus he was able to walk on the water, but when his mind focused on the wind and waves around him, he began to sink. Jesus said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:28-31). It’s those words of Jesus that should ring in my ears when the devil causes me to doubt.
- He causes us to become angry with one another. I don’t like conflict of any kind, especially among Christians. Lately, nearly every time I get on Facebook or turn on the news, there is conflict, hatred and bitter disagreement. I get so upset when those differences are between brothers and sisters in Christ. The devil loves that, because when I am upset and discouraged, I can’t be as effective for the Lord. Sometimes I have tried to explain why I think their differences being aired in a public way is damaging to the church and to the cause of Christ. Most of the time my advice has been ignored or answered in a negative way. One way to make the devil back up a little is to unfollow people on Facebook who argue openly, and also to turn off the news. James tells us to “resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
- He causes us to fear. When we are afraid of what is happening in this earthly home, we are living in a way God never intended for us to live. “Coronavirus” and “Covid-19” are words that we wish we could wipe out of our vocabulary. Many are living in fear of contracting this virus. We worry about ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, our parents, our members at church, and the list goes on and on. Fear is paralyzing and does not allow us to live a life of trust in God. Paul told the young preacher Timothy that “God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7, emphasis added).
- He causes us not to fear. What? You just said he causes us to fear, and he does. But there are times when he causes us not to fear. We place our trust in someone or something on this earth and assume that he/she/it is right. Maybe you have placed your trust in what your preacher says or the doctrine of your church without ever really looking into God’s word for the truth. I have known people who have been cautioned and warned repeatedly that they need to change their ways or the outcome will be devastating. The devil tells them that they are fine just the way they are, and they listen to him because they are doing what they want to do. No thought is given to what God would want them to do, and the devil loves that!
The devil is powerful on this earth, and I may have let him have a little too much control in my life lately. He has been after me!
I’m so thankful that I have had the time to study God’s word, get myself back in the right frame of mind, read some of my favorite passages in the Bible, and send the devil packing for now. Oh, I know he won’t leave me alone for long, but he’ll have a more difficult time getting into my mind when it is full of God’s goodness.
“But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33, emphasis added).
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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
