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"Be sober and vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”

I Peter 5:8-9

We are living in times when many people, even those who are professing Christians, have dismissed the notion that the devil is real and working his evil schemes in the world. It is very obvious that evil abounds upon the earth today, as the hearts of many grow cold.

The Bible tells us that we have an enemy, who is real and he is the devil. He is not some figment of our imagination or a little ugly man in a red suit. He is our adversary and is actively pursuing us seeking to devour and destroy. We have been told to resist him, but to do that we first must recognize his scheming presence in our lives.

He has a certain mode of operation and that is filling our minds with lies. He is the accuser, a thief, and a liar. We must become serious and on high alert because his plan is sophisticated. Many times he does not attempt to destroy us with one swift kick. He often works on us little by little so that he will go undetected.

I once had a preacher friend who would call me and say “so, what lies has the devil been telling you?” It was almost comical but very true because there is not a day that goes by in the life of a believer that the devil does not try to plant some lie in our life. Those are the fiery arrows that he shots our way. They are explosive upon contact and very destructive. If we do not have our shield of faith in hand we could very easily become his prey and be totally devoured. Many have been already.

The devil works in many ways and all of them show disrespect for God and His people. He likes to “dis” us and does it very well. It may be that something we planned does not work out as we thought it would. He put false hopes in our minds or blew things out of proportion and as a result we became disappointed. Or perhaps he painted a false picture in our minds and we accepted it as real when in fact it was an illusion. In time he gladly pointed it out to us and as a result we became disillusioned. As you can see, he is very good at what he does.

Perhaps we found a place of comfort where all seemed well with our soul. Then he began pounding us with lies about the people and places in our lives and as a result we began to feel discomfort. He enjoys pointing out all the impossibilities in situations that we have had the courage to go thru believing for a positive change. If we allow him to do it long enough we will find ourselves discouraged.

The list goes on and on and there are many more examples. The truth of the matter is that we would go to battle in a second if we felt that someone was trying to “dis” a family member or one of our good friends but we lay down and play dead while the devil continues to “dis” us day after day.

We have bought into some false notion that we deserve that kind of treatment. That is another lie that he has made sound true. God sent Jesus Christ His Precious only Son to die for our sins so we would not have to continue to be a slave to sin and satan. He gave us precious truths in His Word to fight these lies with His truth and I believe He is very grieved and angry, just as we are for those we love, when He sees the devil “dis” His children.

So, how long will it continue? Will you just sit there and allow him to “dis” you with his continuous lies? There is something else that you can do. You can “dis”miss him from your life by resisting him, standing steadfast on the promises of God. It will take awareness on your part and consistency too but we can find encouragement in the fact that our fellow believers around the world are fighting the same battle that we do. We are not alone.

It is important to stand up for others and I believe God expects that of us too, but first you must take a stand for yourself and stop letting the devil “dis” you.

Prayer:

Father God, even now we can recall the many times that we have allowed the enemy to “dis” us and truthfully at times we have assisted him. We forget our worth in Christ and easily fall prey to the devil’s horrible lies.

Help us to be alert. Let us guard our hearts and minds and stay planted in Your Word.

Let us feel Your love today in a very special way. Comfort those who are hurting in any way. Give courage to those who need it, and let Your Spirit bring comfort too.

In Jesus Name!

Amen! Amen!