Recognizing Satan’s tricks

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"Recognizing Satan's tricks" By Diane Webb

Ephesians 6: 11—"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil".

The armour of God, if you remember, includes: truth, righteousness, Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and scripture. All of these are needed to fight the sneaky tricks of Satan. What exactly are the strategies of Satan? Some are as follows: lies, confusion, secrecy, doubt, division, and fear. Lies include the ones from others and the ones we tell ourselves. It's like Satan is whispering things in our ears then we think thoughts that are not true. Since they seem to come from our own mind we don't always realize the mistruth of it. Lies create doubt; doubt creates fear; fear creates division; division creates confusion; confusion feeds more lies and the process of deception continues. Be on the lookout for these signs that Satan is behind the problem or issue: slight distortions of truth, questioning self or scripture, work done in secrecy, anything that causes confusion, anything that upsets the unity in the church or between Christians, and anything that produces fear, anxiety, or worry. Do not make decisions based on doubt. Recognize doubt is from Satan not God. God inspires confidence (not arrogance). Anytime you begin to doubt—yourself, your calling, or the scripture—you can be sure it's a "wile of the devil". Fear is another trick of Satan. Never operate out of fear. Fear is designed to make you run, fight, or freeze (do nothing). Running from God is not a good idea (ask Jonah). Fighting God is useless (ask Pharaoh). Doing nothing is despicable (ask Pontius Pilate). Discord among brother's and sister's of Christ accomplish Satan's will not God's (remember Cain and Abel). Confusion keeps God's work from being accomplished (see 1 Corinthians 14: 33). How might these things show up in your day to day life? Perhaps you are called to speak or lead at your church. At first you accept feeling honored to be an active part of the worship service. You have one week to prepare. During the week you being to think things like: "I am not qualified to do this", "I am going to make a fool of myself", "I am not the right person", "I am not smart enough" and so on. This doubt has been created by Satan to keep you from exercising your gift or calling. Doubt keeps you from realizing your spiritual potential. Secrecy is one wile of the devil most of us do not recognize as a tool of Satan. Satan works in secrecy whereas God works out in the open. A tool of Satan is to convince people to keep things secret—not to tell or involve others in the discussion or solving of a problem or issue. Many families are destroyed because of secrets. Sure, it may be somewhat embarrassing to talk to a pastor or Christian counselor about the problems you are having but once Satan's cover is blown the healing process can begin. The vast majority of secrets are the result of Satan's work. Doing things out in the open where everyone can see it is a safeguard against Satan's purpose. Do not agree to get involved in any activity if secrecy is one of the requirements. Pray for guidance or ask your pastor to help you sort through some of these things. All of the wiles of Satan create some confusion which prevents us from moving forward with God's work. 1 Corinthians 14: 33 states, "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints". 2 Timothy 1: 7 says "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".

Dear heavenly father, today help me recognize the tricks of Satan and not to fall for them. If I am already in the grip of some of these I rebuke them now in the name of Jesus. Help me, Lord; fight the wiles of the devil using the whole armour of God. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.