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Can the Devil Make Me Do It?

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Have you ever seen the wind? No, I don't mean the effects of the wind; I mean the actual wind itself.

(Hint: your answer should be no- as it turns out, the wind happens to be invisible).

Right, so I don't meet many people who don't ‘believe' in the wind because they can't see it. Yet these are the same people who don't believe in the devil and demons simply because they've never ‘seen' them.

I've never seen them, but you can bet I believe in them. The effects of Satan and his demons are more obvious to me than a tornado ripping through the center of town.

Don't believe me? Turn on the nightly news or check foxnews.com. Murders? Yes. Suicides? Yes. Child abuse? Yes.

And on and on. These aren't random events or just a few instances of bad people being bad. Satan and his servants are alive and active on planet earth, and they would like nothing better than to have you (and the rest of the world) not believe in them.

But you do need to believe in him, because He believes in his mission to destroy your life. In fact, you are on his hit list at this very moment.

Let me put it this way: if you had a stalker, would you want to know who it was and what he was up to? Duh!

You do have a stalker, and his name is Satan. He commands an army of beings that are hot on your trail. They hate you and they have an awful plan for your life. Maybe that's why God's word gives us specific descriptions and defensive plans for dealing with them.

Would you like to know what God has said about protecting yourself against the stalkers? (Hint: your answer should be yes - as it turns out, Satan and his demons are real).

First off, you need to know that Satan is a created being. He was created as the most powerful angel of all (Jude 1:9). He had the awesome privilege of hanging out with God and enjoying a special relationship with the King of all Kings.

But then a little thing called pride crept in, and things went bad in a hurry. Here's how the Bible describes it:

You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden , the garden of God . Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone--red carnelian, chrysolite, white moonstone, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald--all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire.

You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. Your great wealth filled you with violence, and you sinned. So I banished you from the mountain of God . I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings. (Ezekiel 28:12-17)

Think about it. Satan was the ultimate "all that" in heaven, but when the bling went to his brain, God had to flex and fling him out of town...way out of town.

So every day since that day, Satan has been on a mission to oppose God at every turn. Since he couldn't destroy God, he has a one-track mind to destroy God's purposes, plans, and people. He also has quite the volunteer staff as well. Thousands of angels were deceived by him, so when it all went down, they went down as well. What gets really scary is what happened after that.

It goes something like this. God made a perfect world with perfect people. Enter the snake in the Garden of Eden and just like that you have lying, lust, murder, and mayhem as a part of planet Earth. So God sent His one and only Son to the world, and Satan brings his best song and dance to tempt Jesus to sin. When that doesn't work, he pulls off a masterful plan which ends up getting Christ killed.

Oops, that plan didn't work out so well. When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the way to heaven for us and sealed the fate of the devil and his demons.

Which brings us to today. As Christians we are God's children and the objects of His eternal love, which means that Satan hates us with the intensity of a thousand white-hot hells, which is why he stalks us.

Pure and simple, he is out to kill us. That's what Jesus believed anyway:

The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. (John 10:10)

The "thief" referred to here is Satan. He wants to steal your joy, your purpose, even your very life. He does this primarily through temptation and accusation. He tempts you to do selfish, self-destructing things by making them look good. He accuses you of past sins that are forgiven so that you won't trust God or forgive others (it's tough to let things go when you feel so guilty yourself).

Bottom line: the devil and his demonic army are systematized and organized, so don't minimize their super-sized power. You, in your own strength, are no match for even the weakest of demons - let alone Satan himself. He and his servants have been dealing with folks like us for at least 4000 years. If he could deceive thousands of angels who lived in the very presence of God, gee do you think he could trip us up once in a while?

Nobody knows Satan better than God, which is why it would be a pretty smart thing to listen to His advice about how to deal with the stalker.

First, make sure you are protected:

A final word: Be strong with the Lord's mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.

Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the sturdy belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News, so that you will be fully prepared. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Next, don't give in to temptation:

Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Through the power of God, the protection of His armor, and the persistent resistance to temptation on your part, you stand a chance at surviving...

But don't think your stalker believes that for a minute.

Head: What you need to know about this truth

Satan and his demons are fallen angels who exist to destroy the plans of God and the people of God. In order to defend ourselves, we must put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6) and resist the devil (James 4:7) in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

Concerned. The Apostle Paul tells us to "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour" (1 Peter 5:8, New Living Translation ). Christians who do not take Satan and his demons seriously oftentimes become the catch of the day. It is critical that you pay very close attention to how the devil is attacking you. Sometimes it is through discouragement and disappointment, other times it comes through relationships. More often than not, it starts with a bad attitude that eventually leads to disastrous actions and consequences. I'm not saying that you should suspect a demon behind every negative situation, but I am suggesting that you take the reality of Satan and his demons seriously enough to be on guard and protect yourself. In the words of C.S. Lewis:

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors..."

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

So now that you know you are being "stalked", what are you going to do about it? Let me throw out several options. First, it is of vital importance that you stay incredibly solid in your Bible study. The only thing that Satan and his demons hate more than God is His Word. Satan will tell you it is boring, irrelevant, and that you have time for it later in life. That is a lot like a lion convincing you that your rifle is boring, irrelevant, and that you have plenty of time to defend yourself later. The Bible contains the very words and thoughts of God, so read it - memorize it - and apply it to your life. That's what Jesus did when Satan tempted him, so what makes you think you don't need to? As well, remember to pray. If you are constantly communicating with God, Satan has no room to communicate with you.

So here's your test. How many verses can you quote from memory? How many minutes a day to read Scripture? How many minutes a day do you pray?

If you're like the average Christian, you know five verses, you read Scripture less than 10 minutes a week, and you pray even less.

If you're like the average Christian, you are lion's food waiting to happen.