August 6, 2021 | Satan
The Bible lists 42 different names for Satan, among them, Abaddon (Revelation 9:11), Adversary (1 Peter 5:8), Antichrist (1 John 4:3), Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24), Belial (2 Corinthians 6:15), Dragon (Revelation 12:9), King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4), King of Tyre (Ezekiel 28:12), Leviathan (Isaiah 27:1), Lucifer (Isaiah 14:12-14), Son of Perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), Tempter (Matthew 4:3), Thief (John 10:10), and Wicked one (Ephesians 6:16).
By any name He is the stealer of souls and enemy of God. To Him the battle for your soul is just a game and he has no interest in you once you’ve surrendered to him. He, “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). “He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). He is “the deceiver of the world” (Revelation 12:9).
Any sane person would read this and think that the devil would be someone to avoid at all costs, and they will be right. His long fingers constantly reach out for unprotected souls and his evil whisper longs to reach every willing ear. He is deceitful beyond measure and relentless in his destruction. Every effort should be made to defend ourselves from Him.
Yet, every day, more and more people succumb to him. He knows every button to push and every temptation to exploit. He disguises himself as an angel of light ( 2 Corinthians 11:14) even while proving himself to be the ultimate angel of darkness. He tells people what they want to hear and gives them opportunity to indulge in their most sinful fantasies and many of us are easy prey. Though we know that he is pure evil, we still let down our defenses and allow his influence to rule over us.
To some this would sound hopeless. How are we to defend ourselves from something so evil, so cunning and so determined? We read verses like 1 John 3:8 that say, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning,” and we wonder how to escape the wrath to come knowing that we can’t seem to avoid the curse of sin in our own lives.
Thanks be to God, he has prepared a way out of this hopeless situation to bring us the ultimate hope. By His Son’s death and resurrection, he has rendered the power of Satan to nothing for all who place their hope and trust in Him.
James 4:7 give us wise advice saying, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Because of God’s judgement upon him, Satan can only grasp onto those who submit to the world. He runs from those who have committed their lives to Christ because he knows there are much easier victims waiting for him.
In the end he knows that he will be, “Thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world…and his angels with him” (Revelation 12:9). So he focuses on all of those who fall for his lies and are enamored by his whispers.
Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The devil doesn’t care about you, he only wants your destruction because he knows it brings sorrow to the God he hates. But Christ came so that His influence would be of no use to us and that we would have abundant life, a purpose filled life, an everlasting life.
So, surrender your whole life, body, mind and soul to God and resist Satan’s whispers. He can only take from you what you give him. With God to protect you he can do nothing more than be an annoyance and he is no one to fear. With God you can overcome every obstacle and by living for the next life, you have no reason to wonder if you’ve done enough to resist Satan’s influence. Make your life with Christ and help others to do the same so we might all, one day, laugh at Satan’s feeble attempts to steal our souls. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, protect us from Satan’s attempts to take from us what You have so freely given. Help us to resist His whispers and temptations and make us strong to flee from Him. Amen.
