If God Works In Mysterious Ways, How Does The Devil Work?

“And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light!” (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14, CEB).

“… it will happen through Satan’s effort, with all kinds of fake power, signs, and wonders,” (cf. 2 Thess. 2:9, CEB).

“They will pay attention to spirits that deceive and to the teaching of demons…” (cf. 1Tim. 4:1, CEB).

‘Satan has blinded the minds of them that believe not…” (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

“… Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8).

“We are not ignorant of His schemes” (cf. 2 Cor. 2:11). He uses mind games and psychological warfare. He isn’t afraid to lower the bar and get dirty. The devil is devious and deceptive; there is not truth in him for he is a liar nd a murderer from the beginning and cannot tell the truth. He cloaks his lies in half-truths, misinformation, and disinformation. He’d do anything to perpetuate his lies and deceptions. For propaganda to him is a way to control the masses and to exercise public lies and disseminate his poison. He works just like any of his minions or wicked servants under his influence to tempt and to discourage. . All in all, it is paramount to know our enemy! To win any war, Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, “know your enemy!’

But “God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform” (cf. Isaiah 45:15), citing the song by Robert Cowper. Mysteries are hidden but can be known, but lies are counter to truth and are destructive to the soul. The finite cannot understand the infinite and our limited minds must realize God is too deep to fathom (“Canst thou by searching find out God?” —cf. Job 11:7). “How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out,” (cf. Romans 11:33).

The devil is incapable of performing wonders for he is easily perceived as limited and incompetent—he is most predictable and incapable of being original but is fully a slave to himself with destructive habits that control others too. The funny thing is that he overestimates himself! His boasting reveals his insecurities.

Wonders bring glory to God but the devil tries to bring glory to himself and steal God’s glory.—he really desires adoration, fame, attention, and worship. Everything relates to him and revolves around him as a selfish and megalomaniac if you will, for he cannot see the future like God and is near-sighted and short-sighted without any wisdom for the long term (he thought he defeated Christ at the cross—cf. Acts 2:23; 4:28).

Worst of all, he appeals to the lower nature of man and this makes him desirable for he knows our weaknesses and can tempt us and lead us into evil if we let him. Does any of this sound familiar for we all have our own demons. Now that we recognize him, we shouldn’t give the devil an opportunity (cf. Eph. 4:27).

In summation, the devil is not unlike any of his faithful and fallen servants even if they are unbeknownst to them; there is a little devil in all his minions and wicked men—where do you think they got their ideas from (you may not feel you know the devil, but you may find out by looking at his children!)—their father is the devil, who is the “god of this world? [age]”  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Battle Is The Lord's

We are engaged in a mop-up effort to fight our vanquished foe, the devil, and despite his defeat, the battle has just begun for us as believers living on his turf.  We must not remain ignorant of his deceitful schemes lest we are caught in his web.  Note, nevertheless, our victory is assured, and we are fighting from the victory at the cross, not for victory--Satan's already in a no-win situation.

The tools of his trade are psychological warfare, mind-games, lies, propaganda, drugs, "education," and ignorance, et al.  Satan knows our vulnerabilities and weaknesses and strikes at the most opportune time, often when we are on a spiritual high or in special need.  He's always at work "seeking whom he may devour."

Our threefold enemy is the world-system, the carnal nature or flesh, and the devil and his legions.  Note that our worst enemy is ourselves:  "We have met the enemy, and he is us!" (This is quoted from the Pogo character by Walt Kelly.)  We are also on Satan's hit list and are targets of his animosity and cruelty. What does Satan foster, but division, divisiveness, contention, and polarization?  Remind you of someone?  His main strategy is to divide and conquer, the opposite of the Spirit that unites us in Christ as one body.

The best strategy in warfare is to "know your enemy" according to Sun Tzu, in The Art of War.  In warfare, the troops do not need to wonder why, but to do and die (from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's Charge of the Light Brigade). There are casualties in every war, and that is why it's imperative to arm ourselves with the full armor of God--to fight a spiritual war with natural weapons is sure to defeat.  The Word of God is our only offensive weapon and that is why it's important to stay in the Word and not to become negligent in the discipline.  Job One is holding down the fort and taking back the turf that Satan has stolen as the god of this age, the prince of this world.  Note that we are not to give the devil an opportunity or beachhead, and never to compromise with him.  Our SOP (standard operating procedure) is to "watch and pray" that we enter not into temptation and to stay alert to his dirty tricks--remember, Jesus said, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak [we're human and can fail in the flesh]."

One of the tactics he uses is to accuse us before the Father, but "there is, therefore, now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (cf. Romans 8:1).  The only way to silence the devil is to fight with the Word just as Jesus did, saying, "It is written."  Satan has no answer to it and must surrender or flee.  We can rest assured that we are "more than conquerors" in Christ and our battle strategy is to "stand still and see the salvation of the Lord." We are never to forget that we are on the winning side and our victory is assured because "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world" (cf. 1 John 4:4).

However, we have two natures, and the one we feed or cater to is the one that wins over and dominates--therefore sow to the Spirit, not the flesh!  In the final analysis, we are to "rejoice that our names are written in heaven" and not to get a big head or sense of insecurity or inferiority, as we fight the devil with God on our side--we're in a win-win situation in the end, and there's no losing proposition at all in Christ!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Love The World-system?

Note that "God so loved the world [its people]," but I'm talking about the evil world-system dominated and controlled by Satan and what it has to offer in competition with God, not a blessing of His, for all good things come from the Father.

Watchman Nee wrote a famous book Love Not the World, and he was right if you want to be spiritual and walk with Jesus if you do love the world, the love of Father is not in you!  John said, "Love not the world, neither the things of the world," in 1 John 2;15 (this is a command, not advice or a suggestion!).  What is he talking about? The big three:  the pride of life, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of life.   The world, or should I say, Satan, has a lot to offer to compete with what God has to offer.  Mainly, power, prestige, fame, fortune, entertainment, popularity, security, and many other things that a person may get (though not wrong in themselves, but can be misused).  If you love money, you will never have enough and that goes for any idol too, if you love it, you won't have enough.  When you've had too much of the devil's delicacies, you lose your appetite for the things of God!  The mindset on the flesh is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life!  (Cf. Rom. 8:6).

It's all right to watch TV, for example, if one has priorities (and one follows Paul's principles or standards laid down in Phil 4:8: "Whatever is true, noble, right...think on these things..." and doesn't let it rule or dominate his time or energy and become a god or what is really an idol, breaking the first of the Ten Commandments.  "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me!"  If you don't feel in the mood to pray after watching too much TV, perhaps the devil has done his damage and won over your heart, which should belong to God--He wants you, and to be number one in your life--God is a jealous God and will tolerate no rivals.  This doesn't mean other things don't have importance in your life, but that God is of first importance.  That's why Paul says a soldier doesn't get involved in civilian affairs, because of a conflict of interest.  The closer you walk with Jesus, the more perceptive you get to the devil trying to trip you up with what he has to offer and to get your attention--he knows your weaknesses too.

Now, let me make a point, that the more mature you get, the more responsible you are and God requires more of you.  He doesn't expect a child to be as discerning as an adult.  "Just a closer walk with Thee" should be our prayer.  The goal, according to Richard of Chichester, is to "love Christ more dearly, to know Him more clearly, and to walk more nearly!"  The more we feed our soul and spirit, the more sensitive it becomes--the nature that you feed (your carnal or your spiritual one) is the one that will dominate your thinking and behavior--the dog that gets fed the most usually wins the dogfight.

Sin is addicting as well as alienating and it enslaves just as it estranges.  It is like smoking making people dislike you and you being addicted to something you cannot stop--nip it in the bud and you won't be tempted.  It is far easier to resist the initial temptation to sin than all the consequences and results that follow suit when it spirals out of control.  Don't let your habits become gods, but ask God to set you free--"If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).  What do you think Jesus was talking about when he said people would "die in their sin?"

Just don't neglect feeding your spiritual self, because the consequences of neglect are severe and tragic.  Note that "[God] who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment" (1 Tim. 6:17) means there are blessings from God and every good gift comes from God (cf. James 1:17).   Every day the battle starts all over and we must die daily and rededicate the day to Him--Live one day at a time, as it is written, "This is the day that the LORD has made, let us be glad and live today" (Ps. 118:24).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Know The Devil's Schemes?

Charlie Riggs says we should be aware of the wiles of the devil so we don't get entangled in his web. "We are not unaware of his schemes" (2 Cor. 2:11).  Even though the cartoon character Pogo said, "We have met the enemy, and he is us" we are our own worst enemy--part of the EVIL TRIUMVIRATE of the world, the flesh, and the devil--and Sun Tzu, in The Art of War, said to know your enemy, [Lord Nelson told his troops who were quarreling, "Gentlemen, the enemy is over there."] this is Satan's turf and we live in enemy-occupied territory. The devil is the "god of this world [age]" (2 Cor 4:4).

The battle has just begun, but the battle is the Lords! "If God be for us, who can be against us?" When we become saved, the battle is initiated. Remember the battle-cry of King David facing Goliath: "I come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts!" Live in victory over the foe! The battle-cry of the Reformation was "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" by Martin Luther. who had quite a fight with the devil?

The devil is perfectly capable of putting evil thoughts into your mind, (recall what Jesus said to Peter when he rebuked him: "Get behind Me, Satan."), but don't blame the devil for your own evil, for Jesus said "for from within, out of man's heart proceeds evil thoughts..." (Mark 7:21) As examples, Satan "rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census" (2 Chron. 21:1), and Peter told Ananias that Satan had filled his heart to lie to the Holy Spirit.

Let's not think there is a devil around every corner and all our evil thoughts must be demonic. We are plenty of evil ourselves ("The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). You may not be able to pinpoint which thoughts are yours and which are the devils, but remember Martin Luther said that you can't keep a sparrow from flying over your head, but you can keep him from making a nest in your hair. Satan wants you to believe a lie because he is the father of lies. He is deceptive and the accuser of the brethren before God day and night. The Holy Spirit convicts with an open and shut case, Satan accuses. The primary area of Satan attacks is our pride, which was the first sin of Satan. Even though Satan can instill evil, we are still responsible (Mea culpa) and we still decide to act on our thoughts or not to.

Satan uses psychological warfare or mind games (he messes with your thinking) and his number one strategy is to divide and conquer. But don't ever give the devil an opportunity: submit to God and he will flee from you. "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). There is the story of a Civil War soldier who couldn't make up his mind what side to be on, so he wore half gray and half blue; he got shot at by both sides. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12).

Don't be a sitting duck waiting for the devil to attack--be proactive and anticipate that he "prowls around like a roaring lion," as Peter says. He has subtle tactics and his multitudinous demons do his dirty work. One of his strategies is to accuse you and make you feel guilty but remember "there is, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," according to Rom. 8:1. There is a big difference between the open and shut case of the Holy Spirit's convicting ministry and the vague accusations to make you feel guilt and shame.

We must daily pray "Deliver us from evil." The M.O. of the devil is "to steal, to kill, and to destroy;" [his name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek Apollyon] he wants to ruin your life; whereas God has a beautiful plan for your life. We can be assured that the battle is the Lord's and again "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).   Soli Deo Gloria!