Understanding The Wiles Of The 

Enemy
Posted on November 26, 2010by safehavenfellowship
     King Solomon was correct; there is nothing new under the sun, especially when it
comes to the Devil. The enemy is very good at what he does and has had years to
practice them but they are still basically the same. If we can recognize them when
they come our way, than I believe we can resist them and be victorious in defeating
the enemies schemes. First we need to understand that God creates, Satan
manipulates. The only power Satan has over the Believer is to make us believe a lie.
He comes with an arsenal of half-truths, that if believed, will end up having us
destroy ourselves. ” Did God really say…” this is the first and foremost strategy that
the enemy comes with; planting the seed of doubt in the heart of the Believer. It’s like
the bark of a dog, it has no power to hurt but it can strike fear into you if you believe
it can. There are three things that we need to hold as absolute truth if we are to
survive these, the last days; our Divine provision, our Divine protection and our
Divine Prerogative. Satan has and will go after these eternal truths in order to
undermine the plan of God in our lives and His will on earth. ” Did God really say
‘you must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”(Gen.3:1) Satan was attacking God’s
promised provision for His creation. The enemy does the same thing today. I am sure
you have heard the saying “God helps those who help themselves”, how is that for a
package of deception? Even when Jesus was being tempted, the first thing the enemy
threw at Him was,”…if you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become
bread”(Mt.4:3) The problem is not in the temptation but when we start to believe
them. We will then start to rely on our own cunning to make ends meet. Then
we’ll start to rely on the arm of the flesh and not on the Almighty. It is a real problem
today that the Church looks to the wealth of the world and not to the riches of
Heaven. Jesus teaches on the Sermon on the Mount that if God cares for the
sparrows, how much more are we worth in His eyes. When we begin to doubt God’s
Divine Provision for us, we will begin to make all the wrongs decisions. The second is
like the first, our Divine protection. Eve answers the Devil, “but God did say ‘you
must not eat from the tree in the middle of the garden…or you will die.’ ” ” You will
not surely die,…’ “(Gen.3:2-4) fires back the Devil. God has set around us a safety net
or parameters for our own good. He has put boundaries for a reason…our well being.
Even with the Son of God “…throw yourself down…”(Mt.4:16), trying to make
Jesus put God to the test. The Devil, in the same manner, was trying to make Eve
doubt God’s protection for her and it worked. He had her believe a lie. As with Jesus,
when the enemy twisted scripture to try to cause Jesus to sin, he twisted what God
had told Adam and Eve. We are assured again and again in the Bible of our Divine
Protection and how God has our best interest in the forefront of His thoughts. This is

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why I am so confident that though darkness encompasses the earth and thick
darkness the people, the Glory of the Lord will shine upon us. It does not matter what
is going on around me as long as I know Who is in me and His Word of Truth
concerning my well-being. If I do not believe that I am divinely protected, then I will
not do even a fraction of the spiritual exploits that God has called me to do. Consider
the unbelief of the slaves that left Egypt and were poised to take the Promise land
until they began to doubt God’s protection against the giants in the land. Only Joshua
and Caleb believed, and they were the only ones to enter God’s promise of a land
flowing with milk and honey. The third and last tactic is for us to doubt our Divine
Prerogative, “For God knows that when you eat of it(the fruit) your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God…(Gen.3:5) The most amazing fact of this deception
is that Satan had them believe something of themselves that was totally not true; that
they were not like God. Adam and Eve were already created in the image and likeness
of God and the Devil had them believe they weren’t. In the same manner, the enemy
tried to have Jesus belive that it was in the Devil’s power to give Jesus the kingdoms
of the world, when it was already Jesus’ possession through His Divine Prerogative.
This is what I believe is a pivotal point we need to understand about ourselves as
followers of Jesus. We need to reject the lies that the Devil puts in our heads about
who we are in Christ and what it means to have Him in us. If we would only believe a
portion of the truth of who we are as children of the Creator of the Universe, we
would be binding the strongman at every turn and setting the captives free. If we only
got the truth to sink in our hearts that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the
dead dwells in us and that we are made in the likeness and image of our God, we
would be spoiling the enemy’s camp on a regular basis. The enemy would flee at the
mere mention of our presence. I am not being blasphemous, we are children of God
with all the rights and privileges that come with that title. This is what God says
about us, not the lies the Devil would have us believe. If we buy into the lies he is
trying to sell us, then shame on us. It is not in Gods will or intention for us to fall
victim to the schemes of the enemy. He paid a dear price on the cross for our
freedom. Let’s not waste the sacrifice that was made on our behalf. As with Jesus, let
us counter attack the enemy with the facts found in Scripture concerning our
Heavenly calling and origin. We will no longer accept the lies that are handed us on a
daily basis by direct assault or by way of innuendoes. Remind each other daily of
your Divine Provision, Divine Protection and your Divine Prerogative. This way, the
enemy will not cause doubt and despair in your lives…Father, grant us the ability to
lay hold to these truths in your Word and may they become life to our souls and
reality in our lives, Amen…Daniel O. Croson Sr.

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