THEOLOGY & APOLOGETICS
Can Satan read our minds?
By Rhonda Maydwell
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Some doubts and fears are so common to man, and to Christians especially, that Satan probably sends his rookie demons to contend with us. "So you believe in a God you can't see, hear, or touch? Do you really think you are saved? You believe that God would ever love someone like you? You know what you have done, right? And...you...think that God would forgive that? You??? Are you kidding me? You don't even really believe in Jesus! Yeah, you say you do, but you wouldn't act the way you do if you really believed Jesus was the Son of God who died for your sins. Get real, man. You are a loser that no one, let alone God could ever love." I don't know about you, but I have heard every single one of those lies before. Every. Single. One. I am willing to hazard a guess that you have too. Every. Single. One. We all struggle with doubts, questions, and feelings of unworthiness...Satan and his demons can land these thoughts on any one of us and they will probably, at least momentarily, stick.
What is our defense against these attacks? We must fortify ourselves with God's Word and Salvation and Truth. James 4:7 instructs us: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Notice the order. We submit to God first — otherwise we wouldn't have the tools for the second part of the command, which is to resist the devil. My best advice for strengthening yourself from these attacks from Satan, is to put on the full armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 reveals what that armor is (truth, righteousness, readiness, peace, and faith) but it also tells us why we need it — because we will be attacked by Satan with lies, deceit, and strife. The armor of God does not merely deflect the enemy's attacks — it extinguishes them. That means, that with God's help and by wearing His armor we can silence those nasty voices telling those dreadful lies.
One of my favorite books of all time is C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, which tells the story of a lowly demon trying to raise through Hell's ranks by messing with a new Christian. I highly recommend it. Many times I recognize in the book a ploy that the devil has tried on me (and too many times succeeded). You may too. For me the book, which is also very entertaining, made me more conscious of thoughts in my head that might not be my own. It helped me to seek truth and to challenge everything I heard — even if it was a thought in my own mind. In the meantime, we must pray that God will silence those voices and point us towards the truth. We should enlist the prayers of others during particularly troublesome attacks and temptations. Remind yourself of God's promises and truths: God loves you, He has a plan for you, He knows that you believe in Jesus and forgives you when you have doubts. There is nothing Satan loves more than stealing the joy from a Christian. I am praying that God will give me and you a thirst and hunger to know Him more and that our cup of assurance and joy will continuously overflow like a beautiful fountain full of His living water.
Image Credit: Sponchia; untitled; Creative Commons
Tags: Biblical-Truth | Christian-Life | God-Father | Hardships
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Published 4-24-17
