“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” —1 PETER 5:8

Satan is mentioned in 26 books of the Bible and Jesus referred to him on 15 occasions. He has a mind, a will and an agenda. Nothing would please him more than for us to be uninformed, unsuspecting and unprepared for him.

There are three things Scripture teaches us in how to respond to the devil. The first may be surprising, but we are to respect the devil. The Book of Jude, verse 9 says, “But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” We have no insight into this dispute, but it did give birth to the well known adage, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Satan cannot be dealt with light heartedly and we are not at liberty to dispel him from any situation. As in the case of Job, we must respect the dark side as permitted by God, which always works toward our spiritual growth, but it is up to the Lord to rebuke him.

The second way we are to respond to the devil is to resist him. 1 Peter 5:9 says, “Resist him, standing firm in the faith,” and James 4:7, “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” In the wilderness for 40 days and nights with the devil on His back, Jesus resisted him with the word of God, which is the truth and the sword by which we defend. We need to know the Bible and what God has to say about Satan. Paul warns, “Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27). Even a casual reading of our horoscopes or fortune telling can open doors to demonic influence.

Thirdly, we are to be in readiness. Paul writes, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God and take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:10-11). This is not a human activity, but it is realizing our strength in the battle comes from the Lord. We are not called to take on demonic power as an aggressive thing, but to stand firm in the Lord, a defensive posture. The battle against Satan has already been won by the resurrection of Jesus, and that is the ground we stand on.

Satan’s future is unambiguous in Scripture. He will come to eternal destruction, but knowing his time on earth is short, he is filled with fury and continues to battle for souls. No one is immune to his attacks and if we are not prepared, we will not see him coming.

PRAYER: I pray, Lord, that I will always stand firm in You and that You will deliver me from the evil one. Thank You, Jesus.

TO REFLECT UPON: Do I feel prepared to counteract the lures of Satan?