“The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV
A lot of us have the mentality that the devil is the equal opposite of God. That he is so powerful that we only narrowly escape him dominating us. Some of us live in such perpetual fear of the devil and his minions that we start to let it affect our lives, allowing him to attack our lives without resistance.
The first thing to tackle and deal with is the mindset or stronghold of defeat. The devil is not the equal opposite of God, God is infinitely bigger and greater than the devil. In our anchor text, we see that this defeat mentality is a stronghold that needs to go.
This mindset that contradicts the truth of God’s word and makes it difficult to fully embrace the truth of God’s has to be completely changed. That’s the first battle we need to win. You win this battle by renewing your mind with God’s word (Romans 12:2). Meditate on what God’s word says about His nature and see God for who He truly is not what rumors have said about Him (Job 42:5)
How do we deal with spiritual attacks? In every battle, two strategies are important: defence and attack.
Let’s start with our defence. The knowledge of what Christ did and your place in Him is your defence (Proverbs 24:5, Hosea 4:6). Know God’s word concerning your authority as a believer. Ephesians 1:20 -23 explains that everything is under Christ’s feet, and this power is for the church. This is your defence: that you see what Jesus did at the cross, the victory and authority that He gained as a result, and then see your place in Him and all the authority that you now have in Him.
As a believer, God has given you the authority over the power of the enemy and assured you that nothing shall by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19). You have to remember this and exercise it boldly!
Let’s see how we can attack as believers. In Mark 16:17 we see the signs that are to follow the believers. We are instructed to cast out devils with authority. You have the power to put the devil to flight. Resist the devil and he will flee! (James 4:7)
Dear friends, next time you see the devil attack, remember who is behind you and the power and authority that He has, and laugh just like you would if your classmate was trying to bully you and you saw your father standing with you. The boldness and fearlessness that you would have is exactly what you should have as a believer when the devil rears his head.
Bible Reading Plan: Hosea 1-7