Quote of the Week: Preparing for Satan

I found the above quote on Pinterest (I have mentioned my love for that wonderful site many times). While  the humanistic society we live in often likes to paint a picture of God in a lasse faire way, I feel that modern society has shunned the idea of an "enemy" Satan. While everyone likes the idea of there being this big Santa Claus in the sky to watch over you (the modern picture that society often paints of God), nobody likes to think about dirty words like Sin, Temptation, or Judgement. Therefore, modern society has done away with the idea of a Satan who temps and is an enemy of God and his followers.

I think it is so important as a Christian to truly understand that there is an enemy, and although he is not as powerful as our almighty God, he is still powerful and manipulative. He can sneak into our thoughts, manipulate our perspective, and make poor choices sound wise. We cannot underestimate his powers, as they lead us all astray constantly. You need only to look around and see the sin and evil in this world to know that he is alive and working.

But as the quote above says, we need to be both ready for the plans that Satan may have for us, and we need to be wise enough to know which plan that is as opposed to the plans God has for us. How do we know, then, that what we choose is what God would have for us? How do we know that a thought that pops into our head is from the Lord and not from Satan? How do we know which is the righteous path?

Honestly, we won't always be able to tell, but here are a few things we can do to arm ourselves to make the right choices:
1) Know God. Seriously. He gave us a giant book called the Bible to know and understand him and his ways. Read it, meditate on it, and memorize key verses that may help you get through difficulty.

2) Pray intentionally every day. On the radio recently I heard a pastor say that he believed prayer is often the most underutilized resource for Christians. Talk to God, ask for his guidance and wisdom and pray about difficult circumstances. It you are like me and struggle with effective prayer, please check out THIS BOOK. It has truly helped me become more disciplined in my prayer life and learn how to better communicate with the Lord.

3) Preach to yourself. We sometimes run our faith life on our emotions, and forget the truth. It might feel sometimes like God isn't responding, or that God isn't there, but he is. You FEEL he isn't there, but the truth is that he is, and he is a good God, and he wants the best for you. Preach truth to yourself.