The devil is not this guy

“My dear brothers, never forget, when you hear the progress of enlightenment vaunted, that the devil’s best trick is to persuade you that he doesn’t exist!”-Baudelaire

Naturally and honestly speaking, as believers in Jesus Christ, we face the same enemies in our daily struggle of dying to ourselves and being more like Him (ourselves-trapped in the flesh, prone to sin and Satan) the difference being the type of weaponry used against us. Not every fiery dart is the same and life is not black and white. There are some really, really difficult and troubling situations that we have to navigate thru. Yes, we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit but that does not mean that we always heed its counsel. Some things are hard to deal with and even harder to understand, Christian or not. There is no equivocating when it comes to right and wrong in accordance with God’s will & word but the process of sifting thru the grey areas of life and taking that and putting it up against what He says is an arduous task.

One problem we have as believers-and a colossal one at that-is that we are fighting a spiritual war with a severe lack of situational awareness of the battlefield. We go into daily combat without the full armor of God and expect to come out unscathed and beyond reproach living in a sick and twisted self-delusion. Read what Ephesians 6:10-18 says about His Armor:

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Satan knows the bible better than you do so his motivations are not fueled by ignorance of God, His laws or His word. Rather he is motivated by hatred: hatred of us, and hatred of the Creator. That is something considerably more dangerous and you cannot fight and win spiritual battles on your own.

I read somewhere recently that many (if not most) Christians do not believe that the devil even exists–which does his job for him because he doesn’t have to expend any efforts in keeping you under the illusion, you do it to yourself. I would imagine that he loves the very idea that many dismiss him and he is popularly visualized as the intoxicated clerk at last years Halloween party. Moreover, you can’t blame them, who would take someone as the ultimate embodiment of evil seriously if so-called believers in said faith don’t? It will be only a matter of time before you will lose and the cost will be more than you can bear. Ezekiel 28:13 (NIV) describes Satan saying:

 “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.”

 The best way to defeat your enemy is to know them. That means knowing yourself (what you are and are not outside of Christ) and knowing who Satan really is, not who he would rather you think he his. Enter the arena with your weapons and armor at the ready.