The Real War

This is the devotional from Dr. Charles Stanley for May 14, 2015. See what he says about deception, doubt and distraction. As soldiers, we certainly can't afford to lay down our weapons in the time of war! As we talked about a few weeks ago, the basis of our belief is the very character of God! It always comes back to that -- remembering who He is, what He has said and His past faithfulness to us. 

The Real War

Read | 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The enemy’s primary strategy against the believer is deception. We learn from 2 Corinthians 11:14 that Satan often “disguises himself as an angel of light.” In fact, Jesus called him “the father of lies” (John 8:44). Thus, our best weapon is the truth, which sets us free from deception’s bondage (v. 32).

It is hard to avoid deception when you are not aware of the adversary’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). One of his oldest deceptions, which goes back to Adam and Eve, is the temptation to doubt what the Lord has said. To do so means to doubt God’s heart and character, which is similar to a soldier on the front line setting down his weapon as the enemy approaches—mistrusting God sets you up to be knocked down repeatedly by the evil one. If you listen to this voice of doubt, you give Satan a foothold. That will weaken you so that he can gear up to bring about further destruction.

Another scheme of the devil is to distract the believer. A distraction is anything that drags you away from what is most important at the moment and makes you so busy that you lose focus. Satan doesn’t use just blatantly sinful or superficial things to divert us from abiding in Christ—he will even use good things to subtly build up a wall of “noise” around you so that you gradually stop listening to God’s voice.

Ask the Lord to reveal any area in your life where you may be susceptible to deception. He will give you power to claim the truth and walk in freedom.