Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Devil's Playbook


Be of sober spirit. Your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8
 
I know someone who can't stand you.
 
Since you gave your heart to Jesus, this someone knows he can't mess with your eternity. All he has left  is your life here and now. In your enemy's efforts to steal, kill, and destroy, he uses intimidators, abusers, and oppressors in your life. You know who they are. And you know who this enemy is, don't you?
 
The good news is that your Heavenly Father knows who they are too, and in His Word He has given you strategies to overcome every scheme.
 
From various places in God's Word,  I came up with what I call  the top 5 methods the enemy uses to knock you down and keep you there. Imagine your enemy is having a meeting with the abusers and intimidators  in your life.  On a big screen, he has the following excerpts from his playbook. This meeting is about you. Listen as he reads:
 
  1. Get into her head and make her give up. Discourage her, and she will become like a puppet on a string. Control is everything!
  1. Play up her weaknesses and don't mention her strengths. This takes persistence  so stay on it!
  1. Lie to her. No lie is too terrible to tell if it will get you what you want.  Rewrite her past so that everything is her fault. You can even tell her God says things about her that aren't really true.  No lie is off limits!
  1. Keep her away from anything and anyone that could help her. Paint those helpers in a bad light or simply make her so afraid, she won't even try to get help.
  1. Pressure her! Play on her emotions, insist on immediate decisions. Never give her time to think things through or to consult wise and dependable friends for advice. Overreact about the slightest mistake so she lives in constant fear and uncertainty. This tears away at her confidence in her ability to make good decisions.
 
Do you recognize any of these tactics at work in your life?
 
 
Daughter of God, how are you going to overcome all of that?
 
 You are not to be ignorant of the enemy's schemes (2 Cor. 2:11). You need to know who you are in Christ if you are going to win. If you have gotten away from spending daily time reading God's word, please get back to it. It's your daily battle-plan meeting with God and your only hope of standing firm in the face of everything in the devil's playbook.
 
Talk About It: Look at that list again. What Scriptures would you place beside each one to counteract Satan's plans to bring you down?


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