Shutting Down Enemy Attacks Against You - The Crosswalk Devotional - August 6
Shutting Down Enemy Attacks Against You
By Kelly Balarie
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” – Gal. 5:1 NIV
Have you ever played a game of tug of war? In this game there are two groups of people pulling on each side of the rope.
One side pulls and the rope, along with the people, go left.
The other side pulls and the rope, along with the rope-holders, go right.
Whatever team has the stronger amounts of tugs, the one who gains the most ground, eventually wins. If they can pull the other team to their side, they are victorious.
The enemy tries the same strategy with us. He tries to pull us to his side and off the ground of God’s truth.
The devil says to us, “You are a horrible person, why try?” He tugs at our heart left. He adds, “You can’t really believe that God will answer your prayer.” He tugs a little more and gains traction. He hits us again, saying, “Why go to church anymore? People only hurt you there.”
The devil’s goal is to pull us off the ground of God’s truth so that we can be yoked to his lies. It is subtle.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” – Gal. 5:1 NIV
God’s side offers us freedom, even for today. Satan’s side offers us slavery and burdens in life.
How do we stand against these attacks? How do we stop being pulled into defeat, discouragement, and doubt? How do we continue to walk in the freedom Christ afforded us?
Galatians 5:1 tells us that we must, “stand firm”. This means that we keep standing no matter how hard Satan’s pulling.
Practically, we can do these three things to continue to stand:
- Wait on the Lord. New life for Jesus looked a lot different on day 3 than it did on day 2. Sometimes, just giving it a day offers a fresh perspective, coupled with resurrection life power.
- Use Scripture as a weapon. Remember Jesus in the wilderness? He did not just listen to the enemy’s temptations, He defeated them with scriptural declarations. Memorize God’s Word and then speak it aloud over feelings of defeat or disillusionment.
- Pray. You are not powerless; you are powerful in prayer. Pray that the devil will get behind you and that God will strengthen you to stand.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
How do you feel attacked by the enemy? What is coming against you that you know is not from the Lord? What would it look like for you to stand? You know, if we stand through a storm, eventually, the storm moves on. No storm lasts forever. Nature shows us this.
Likewise, what remains beyond the dark clouds is the sun. God is always there. He will never leave or forsake you, even if all you can see is gloom and doom. Don’t give up. Stand.
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