I’ve Made My Decision…Now What?

The “Who Am I?” Series – The Final Post for this Series

You know who you are and you agree that you need to change. You are willing to renew your mind, cleanse your thoughts, purify your heart and walk in the right direction. You are ready to maximize your life and fulfill your purpose with God. Now what? Unfortunately, you’ll probably be attacked. If you learn to recognize the resistance you are facing for what it really is (an attack of the enemy) you can become a true over-comer.

If you’ve been a Christian for any period of time, you should be quite aware of the tactics of the enemy. But just to be sure you face every day with your eyes wide open, here is solid truth straight from the Word of God. “Your adversary the devil, walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Did you notice the scripture says that our adversary walks around seeking whom he may devour? That tells me that we are not always in a position when we are vulnerable to his tactics. But when we are, there he is waiting for us.

The enemy of your soul doesn’t play fair, and he’s got plenty of time on his hands. He spends weeks and even months, observing you and strategically planning his next move. He is well aware of the basic frailties of man and also tries to discover your own personal weaknesses as well.

He waits until you are down, lonely, vulnerable or confused and uses that opportunity to creep into your thoughts. He’s also quite good at appearing on the scene as soon as you slip in your walk with God. He is called ‘the accuser of the brethren.’ He will tempt you to fail and if you take the bait and stumble, he will be right there pointing an accusing finger, letting you know how you’ve let God down.

When battling against these lies, what can you do? I’ve got a two step answer for you:

Recognize and Resist

If individuals are treating you poorly, there is tension in the air, situations seem volatile, or you are being attacked with temptations from every side, recognize the cause of it.

The word tells us, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12

The enemy is causing the pressure and tension you are feeling. It’s an effort to interfere with your walk with God. If you are not a believer, his goal is to keep you from becoming one–and if you are a follower of Christ, his plan is to cause you to be ineffective and rob you of your zeal, excitement and joy of the Lord.

Basically, his whole game is to intimidate us with fear, distract us from the purposes of God and tempt us with sin.

Solution: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

That’s the only answer you need. The Word of God promises us that if we will resist, he has to flee. It’s part of the contract. Isn’t God good?

Now that you are equipped with the knowledge of how the enemy operates, you are able to recognize and resist. Kick him to the curb with the power of God’s word.