Ok, I need to sit down here and write this out, working through some teachings on spiritual warfare, my history with the assaults of the enemy, and what the Bible has to say about the enemy, his character, and his tactics.  Not a cheery topic, but one where I’ve become increasingly aware of my need to gain scriptural insight.

I am convinced that Satan and his cohorts do not want us to understand them nor their devious tactics; in fact, leaving us ignorant, unconvinced that he either exists or cares about individuals would suit him just fine.  However, I needed scriptural evidence to back up the concept that the devil and his demons take a personal interest in people, particularly followers of Jesus.

The most compelling reason I can give for Satan’s individualized attacks against Christians is God’s interest in us, and Christ’s commitment to our salvation—to the point of going to the cross.  From the moment of our conception, the gift of life, where we are knit together in our mothers’ wombs (Psalm 139:15, 16), to the moment we breathe our last and slip into eternity, God has a future and a hope for each person (Jeremiah 29:11).  The devil’s intentions for us from the moment of conception, though, are to steal, kill, and destroy.  “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Frequently, I have been tempted to think, “Why would demons bother me?  I’m pretty insignificant.  But I am significant to God.  You are significant to God—enough so that Jesus was willing to die for you and me.  And because we are important to God, our destruction is important to the enemy—Satan is at war with all whose lives are surrendered to God and have received Jesus Christ as Savior. (Revelation 12:17)

The apostle Peter wrote through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith…” (1 Peter 5:8, 9).  This is personal for the devil!  And the battlefield is our faith—because “without faith, it is impossible to please [God]” (Hebrews 11:6), and Satan does not want God to be pleased!  Demons may sling darts and arrows at us, causing us pain or distracting us in some way or another, but as long as we are armored-up, he cannot defeat us.

The best way to defeat an enemy is to know the enemy, and that can go either way—both our knowing the characteristics of demons – or their knowing the attributes of humans.  The very first characteristic of Satan that mankind encountered was cunning (Genesis 3:1), a dubious quality denoting deceit, craftiness, and guile.  In tempting Eve, he cast doubt on God’s Word and God’s character, and he appealed to her desires (which is where she chose to focus)—it worked well for him then, and it continues to work quite well on many people nowadays.  “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you…. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions” (1 John 2:15, 16 NLT).

Satan is a murderer and liar; in fact, he is the father, the propagator, initiator of lies (John 8:44), which is why it is imperative for Christians to be immersed in truth—taking up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).

The enemy is a tempter, as we see in the Garden of Eden and in the life of Christ (Luke 4:1-13).  …and he doesn’t use things that don’t matter to us to cause us to stumble!  The enemy knows our vulnerable places and the things that are important to us—he then approaches from those directions (my life experience has shown that demons may “test the water” just to see how I respond in different situations, and when they find weaknesses, they tend to focus their attacks in those places).  In areas where we find our strength in the Lord, Satan and his minions will go scurrying away: “Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7, 8).

The devil is a deceiver (Revelation 12:9), and unfortunately, many are willing to be deceived!  “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).  There are many ways Satan uses his “gift” of deception; a few ways I have observed include swaying whole segments of society to accept as “right” what God calls unrighteousness— “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20, 21).

I have experienced false doctrines that “pervert the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7), implying that God becoming man and sacrificing His life on a brutal cross was not a sufficient sacrifice for our sins, that our religious performance can make up the difference that Jesus’ perfect life and perfect sacrifice could not completely fulfill.  Sounds blasphemous to write, but sadly I was once entrapped in such a system—but by the grace of God, no longer!  In Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church, he wrote, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”  He goes on to write about “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ,” identifying the evil source of their deception… “And no wonder!  For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.  Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works” (1 Corinthians 11:13, 13-15).

Another way demons hope to deceive Christians is by fraud, broken promises, and even disappointments caused by other believers—tempting us to quit trusting God, His sovereignty, or His love for us.  When these things happen, it is easy to become frustrated, upset at one’s self, and angry at others—disrupting the peace which comes from the good news of Jesus.  This is a precarious place and the enemy has every intention of taking advantage of it, if we let him.  Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians, “‘Be angry, and do not sin’:  do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26, 27).  When we hold onto frustration instead of faith, we provide a doorway for demons to wreak havoc in our lives. …which is why it is necessary to understand, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

As Christians, we all have targets on our backs; we have an enemy who wants to defeat, disable, discredit, and destroy us.  Our greatest danger is to grow sleepy and forget that he is hard at work, seeking to steal, kill, and destroy our lives.  His greatest danger is the one who will keep his (or her) eyes on “Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).