Do you feel like life is an endless series of struggles that you can’t overcome? Deep in your heart, you probably know that there is more to life, and that you have a bigger purpose than just putting out fires left and right. You know that you were not designed to be constantly exhausted, stuck in fear and confusion. Why, then, is it so hard to overcome? Let’s talk about how to overcome the devil and win your life back.
Today we will be discussing:
- Overcome the Devil and Win Your Life Back
- Overcoming Hopelessness
- Finding Hope and Joy in Life
- How to Resist The Devil
- What Does Satan Sound Like?
- What Does God’s Voice Sound Like?
- Overcoming with God
Overcoming Hopelessness
It might be time to start thinking about your role in your life. This might seem like a funny thought, because it’s obviously your life – of course you know what your role is! But when you think about yourself as the main character of your life, be honest – do you consider yourself a powerful person who is able to create good change, or do you see yourself as a victim who is just trying to stay afloat?
Finding Hope and Joy in Life
The truth is that you were handcrafted by a brilliant and loving God. Only he is allowed to tell you who you are, because he made you. But God has an enemy, and although this enemy is not very powerful, he can be convincing if we choose to believe him. This enemy roams around like a lion, seeking to steal, kill, and destroy. That’s the only thing he does with his existence, so it’s important that we recognize where he is hiding in our lives – and how to fight against him. “The truth will set you free” (John 8:32), and it will empower you and enable you to overcome anything. You can overcome the devil and win your life back.
How to Resist The Devil
Like I said, Satan’s power is a speck of dust compared to the power of your creator God. God created Satan, too, and Satan is simply like a rebellious toddler throwing a fit. When God’s Son, Jesus, died on the cross and rose back to life, he received authority over every being in heaven and on Earth, including Satan. Philippians 2:9-10 says that “God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on Earth and under the Earth.”
But even though Satan isn’t more powerful than God, he is called the “father of Lies” (John 8:44) and Jesus says that lying is simply Satan’s native language. Satan rebelled against God before the first human was created (Isaiah 14), and he did that because he wanted to be in God’s place – he wanted to be the most worshiped being of all. He operates from a place of pride, and every one of his actions is self-obsessed. When we consider that he is a liar and he is self-centered, it becomes easier to recognize thoughts that come from him and oppose the voice of God. You will overcome the devil and win your life back.
What Does Satan Sound Like?
Satan is the ultimate narcissist. Even though God created us in His own image, so that we would reflect the beauty and character of God, Satan wants us to reflect him instead. He is obsessed with his own image, and essentially wants to turn all of us into mirrors so that he can see himself everywhere. God punished Satan for his rebellion a long time ago by casting him out of heaven, and now Satan is full of shame instead of the beauty he once held when he was an angel serving God. But instead of humbly swallowing his punishment from God, He tries to project it on God’s children.
Satan is called the accuser, murderer, and devourer. If he feels shame, he tries to make us feel shame so that we look like him. If he feels jealous, he tries to make us feel jealous. If he feels hopeless, he tries to make us feel hopeless. These lies are the opposite of God’s truth about his children. Again, it’s not important to dwell on Satan’s schemes or tricks. He is essentially acting like a toddler who, after being asked by a parent to do something, does the opposite thing out of spite. Satan is immature and he knows he doesn’t have power, so he tries to convince us to give up our power and believe his lies. But you will overcome the devil and win your life back.
What Does God’s Voice Sound Like?
Fighting against Satan’s lies is easy – all we have to do is stay close to God and declare the truth. Those who submit to Jesus’ authority instead of Satan’s are called God’s children. Jesus protects his children and is easily able to dismiss Satan’s accusations. It’s simply a matter of choosing to partner with Jesus’s defense of us, instead of submitting to Satan’s lies. Jesus does give us the choice of which one we want to submit to. Naturally, I encourage you to partner with Jesus, who is more powerful, more loving, and offers far more freedom. Satan’s lies can feel comfortable, but it’s only the kind of comfort that a prison cell offers.
Ephesians 6:10-17 tells us how to stand against the devil.
“Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power,” it says. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.”
Ephesians 6:10-17
Overcoming with God
Look at all of those weapons that Jesus offers us against Satan’s petty lies! He offers truth, righteousness, readiness, peace, faith, salvation, and the sword of the spirit. When you stand firm in the confidence that comes from being a child of God, you will be able to overcome anything. From this day on, you no longer have to be the person that Satan accuses you of being. He’s lying. You are God’s masterpiece, and you have full authority against him.
