The Enemy is Real, but He is Never Right: How recognizing Satan’s predictable tactics helps us be purposeful as we stand together in God’s truth instead of falling for his lies

Spiritual warfare. It’s a hard topic to understand, let alone write about, but this week, I’ve decided to tack a “stab at it.” And yes, there's a double entendre there as my hope is to not only tackle the topic but to truly put the enemy in his place.

I’ll be honest, I've had mixed emotions about the topic throughout the years. I think it's because some people put too much emphasis on it while others, not quite enough. And while I definitely don't want to be scared of spiritual warfare or think that everything is attached to it in some way, shape, or form (like those who act like “there’s a demon around every corner”), I do know that it is real, because our enemy is real.

But just because he’s real (and wants to wreak havoc in a believer’s life), he is never right and never winning even though he’ll continually claim to be as long as the world is spinning. In fact, since he’s never right or never winning, if he is behind something, you can rest assured you need to do the opposite and always remember while he is a defeated foe, he is a real enemy.

He wants to keep us fighting each other, focused on our discrepancies instead of our commonalities. When we remember God's Word, His foundational truth, and what He's called us as believers in Jesus Christ to do, our eyes can remain fixed on Him as our source of strength to turn our fight against the real enemy instead of each other.

These are a few lessons I’m learning about this enemy of ours and how God is calling us to fight him together.

First of all, he lacks creativity. He may be cunning, but he is not creative. Therefore, he’s always showing his cards. His plan from the start has been to divide, distract, deceive, and eventually devour you and me. Instead of letting him do that over and over again, let’s learn his tactic and use it against him.

Secondly, because he lacks creativity and still keeps seemingly winning, we have to stick together in order to defeat his plan to isolate us. God created us all for relationship with Him and with each other, and when we are in right relationships, we can see His handiwork as we, in fellowship with Him, and cultivate community.

We have to stop allowing every bump in the road to derail us. We have to stop allowing differences of opinions to become divisions in our communities. We have to stop building walls where God wants us to build bridges. Walls keep us isolated. Bridges keep us connected. We must remain close to our community as we stay close to God and not allow the enemy’s deceit to rob us of God’s design.

The enemy twists truth. He skews the “who” of our identity. He puts the focus on feelings rather than facts. He tells us we are the author of our destiny, and we alone define our identity, when in reality, because our loving Heavenly Father created us with purpose, His great love for us shapes and makes us into who He wants us to be. We are made in His image. We yield to His authority. He gives us our identity. When we are found in Him, we can’t be lost by following the lies of the enemy.

When we are in a right and reconciled relationship with God, His truth really will set us free from the bondage of sin and the lies of the enemy. We must get to know Him well enough, through His Word, to allow His truth about who we are and whose we are to defeat the enemies lies that we are in control, it’s all about us, and we’ll find the answers we’re looking for by simply trusting our gut.

Another tactic we must guard against is busyness and idleness. These two things may seem polar opposite, and yet I’ve lumped them together into one tactic, and here’s why. We are busy being idle. We live in an age of nonstop information. Our brains are bombarded with “the latest and greatest” in every area of our life. It’s all literally at our fingertips as we scroll on our devices, allowing the algorithm to be our guide as it puts another variable in the equation and data point on the graph, and it all numbs our minds as it wastes our time, sending us on wild goose chases that leave us empty, exhausted, and exasperated.

Don’t get me wrong. I know there’s useful information out there, and I know we have to exist and do life in this modern world we live in; however, I truly believe the enemy is allowing us to confuse idleness and busyness until we are rendered useless because our brains are overloaded and underworked, relying on AI, quick fixes, and all the less than substitutes that leave us wanting more and frustrated that we settled in the first place.

Our time and attention are two of our most valuable resources, and the enemy is draining them dry with each swipe. We must protect these resources by saying no to busy idleness or idle busyness…however you want to spin it, it always ends in sheer exhaustion and utter frustration and asking ourselves the question, “Why in the world are we doing this?”

So, as you can see, the enemy lacks creativity, but I will give him this, he’s persistent, which means we must be persistent, too, and even more so!

What exactly does that mean?

We must guard our hearts.
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23, ESV)

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)

We must protect our time.
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17, ESV)

We must remember the enemy is real, but he is never right.
“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV)

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, ESV)

Approach His throne before you reach for your phone. Open God’s Word before you open an app. Talk to Him before you talk to a friend. Do these things daily, and you will start to recognize His ways before falling prey to the enemies tactics.

So yes, spiritual warfare is real, but it is definitely nothing to fear, if you’re on God’s side!