Satan?! Where?! I Don’t See Him!

Where is Satan?

2 Corinthians 11:14 – “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

We as Christian’s don’t take our enemy, Satan, as seriously as we should.  Sometimes we don’t even see or feel Satan in our lives.  Lets first throw out of our minds the image we have of Satan.  We see images of Satan as some red skinned looking being with a pitch fork, hoofs and a pointy tail.  This is what he wants us to think of him as, like some cute cartoon character.  To me if I saw that image coming down the road I would be like “oh snap! That’s the devil!  Be prepared!”.

Unfortunately he is not like that at all, he is a deceiver.  We are told in 2 Corinthians “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”  In the context of that verse, which is extremely important, Paul is warning the Corinthians against false prophets.  This is how Satan works and gets to us in our lives.  He reveals himself as an angel of light!  That gift you received that you call a blessing from God could actually be from Satan.  Sure it may look good but what is the end result going to be?

Many Christians fall into things like that, claiming everything that is good from the Lord when in reality it can be from Satan.  That council you received, even though it’s from a loved one, could genuinely be from Satan.  Sure they tickled your ear but that tough decision you were going to make, how does it affect others?  How will it make other people feel?  How will it look to others?  How will it bring blessing in a non-selfish manner?  Will it bring good to you and to others in the end?  What good fruits will it bring to everyone around you and not just yourself?

Beloved, we must test the spirits and discern what is of God and of Satan!  In 1 John 4:1 we are commanded to test the spirits, like I have stated.  1 John 4:1 says ” Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”  The devil is looking to trip us up, he is the best at what he does, he doesn’t foolishly think out a plan.  He waits for an opportune moment and when he sees it he pounces on it.  He knows what you are feeling and what you want to see, don’t get handed something claiming it was from the Lord but it was from Satan, even though it may look good and feel good.  They say Satan is the only one who wants things to go well in your life and I find it to be true.  God does bless and God does provide, don’t get me wrong but  God works us and sanctifies us through our problems and trials.  If we don’t have something pressing us and bringing us closer to God then it is human nature to remain in the same place we are.  As sad as it sounds, we only seek God when we are in the valley, we never go after God when we are on the mountain tops.  Again, we never learn lessons or we never have our hearts changed unless we are brought to our knees, crying out for our Savior.  Watch out people!  Be warned!  Discern and test the things you receive!

-Scott