Satan’s Schemes – Recognising The Drift

One of the most sobering facts about life is that all humans have a supernatural enemy whose aim is to use pain and pleasure to make us blind, stupid, and miserable — forever. John Piper

Satan’s primary modus operandi is to sow confusion into our minds. We become confused about what is morally and ethically correct. The confusion can cause us to choose what does not align with the Word of God, causing us to drift off the path that God has destined for us. The path God has for us leads to a thriving and flourishing life - a life where we find our satisfaction in Christ alone. When our satisfaction is not in Christ alone, things of the world will lure us and cause us to drift from Him. This drift will happen in very subtle ways. And if we don’t recognise this, we will find ourselves believing that the path that we’ve drifted onto is good for us and will bring us the happiness that we long for and think we deserve.

How can we prevent this drift?

We need to be aware of Satan’s subtleties. Satan is cunning and will use anything to draw us away from God, His Word and from fellow believers. He will snatch away the Word of God from our hearts (Matthew 13:19), or perhaps even twist it so that we justify the path that we are drifting on to. It is therefore crucial for us to know the Word of God and be grounded in it so that we will recognise Satan’s subtleties. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), so we need to be alert to his schemes. We need to be aware of his schemes in the lives of our children, family members and friends. We need to be aware of the toys our children play with and who they engage with at school. We need to be aware of what we, and our family members, watch on social media, who and what we engage with online, and what we watch on TV and streaming services. Satan is lurking, looking for easy bait to entrap our loved ones and us. What seems innocent might be causing us and our loved ones to drift from God and lead us into a world where Satan rules.

But there is hope for us who are followers of Jesus Christ, because Jesus came to destroy the works of Satan (1 John 3:8). We can prevent drifting onto Satan’s path by putting on the full spiritual armour each day (Ephesians 6:10-18), by submitting to God and His Word (James 4:7), by praying persistently (Hebrews 4:16)  and acknowledging that Christ has already won the victory, by triumphing over Satan through His death and resurrection (Colossians 2:15)

 But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:

Reflection 

Are there things that you or your family members are engaged in that could cause a drifting from God and the path that He has for you and them? I would like to challenge you to be intentional about praying about this and submitting to God and His Word.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, that You have won and disarmed all rulers and authorities in the heavenlies. Help me, Lord, to recognise the schemes of Satan. I pray that Your Holy Spirit will help me to be alert to anything that I allow to enter my mind and my heart that is contrary to Your Word. Help me to be alert to the schemes of Satan in my family’s lives. Help me to be grounded in Your Word and to arm myself daily with Your spiritual weapons In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.