The Evil Pit Master

Apollyon. Abaddon. Belial. Beelzebub.

He has many names.

Tempter. Wicked one. Old serpent. Murderer. Liar. Enemy. Adversary. Devil.

And the list goes on.

Accuser of the brethren. Angel of the bottomless pit. Father of lies. Great red dragon. Prince of this world. Evil one. Ruler of the darkness of this world.

He's described as crafty, wily and subtle. We are told he hinders us and sets traps for us. He masquerades as an angel of light. He displays all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders.

In my opinion, Peter gives us one of the best descriptions in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Plain and simple. Satan's our enemy. He hates us and would love to devour and defeat us.

Most of the time, we focus on studying about God's love and grace, but if we fail to understand the ways of the enemy, then we position ourselves in a place to be more easily snared by his crafty deceit.

I find the names listed above quite revealing of his personality and his goals. Please read them again.

Don't you find him repulsive? I do.

The last thing I ever want to do is cooperate with the ruler of this world. So as I read scripture, I add details to my mental file titled, "the snake" in order to build a more complete character sketch of his evil ways. God has a reason for giving us this much information on the wicked one in His Word. 

For me, a great motivator is to thwart any goal he has for my life. When I feel the Spirit alert me that the father of lies is whispering in my thoughts, I determine to stomp his efforts by running him out of my presence by quoting scripture. He's not a fan of God's word. Or I remind him of where his eternal home will be and how his story ends. Or I turn on some praise music. I can almost hear the door slam as he sprints away from me, the Jesus freak.

Yep, if he wants me to go left, I'm determined right is the way to go. If he wants me to give up, I persevere so that my action or message will put a smile on God's face. If the adversary is watering my negative self-talk seeds, then I must pluck them out by the roots and plant God's Word.

So we know he's the enemy, hater of our souls. How can we battle him if we aren't armed? Stay tuned for next week's post. 

Meanwhile, don't be his dinner—fight the good fight. Be self-controlled and alert.

What sneaky, crafty ways have you discovered how the old serpent torments you? And what do you do that makes him shake in his shoes?

Tammy Van Gils is a writer, blogger, and co-owner of S & N Paint Contractors, Inc. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Word Weavers International. In the Richmond area, she is a member of The Christian Writers Hub and Word Weavers Richmond. Visit her Facebook Page, Pinterest and Twitter @Tammyvangils.