3 Ways to Recognize and Silence the Real Devil

Debbie W. Wilson's blog is about refreshing faith. It's full of positive counsel to grow in hope and spiritual maturity. She recognizes some of the struggles in the walk of faith, like dealing with a very real devil. In this Discernment UPGRADE, Debbie shares three ways to deal with the devil's attacks—to stop him in his tracks!

"On Halloween, horned devils and gruesome looking goblins may show up at your door asking for treats," she said. "However, the real devil is much more subtle—and dangerous."

I (Dawn) think the scary thing is that—even though people wear red horns and costumes of what they mistakenly think the devil looks like—so many people don't believe the devil is real! How do we silence the devil if we don't believe he exists? Debbie has some profound thoughts here.    

Debbie continues . . .

For several weeks the thought that an answer I’d given at Bible study had misled and confused my friend taunted me. I hadn’t seen her to address it.

Over mugs of steaming tea, I asked, “Can I ask you about the question you raised in Bible study?”

Her brown eyes widened. “What question? I don’t remember a question.”

I’d worried my answer to my friend’s question had led to an inaccurate understanding of the topic. Her response showed I’d been duped by our spiritual enemy’s lies and accusations—again.

The Bible describes our spiritual enemy, the devil, as a roaring lion that prowls around looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is “the accuser of our brothers and sisters” (Revelation 12:10).

Are you familiar with his accusations?

Satan also sows seeds of fear and doubt.

After a medical appointment, I mentioned to my husband what the nurse had said in passing that had left me feeling discouraged.

“That sounds like a poisonous dart,” he said.

“Reading through the Gospel of Mark, I’ve noticed that the first thing Jesus does when He meets someone tormented by demons is to tell the demons, ‘Be quiet.’”

The enemy had used this woman’s medical position to give her words power they didn’t deserve.

So how do we protect ourselves from the devil’s arrows?

Dealing with the Real Devil's Attacks

1. Stay Alert!

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 NLT).

Copperheads live in our area. When I’m outside during warm months, I look where I’m gardening and where my dogs walk. Like copperheads, Satan blends in with otherwise safe and normal surroundings.

Knowing he is there should make us alert, not afraid.

Notice how Peter describes our enemy:

• He prowls: my computer dictionary defines this as, “move around restlessly and stealthily, especially in search of … prey.”
  • He slips in when we are weary or our defenses are down, like when we are in so-called safe places—like Bible study or a doctor’s appointment.
• Roaring: Lions roar to paralyze and intimidate their prey. 
  • I read that a lion’s intimidating roar can be heard up to 5 miles away. Their roars scare off hyenas and send fear through those they hunt. Lions that are too weak to hunt roar to scare off would-be attackers.
• Looking for someone to devour: 
  • The devil is always looking for opportunities to pounce. His goal is to destroy—our faith, joy, peace, fruitfulness, and relationships.

2. Be Discerning

Satan masquerades as an angel of light, pretending to offer correction. Yet, Satan just accuses and condemns.

While Satan hurls vague accusations of guilt and shame and offers no constructive steps to change, Jesus is our advocate.

The Holy Spirit’s correction is always specific, clear, and empowering (2 Corinthians 7:10). The Holy Spirit never shames you.

When we are in a spiritual battle, other believers can help us find truth. Let a trusting believer know your battle.

My husband’s insight exposed the dart and freed me.

3. Follow Jesus’s Example

If a fear or accusation continues to taunt you after you’ve confessed it, you are dealing with one of Satan’s fiery arrows.

If you feel guilty but have no clear wrong to confess, use your delegated authority (Ephesians 1:18-23) and follow Jesus’s example.

Tell the accuser, “Be quiet” (Mark 1:25).

I’d like to hear your insights. What helps you recognize and stop the real devil’s attacks?

Debbie W. Wilson is an award-winning author, Bible teacher, and former Christian counselor who speaks and writes to connect fellow sojourners to the heart of Christ. She and her husband lead Lighthouse Ministries, a non-profit Christian counseling and Bible teaching ministry. Despite time in Boston, the Midwest, and Southern California, Debbie still says y’all. Her family, which includes two grown children and two mischievous standard poodles, calls North Carolina home. Connect with Debbie, find free resources, and learn about her books, including her new release Little Strength, Big God at debbieWwilson.com.

Graphic adapted: Courtesy of Mikhail Nilov at Pexels.

What Are You Welcoming?

Morgan Farr is a physically, mentally and emotionally strong young woman, but what I admire most about her is her spiritual strength. She is a woman of great discernment, and in this Biblical Thinking UPGRADE, she invites us to consider what we welcome into our homes.

“Every single year at the start of fall I make people uncomfortable,” Morgan says.

“Don’t misunderstand me—I don’t do it on purpose, but it happens nevertheless.”

When I (Dawn) first read Morgan’s post, I thought, “She’s setting herself up for some serious criticism from readers.” But Morgan’s emphasis on discernment is a message the family of God needs to hear in these days where there is so much spiritual darkness.

It’s a matter of aligning the heart with the will, ways and Word of God.

Morgan continues . . .

We are an Army family. By our sixth year of marriage we will have moved four times with three small children. This means every time that we move we have to develop new friendships and explain our traditions and convictions.

One of the first things people learn about me—after my love of Jesus, Texas A&M and Dr. Pepper—is that I love fall. I love the colors, smells, and family traditions. I pull out the fall decor on August 31 to be fully decorated on September 1.

People can tell I love this season.

Every year people ask us what are plans are for the holidays.

I tell them we purposely choose to have Christmas where we are stationed so our home and family is available to the soldiers who can’t travel home. I share about hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the people who train in our gym.

And then the inevitable question…

“What are you doing for Halloween? Would you like to trick-or-treat with us?”   

And I give the same answer every time: “No thank you. We don’t trick-or-treat, because we don’t celebrate Halloween.”

This almost always leads to a discussion of WHY we don’t celebrate Halloween.

There are plenty of articles out there on why Christians should not celebrate Halloween. So today isn’t going to be another of those articles.

Instead, I am going to share how three questions increased my discernment leading to our family convictions about what holidays we celebrate, what shows we watch, and what we allow to fill our minds.

1. What are you inviting in?

With Halloween comes the scary movies and TV shows. When you watch scary television shows, horror movies, or television shows about crime (Bones/CSI), what are you inviting into your mind?

I Corinthians 10:21 says, “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s Table and of the table of demons.”

Yet how many of us pray to our perfect and holy Father at our evening meal and then pop open Netflix to watch some sex crimes on Law and Order SVU?

Does watching any of that actually benefit us, or more importantly, God?

2. What does this show in your Christian witness?

As believers, we are called to be Christ’s representatives here on Earth.

According to Titus 2:7, we are supposed to “...set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness.”

Now, does this mean we unfairly judge others for watching these shows? NO.

Oswald Chambers wrote,

“God never gives us discernment in order that we may criticize, but that we may intercede.”

It should break our hearts to see people (especially fellow believers) trapped in bondage to the evil material that allows Satan to get his foot in the door of their minds and their lives (Ephesians 4:27).

We should not be conforming to the expectations of society.

I often hear people say things like, “But won’t your kids miss out?”

YES! They sure will.

If it will prevent my children from battling the demons that “spooky” and “scary” movies open the door to, then I will gladly stand between my children and the darkness.

I often wish someone had made sure that I missed out on the evil and demonic influences of Deen Koontz, Lisa Jackson, and Anne Rice. Some of the scenes from their books and movies plague my mind to this very day, if I am not wrapping myself in scripture.  

3. How does this honor God?

In Corinthians 10:31 we read, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

I heard it said once:

We should not see how much we can get away with, but rather, how holy can we become.

This means that we need to be asking some hard questions.

Things like:

• Is watching American Horror Story honoring God? No? Then don’t watch it.
• Does reading Harry Potter honor God? No? Then don’t read it.
• Will dressing up as Katniss on Halloween bring glory to God? No? Then don’t do it.

It is that simple.  

Many people have followed up this conversation with, “But really, does watching these movies or celebrating this holiday do anything bad? After all, it is just pretend, and it isn’t like I am going out and doing the things in the movies!”

This is where I would like to quote the English preacher, Charles Spurgeon:

“Discernment is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; but rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right.”

How much ground do we give Satan every single day simply because we would rather be “almost right” and popular rather than truly right and different?

My answer? Way too much.

What areas of your life could use some more discernment?

Morgan Farr is a Texas loving Army wife currently stationed in San Diego, California, with her wonderful husband Brian and their three small children. Morgan is a homemaker who dedicates her time to ministering to other Army wives through Bible studies, one-on-one mentoring, and physical training. Morgan writes about her transition out of feminism and into biblical womanhood on her blog, The Forgiven Former Feminist. You can find her training programs, nutritional information and meal plans on her blog, Farr Functional Fitness.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Frances Yeung at Unsplash.