1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
A lion uses his roar to scare you, and to drive his prey into the mouths of the waiting lionesses. I have begun to notice that the fear of Evil has much the same affect, that it will send us in a panic in the opposite direction, which is usually not the direction God is leading us to go.
We need to be sober and vigilant, realizing that the opposite of what Satan tells you is not necessarily God's will. The Devil doesn't ever make things quite so simple! We all know that every good lie is at least 50% true. I have found it imperative to find the truth in each of Satan's lies, and acknowledge it as Truth.
Acts 16:
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. 18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out that very hour.
In this case, the opposite to what the spirit of divination was saying, would have been something like; "These men are NOT from God." Paul could not cast the spirit out for telling lies, because it was actually speaking the Truth. The only problem was, that it was known to be a spirit of divination. Notice how Paul allowed it to continue for many days, before casting it out.
Was he wrong to let this go on for so long? Was Paul confused, thinking it was the Holy Spirit proclaiming His presence? I don't think so, not for either case. I think that, even when dealing with evil spirits and/or Satan himself, we need to let them speak their piece as long as it stays in line with God's word.
Consider Jesus when He was being tempted by Satan. Satan quoted scriptures, speaking the Truth to Jesus. Yet at the same time, he would also twist the meaning, and tempt Jesus to do that which was not in the will of the Father.
Matt 4:
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
He shall give His angels charge over you,
and,
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the LORD your God.
Satan always uses half-truths to throw us off course. We cannot afford to run the opposite direction whenever we discern that he is talking to us, as that is exactly what he is intending! The opposite of what Satan says is not God's will. God's true Will is only known by those who will take the time to consider their own desires, allowing themselves to be tempted just as Jesus did, but in the end choosing God's work over their own.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
A lion uses his roar to scare you, and to drive his prey into the mouths of the waiting lionesses. I have begun to notice that the fear of Evil has much the same affect, that it will send us in a panic in the opposite direction, which is usually not the direction God is leading us to go.
We need to be sober and vigilant, realizing that the opposite of what Satan tells you is not necessarily God's will. The Devil doesn't ever make things quite so simple! We all know that every good lie is at least 50% true. I have found it imperative to find the truth in each of Satan's lies, and acknowledge it as Truth.
Acts 16:
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation. 18 And this she did for many days.
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out that very hour.
In this case, the opposite to what the spirit of divination was saying, would have been something like; "These men are NOT from God." Paul could not cast the spirit out for telling lies, because it was actually speaking the Truth. The only problem was, that it was known to be a spirit of divination. Notice how Paul allowed it to continue for many days, before casting it out.
Was he wrong to let this go on for so long? Was Paul confused, thinking it was the Holy Spirit proclaiming His presence? I don't think so, not for either case. I think that, even when dealing with evil spirits and/or Satan himself, we need to let them speak their piece as long as it stays in line with God's word.
Consider Jesus when He was being tempted by Satan. Satan quoted scriptures, speaking the Truth to Jesus. Yet at the same time, he would also twist the meaning, and tempt Jesus to do that which was not in the will of the Father.
Matt 4:
5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
He shall give His angels charge over you,
and,
In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the LORD your God.
Satan always uses half-truths to throw us off course. We cannot afford to run the opposite direction whenever we discern that he is talking to us, as that is exactly what he is intending! The opposite of what Satan says is not God's will. God's true Will is only known by those who will take the time to consider their own desires, allowing themselves to be tempted just as Jesus did, but in the end choosing God's work over their own.
