I have a friend who is going through a rough time, and satan and his spiritual attacks are pretty heavy. My friend feels pretty worn down and wore out. His feelings and thoughts are running rampant and he's in survival mode. He keeps feeling promptings or voices and he doesn't know what to do with them.
But then question came up, "How do I know if it's satan or God?"
Well, I'm glad he asked! A big first step is to say, "I want to get rid of the bad and keep the good," and that applies to our spiritual lives in a very real way.
I've lived his question so many times in my life. After years of suffering through many situations of my own, and asking the same question, I gathered up a cheat sheet for him that I had put together to help sort it out and sent it over.
When you are down in the mud and are exhausted, sometimes you are just too worn down to get your brain to latch onto facts and not emotions. But, to sort through this question, you HAVE to set emotion aside and analyze the situation with God's facts only.
(Just a note though, not all attacks are from satan, we may label them that way to push away from it, but sometimes it's training and sifting from God. He's not going to push you do to things against Him, but He will let you deal with situations to grow you, mature you, and sharpen your weapons for future battles.)
A few years back I developed my "Life Goals" pictures. (You can see them here on the Fruit of the Spirit bags). One day inspiration struck me, and I realized that if I posted what to do, I should also make note of what not to do. As a result, I had a new design! In bold letters was "Life Goals" and in faded words behind them were listed all the things we are called to not be or do.
It didn't take long to see that my list still wasn't complete. These were just the words and actions, but what about the situations that satan creates that make us stumble? Things like confusion or feeling self-righteous? Or being goaded into self-harm? Or being reminded of our past mistakes and letting them stop us from living the life God wants us to live? What about the times we can't tell the voice of the Holy Spirit from other voices?
I am a practical person who likes to do things right the first time. Redoing and backtracking to fix something is such a time waster. So, I took my "fruit of the spirit" list, added the "love isn't" list, and added a bit more. I wanted a quick way to sort out the good from the bad in the heat of the battle. I wanted a way to say, "Holy Spirit, this is from satan, isn't it?" or, "Holy Spirit is this from God? Help me navigate this training moment so I don't stumble, and give me clarity and calmness!"
I know when satan attacks me, it's when I can't sleep. I go days on end just completely exhausted. My defenses are down, my brain is in slow motion, my emotions are high and are, unfortunately, running the ship. In those moments I react as me - not as God wants me too. I become short-tempered, cranky, impatient, and I rely on my own instincts rather than the Holy Spirit. I'm in that place right now as I write this. I need to be extra aware and, on my toes, to make sure satan doesn't bait me with something that I willingly grab at.
Anyway.... back to the list. On one side of my list are all the things God calls us too. Desires, actions, thoughts. Things that reflect who God is, (usually, things that go against our nature, but we should be striving for), and things we chose to change in our lives to live a godlier life. The Fruit of the Spirit (and more.)
On the other side are all things that aren't God. Things that satan pushes and tempts us into. Actions, thoughts, feelings. He can't force us to do these things, but he can make them seem pretty appealing. Satan will use the people around us, our circumstances, our past, our wants and desires, everything!, to lure us into his world.
Once the item on the list is selected it, becomes easy to say "satan, I see you!" and "Jesus! Help me with this!" It also makes your deliverance prayer more powerful as you command the spirit of confusion or selfishness or gossip to leave you in Jesus' name!
This isn't a fix-all. But it's a tool, like a flashlight, to use to shed light on what is actually going on.
I like knowing that God cares enough for us to gives us a heads up and equip us. And I love that He's sent His Holy Spirit to walk us through things. But one thing is for certain, every time we decide to make our own decisions because we think we know enough to do that, things go sideways fast! (Want proof? Read pretty much the entire Old Testimanet..... those poor people could never survive on their own without botching something!)
I have attached a copy of the "Things of God vs satan" to this blog. Feel free to download it, use it, tweak it, and do whatever you need to make it useable to you.
Proverbs 14: 15-16 says "Only simpletons believe everything they're told! The prudent carefully consider their steps. The wise are cautious and avoid danger; fools plunge ahead with reckless confidence." (nlt)
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