The Words the Devil Hates

 March 12, 2024

Tuesday

Have you ever thought what strategies the devil is going to use against you? Let's realize who he is and that will indicate what he desires to do. 

The devil hates God intensely. He, therefore, hates all that God loves. He hates you and he wants what God has. Therefore, he desires to keep as many people away from God as he can. If he can't keep you from salvation, he will do his best to steal what salvation offers on this earth. He wants to steal your spiritual joy, your manifest presence of the Lord, your eternal rewards (not salvation but what you have earned), and your testimony of your relationship with the Lord. It isn't that those things don't exist. It's the fact that you don't know them anymore. 

What does the devil need to do to take these things from you? He needs to get you away from God's word, God's people and God's work. If he can do this, he is as successful as he will ever be. He is condemned. There is an eternity of judgement waiting for him. He just wants to hurt God as much as he can before he faces his eternity.

So, you are tempted to forego having a quiet time. It doesn't seem to be the end of the world. No one besides yourself knows that you did. Truthfully, you are now like most of the Christians in the world who missed their quiet times today. You'll catch up tomorrow, right? 

Do you think that telling the policeman that you will stop twice at the next light will work? No, you need that quiet time today for today. You can't have yesterday's quiet time today. It is subtle but it is an effective way to keep you away from God's word.

While there are lots of books saying that people are not attending church because they were hurt by the church in the past, that apparently isn't the main reason that people stopped going to church. According to surveys, the main reason is that they moved. They were either just too far away or moved to a completely different area of the country where they knew no one except their neighbors and co-workers who didn't go to church either. It was easy to fill in the time with going to the Y, grilling out and just relaxing. This is an incredibly effective way to steal your spiritual joy, your own awareness that the Lord is present and your testimony. Satan will probably leave you alone. There is no reason to upset what he already has.

Doing the Lord's work can be frustrating. It takes time. It prevents you from doing a lot of the things you would rather do. I, personally, have not had a three-day weekend in over forty years. That's the life of a pastor. Wouldn't it be great to take off when you want to take off and not have to worry about the hole you left in a ministry? You don't need a substitute because you aren't committed to anything. Sure, you go to church when you can. And you can when nothing else is planned. You don't even realize that all the rewards you have earned from serving the Lord can be lost. (1 Corinthians 9:27) The devil loves this. He couldn't be happier with you.

What are the words the devil hates to hear? He hates to hear of the joy of God. He hates to hear that God is well pleased with you.

 Matthew 25:21 (NASB 2020) ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter the joy of your master.’

So, he does his best to make sure that never happens.

The devil is seeking to devour you today. 

1 Peter 5:8 (NASB 2020) ⁸ Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

However, you have Someone he must answer to. You will have victory over him. You have had your quiet time. You will be in church to encourage and stimulate others to good works as they will encourage and stimulate you. You will hear the words that the devil hates.

1 Peter 5:9–10 (NASB 2020) ⁹ So resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are in the world. ¹⁰ After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.