Satan Attacks Through Ordinary Things

It is not merely in seeking the baptism of the Spirit that people are beguiled of Satan, but in the ordinary affairs of life. A great deal of lethargy with respect to mind and will abounds among the Lord’s people. Many seem to think that when they are saved, God will decide things for them instead of giving them the ability to see for themselves what is right and wrong and what is wise and unwise.

“Understanding what the will of the Lord is”* (Ephesians 5:17) might never have been written, judging by the way some people conduct their lives and homes. Some of them will do anything rather than get into the place of a responsible person endowed with the wisdom and decision of “the new man”* (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10) in Christ. There are those who are always asking for signs and indications in circumstances, forgetting that the devil can easily manipulate circumstances. I wonder that more of them do not ask for signs and tokens as to when and what they are to eat and drink. (I knew of one terrible case of the devil’s dictating when to eat and drink, and the man nearly lost his life. Through prayer and then personal resistance he was delivered.) But most of them cut their lives into two departments—one natural and the other spiritual. In the former they use their brain and will, but in the latter they just drift along. You never know what they are going to do in the spiritual realm, for their guidance is enveloped in some vaporous mysticism which nobody understands.

“Be sober.”* (1 Peter 5:8) Use your mind. Your brain has been redeemed as much as your heart. “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”* (Ephesians 4:23; Colossians 3:10; Romans 12:2) Let the light of God create for you a new intelligence department—understand “what the will of the Lord is.” Say, “I must get to understand the will of the Lord.” This will call for faith and patience, but persist in coming to know God’s will for yourself by a regular searching of His Word. If you will do that, you will guard yourself against falling into many a snare of Satan. In addition, you will become increasingly efficient in the Lord’s service as His fellow-worker (2 Corinthians 6:1).

A word of caution is needed here, however. There are some things that for the time being are by God’s design veiled from our eyes, and the recognition of this sometimes places faith in its best setting to mature (John 13:7).