Satan’s Ploys to Discourage Us

Two ploys of Satan

Our enemy wants to defeat us. He has many ways he attempts to accomplish this feat. Perhaps if we are aware of these ploys, we will easier identify them and refuse to listen to his tactics.

Our past

Our past is just that: it’s in the past. We cannot change what happened, no matter how we wish we might. We cannot take away the consequences, even if we try. Satan knows that.

So, he uses that against us. Be honest: when you look at your past and wish it were different, do you feel hopeful or discouraged?  Discouraged, of course. That’s exactly where the devil wants us to live: in discouragement.

This is his ploy: discouragement. When we’re discouraged, it’s hard to face today or the future. We feel that we can’t rise above what happened. It bogs us down. That’s exactly what he wants.

Remember this: redemption is not just for the future. It’s also for our past. God can make beauty out of ashes. He can – and does – take broken pieces and turns them into a mosaic of beauty. He can turn our mourning into the oil of joy. Our mourning becomes a bright new morning!

Don’t let the discouragement of your past keep you from Joy.

Our future

The other ploy the devil uses is fear. We can’t change our past and we definitely can’t control the future. Certainly, we can make choices that help define our future. Yet, when we face uncertainties in life, fear is common because we don’t know – and can’t control – our future. God specializes in things we think are impossible. There is absolutely nothing too hard for Him, and nothing He cannot do.

Ah, but the devil does not want us to believe that. He doesn’t want us to live in that hope. Rather, he wants us crippled with fear. 

When you are stifled by fear, remember that God gives grace for the impossible situations that don’t change. His storehouses are filled and He will do “exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think.”  He gives us the ability to trust in the darkness when fear keeps us awake at night. 

Satan’s discouragement and fear can cripple us, but God is bigger. We must claim the scripture that tell us “greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.”

The bottom line

When you’re feeling defeated, ask yourself if you’re listening to the devil’s ploys of discouragement and fear. If so, recognize his strategy and turn your focus to the Word. Claim the truths available since the beginning of time. The Word of God can anchor your soul, and that’s the place where you can find peace and hope.