Dealing with the Big Bad Devil

I have a friend. One day, my friend mocked the devil (do not do this). He said something like this. He said, “Devil, I do not believe you even exist. You are not powerful! You could not even hurt a flea!” This man spoke with a passion. The man was a Christian. Yet he spoke from unbelief. He was mocking the devil! Do not ever do this!

Immediately, the room that he was standing in filled up with smoke. A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the neck, and threw him to the ground. He pleaded with God, “God, I’m sorry for mocking the devil! Forgive me! Please, forgive me!” Instantly, the smoke disappeared. The hand disappeared. Everything was normal again.

This is a true story! And it demonstrates just how real the devil is. The devil is not God. The devil is evil. But God is good! But even though that is true, it does not mean we can simply go on mocking or tempting the devil. That would be to tempt fate. Let us not do that. Let us respect the fact that the devil exists, and that he is very strong. He is especially strong if we sin (do wrong), or if we act in some type of disrespectful way. We understand the devil is evil. But we still do not mock him. We must respect the fact that he is very powerful.

I did not say Christians should not cast demons out of people. They should. But there is a big difference between casting a demon out of someone in faith, and mocking the devil in unbelief! Christians do not come with mockery. But they do operate with authority. There is a big difference between those two!

The Bible, in talking about angelic beings (even evil ones), says we are to be careful how we deal with them, and how we regard them. It says, concerning those who are fleshly (ungodly) in their response,

“... these men ... defile the flesh and reject authority and blaspheme majestic beings.” (See Jude 1:8)

Does this passage include evil angels (namely, demons)? Actually, it does, because in the next verse, it gives us an example:

But Michael the archangel, when he argued with the devil, disputing concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 1:9)

So Michael the archangel (he is a very powerful good angel), did not even belittle or mock the devil (and Michael is much stronger than any human being). Michael refused to do that, because he knows the devil is very powerful. And he also knows that in order to “win” at fighting the devil, you have to do it in God’s way. God’s way is the way of trust. It is the way of faith. It is the way of authority. But it is not the way of mocking. We must be careful we understand the difference! For there is a clear difference!

That man who invited the devil into his midst, without even understanding what was happening, did so by faith. For in the spirit realm, it works that way. By faith, you can move mountains, but by (negative) faith (which is called “unbelief”), those mountains can come landing on you! For it is just as Jesus said, when his disciples asked him why they could not cast the demon out of a boy.

He said to them, “Because of your unbelief. For most certainly I tell you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will tell this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20)

Perhaps you have failed in some area of your life. Perhaps like me, you “missed the mark” even after you came to faith in Jesus. What should a person do then? For sometimes, the devil or one of his demons, will try to take advantage of that. They will say, “You are a failure, because of such and such.”

Suppose you make a terrible mistake in life. However, you did not intend to make a mistake, but thought you were doing your best! But it turns out, you were mistaken. This has happened a lot. The devil, or a spirit, will then “seize” on this, and use it to condemn you, so that you feel miserable and are unable to operate normally. Not only did you make a mistake in the past, you cannot even operate properly in the present, because of this sense of “condemnation.” Well, it is self-condemnation, and it is because you do not know your Bible. Don’t worry! I have been there many times. I am not condemning you. I want to help you.

Here is an amazing verse that I saw one day, when I was condemning myself for my stupidity. I did not even have to read it, because God simply brought this verse to my mind. It was amazing.

“Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence? If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there!” (Psalm 139:7-8)

You see, God will not abandon you if you accidentally make your bed in Sheol. What does it mean to make your bed in Sheol? First, “make your bed” means you did something. Mama did not do that to me! Papa did not do that to me! I did it myself! I made my own bed there, meaning, I did something very stupid.

The word “Sheol” means the place of the dead, the grave, hell itself, or the pit1. It’s not a good place, but a bad place, and sometimes we may find ourselves there by our own doing! Should we then condemn ourselves? Wait! God did not abandon you, even though you made this mistake! He’s not out to “get you,” or condemn you, as long as you recognize your mistake. So stop, and take a deep breath, and say, “God is still with me. He has not abandoned me.”

One of the deepest troubles a Christian can experience, and one that causes unending pain to individuals and even entire families, is not knowing that you are truly loved, even in the midst of all of your failures (which the devil seems to remind you of time and time again).

Another thing is shame. If a person is raped, for example, they may feel a sense of shame because of what people will think. Or, if a person failed in business, or the person did all they could to serve God, but still failed to achieve all that they thought they should achieve, or even if they did something wrong, and it was their fault, then personal shame can overwhelm them. They may feel rejected. Or if, in their past, they used to sleep around, or do drugs, and what they did somehow affected someone today, so that they are not doing so well, then a person can live with a sense of self-condemnation, or guilt, concerning that. All of these things, or all of these so-called “past failures,” can, and do, provide “hooks.” The devil, or a demon, can take hold of these, and speak to you, if you are not steadfast in your faith. These are the worst hooks, because they render a person ineffective in the present.

Freedom is within your Grasp

This battle is very real. It is just as real, and just as dangerous, as what happened to my friend, who got pinned to the ground by an invisible, but real, devil. This devil has power. The problem is not all in your mind. The problem is tangible. The problem involves spiritual powers. But you will never be free, unless you affirm what the Bible says, and keep affirming it, day after day, so that it becomes ingrained, and even “second nature” in your conscience. And for many people, who struggle with these types of things, this is where the problem lies. They are so used to the voice of condemnation (that they heard when they were growing up, in their formative years, or perhaps as a result of something even more recent), that they find it especially difficult to truly “break free.” But I tell you, freedom is within your grasp.

You may have been told that your problem is with a demon. Someone may have prayed for you to cast that demon out. Maybe you experienced a good measure of freedom one day, only to find yourself “back where you started” a week later. What happened?

One belief system says, “Cast the demon out, and you will be free.” Yes, but did not Jesus say to the man who had been crippled thirty-eight years, whom he had healed,

“Sin no more, so that nothing worse happens to you”? (See John 5:14)

So you can get free, but you can lose your freedom just as easily as you received it, on account of your own sin.

“But I did not mean it!”

You certainly did not mean to, but you still “missed the mark” and fell into sin by your unbelief when you said, “O God, why do you reject me?”

God did not reject you, if you have come to know him. For he abides in you, by his Holy Spirit (see Ephesians 1:13-14), and once having come in, he will not reject you. For Jesus said,

“I will in no way leave you, neither will I in any way forsake you.” (See Hebrews 13:5)

Pilate’s Wife

There is nothing worse than being troubled in your mind. Pilate’s wife said that she suffered terribly in a dream (see Matthew 27:19). The mind is a terrible place to suffer. I myself have many times suffered in my mind. It is at times like these that you know for sure you lack peace. It is like your mind is screaming. Why can you not settle down? Why is there no peace? That’s because there are demons badly affecting you. This is a sure sign of demonic activity. I’m not saying there is no such thing as metabolic imbalance. It is possible to be imbalanced in your electrolytes. This is another thing entirely. The majority of problems of the mind stem from demonic activity and not metabolic imbalance.

When your mind is screaming, and you don’t have peace, that’s because there are demons there. And if you know you love God, but you feel that God hates you, or is angry with you, or rejects you, then you need to consider what the problem is.

As a Christian, I have felt rejected by God before. And it was indeed because I was sinning by working for a division of a company that God despised. For I was working in the credit card department, and God hates that department. Thus, a spirit was sent against me in order to drive me out. God did not hate me, but I had to get to the root of the problem.

On the other hand, you need to understand what confessions are on your lips. What is going on in your heart? Did someone recently reject you? Did someone say something to you that brought back a memory of one of your past failures? You need to pinpoint and carefully identify your problem.

Pilate’s wife suffered terribly in a dream because of Jesus. It was not because of her own sin. She warned her husband as a result to have nothing to do with prosecuting Jesus. Your suffering may not be because of your own sin. But it may be.

Receiving Forgiveness

If you say, “I am such an idiot!” or, “I am such a fool!” then Pilate’s wife did not say that! She knew she was no fool. She simply suffered in her mind because of a dream. But if your thoughts are troubled, and particularly you feel

- hated

- ashamed

- guilty

- condemned

- like a fool

- a real stupid idiot

and, if you know why, but you keep beating yourself over the head because of it, then that is the key to knowing that there is a spirit at work, and you are suffering from self-condemnation — and that is a spirit. You are feeling guilty when you are not guilty, because God already forgave you for whatever you did that was not right, because did you not confess it already a million times?

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

So because you already said, “I sinned!” a million times, God heard it already! Your problem is that you did not receive your forgiveness; neither did you praise God for it. So the spiritual battle remains, and you can never get free, all of the time, because of this perverted way of thinking. For it is a perversion of God’s design for you not to receive forgiveness after you have confessed your sin. And that leads to plenty of trouble in your fractured life. Yes, you may feel like Humpty Dumpty, fractured! But God will put those pieces together and make a beautiful mosaic, if you will allow him to. Will you?

God’s Sovereignty

Finally, there is the sovereignty of God. In the midst of everything you are doing, is God still sovereign? Who is on this throne, anyway? Can you handle all of the world’s troubles? God’s love for you is deep, friend. He knows all of your mistakes, past, present, and future. And he’s bigger than those mistakes. Perhaps in my own life, this is the biggest challenge of all.

Can I really trust God in the midst of my life? For did I not sin so much? Surely, God must have gotten fed up with me by now. But no, his love is even greater than that. I did abound in sin. But God’s grace abounds even more! I did not mean to offend him, or anyone. But it “just happened.” Now my life is “all messed up.” And what am I going to do about it? I’m going to have to trust God that he’s got it all figured out. Because I certainly do not.

God’s Grace

So then, the devil is strong. But God’s grace, and God’s forgiveness, is stronger still.

The law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace abounded more exceedingly; that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)

This is perhaps one of the most difficult passages to understand. Yet it tells us that God’s grace is greater than our sin. So if your picture of God is that he cannot forgive your sin, then you have the wrong picture, and your “god” is not gracious enough! For the picture of Jesus is so much bigger than that — but you have not perceived it yet, and that’s why the devil sometimes has a “big hold” on your mind, and why you suffer so much.

Lighten up. You are not the master of the universe. But there is One who is. And this One is Great indeed! Meet the lover of your soul, Jesus Christ! He came and paid the cruel penalty of sin on the cross, so that you would not have to bear the shame, or the guilt, that is common to mankind. Receive him, trust him, and walk in him. Do it now, and do it forever. This walk will not be easy, but it sure is rewarding!

How to Do It

How then do you do it? I’m going to tell you a secret (and this should be no secret). In the quietness of your own living space, or how much ever space you have, confess to the Lord, saying, “Lord I trust you. You died for me. Your grace is more than enough to cover all my sin. I’m sorry for doubting you. I’m not worthy but I receive your forgiveness.” And God will hear you.

On the other hand, even though he heard you, that one prayer may not be enough. You may sense “power” or “oppression” resting on you. You will be able to feel it in your mind, as though someone is angry with you. You might think it’s your spouse, your boss, your best friend, or your worst enemy, who is angry with you, because you can almost “feel” their anger towards you. You might even think it is God himself who is angry towards you. How come? There is about a 100% chance that there are demons working on you at that point in time, trying to urge you to become angry, or fearful. You are lacking peace, and here is what you absolutely need to do: get on your knees again, and pray to God. Pray for God’s grace. At this time, you need “more grace,” still.

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Be subject therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:6-7)

You will eventually obtain that grace (it may take a few minutes, or it may take longer), as you “press in” in prayer. Receive, friend. Meditate on God’s goodness. Receive God’s forgiveness and healing in your own life. Pray for other people around you. Pray that God’s grace and favor would descend upon your house, your room, or wherever you happen to be. Your solution will be found as you learn to receive, and abide in, God’s grace.

God is teaching you to pray, and to depend upon him. You will need to do this daily. Why are there no shortcuts? Because the world we live in is full of demons, and our hearts themselves are deceitfully wicked (see Jeremiah 17:9).

Temptation exists at every turn, and God is preparing your hands for spiritual war, which means learning humility and dependence on him. Are you up for the challenge? The rewards are absolutely fantastic, and will involve God using you to draw many people unto himself. And for that you and they combined will be eternally grateful.