We talk a lot about the enemy.
In sermons, prayers, and everyday conversations, phrases like “the enemy is attacking,” or “the devil is busy” roll off our tongues with ease. We identify patterns, plot his schemes, and brace for impact. But somewhere along the line, we may have developed a strange habit: giving the devil more airtime than God.
It’s not that Scripture hides the reality of evil. We are told to be alert, to resist, to put on armor. But Scripture doesn’t ask us to obsess. It doesn’t call us to build our identity around how much opposition we’re under. It calls us to rest in how much victory we stand in.
So why do we give the enemy such a central seat in our thoughts and theology?
1. Fear is Louder Than Faith
Fear is immediate, emotional, and visceral. It hijacks the senses and drowns out quieter voices like hope, trust, and peace. Fear screams, “What if this all goes wrong?” Faith gently whispers, “Even if it does, God is still good.”
And in a noisy world, fear often wins the mic.
2. We Want an Explanation for Our Pain
When life doesn’t go our way, it’s easier to say “the devil did it” than to engage the deeper and sometimes more painful truth: that God may be allowing the season for our growth.
Not every storm is Satan’s doing. Some are God’s pruning. Some are life’s reality. And some are the mercy of God disguised as delay.
3. We Misunderstand Spiritual Warfare
Many believers view life like a battleground with God and Satan wrestling it out in real-time, as if the outcome is still pending.
But Jesus didn’t say “It has started.” He said “It is finished.”
Spiritual warfare is real, but it’s not a 50/50 struggle. It’s a victory walk for those who know who already won.
4. Bad Theology, Good Intentions
In our desire to be spiritually awake, we sometimes drift into spiritual paranoia. Every delay becomes a demonic attack. Every flat tire becomes a stronghold. We mean well but we end up living small, suspicious lives, instead of open, joyful ones anchored in the truth of God’s presence.
5. The Devil Exploits Attention
The enemy thrives not on power, but on persuasion. He’s a deceiver. His goal isn’t to overpower you. It’s to get your eyes off Christ. And if he can’t make you sin, he’ll settle for making you scared. Because either way, you’ll stop running boldly in grace.
6. We Forget the Ending
When you forget the ending, the middle feels scary. But Revelation doesn’t end with uncertainty. It ends with victory. With finality. With Jesus.
And the enemy? He loses. Not maybe. Not hopefully. He loses completely.
That’s the ending we’re living toward. And that should shape the confidence we walk in.
So, what now?
Let’s stop living like spiritual orphans and start living like sons and daughters, kept, covered, and called.
Let’s be more fluent in the language of God’s keeping power than the enemy’s disrupting power.
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever.” 2 Timothy 4:18
That’s not the voice of someone watching his back. That’s the voice of someone resting in God’s grip.
Scripture Reflection Questions
- In what ways have you been more focused on the enemy’s schemes than God’s promises?
- Read Jude 1:24–25. How does this change your view of spiritual “safety”?
- How might your prayers change if they were based on God’s keeping power rather than fear of attack?
