Four Deadly Devices of the Devil

Our adversary Satan wants to prevent us from inheriting eternal life as God intends for us. This blog looks at four ways he attacks God’s people.

The Bible describes Satan the devil as “a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan is a powerful being opposed to God and those who strive to follow Him. In fact, Satan has been attacking God’s people for approximately 6,000 years—going all the way back to Adam and Eve (for more on this battle, read “God vs. Satan”).

Satan’s attacks can be unpredictable, deadly and constantly changing. This blog post will examine four of his deadly devices: the four Ds of disappointment, doubt, discouragement and division.

1. Disappointment

Satan uses disappointment as a powerful weapon. Many of us have felt disappointment at various points in our lives, and nothing much came of the matter. Yet there are times when disappointment has led to much more—such as murder.

Disappointment hit mankind very early in history with Cain (the first son of Adam and Eve). After his offering was not respected by God, Cain was disappointed. Instead of using this disappointment as motivation to improve himself, he let it lead to anger (Genesis 4:5-6). This festered in him until it led to murder (verses 8-9).

2. Doubt

In comparing the armor of a soldier to the armor of God, Paul said that we need the shield of faith to quench “the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). Faith is needed against Satan because one of his greatest weapons is doubt.

Doubt was one of the first weapons that Satan used in his attacks on mankind. Using deception, he influenced Eve to doubt God’s very clear instructions (Genesis 3:1-6). Doubt doesn’t just harm our faith, it also harms our relationship with God and those around us. Satan influenced the first humans to doubt God, the most faithful Being there ever could be. Ever since then, Satan has attacked the faith of God’s people.

3. Discouragement

Sometimes, it can be easy to become discouraged. It can be challenging to stay positive when life seems to be wearing us down. Often, this is no accident. The Bible records a very specific example of Satan deliberately attacking someone’s life to discourage him.

In the first two chapters of Job, we see that Satan deliberately acted to remove almost everything positive from Job’s life. Satan discouraged Job to the point that he even cursed the day of his birth (Job 3:1).

Satan’s first assault on Job was not enough to make Job sin because the Bible says that “Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (Job 1:22). After Satan had finished taking away much of what Job had, including his health, the Bible records that “Job did not sin with his lips” (Job 2:10).

Though Job did not emerge from Satan’s assault totally sin-free, he survived, learned lessons and was not destroyed by discouragement. Satan often tries to wear us down through trials and difficulties. Instead of being discouraged to the point of giving up, we should use trials to grow in godly character (James 1:2-4). 

4. Division

One of Satan’s greatest tools is division. In a defiant rebellion against God, he divided the angels, bringing a third of these powerful beings into his revolt (Revelation 12:4, 9). Ever since he divided the angels, Satan has been at work dividing God’s creation—specifically mankind. He divided man from God (Genesis 3:22-24). Before that point, man had lived in harmony with God.

Satan has also worked to divide God’s Church, using various false teachers and other divisive attacks (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). This is why Christians must work hard to maintain the “unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:3).

These four devices can be very effective and deadly. Adam, Eve, Cain and Job were not exceptions. All of mankind has fallen victim to Satan’s devices in one way or another. What will you do to protect yourself from his destructive instruments?

For further insight into Satan’s attacks against us, read “Don’t Be Ignorant of Satan’s Devices!”