Grandmaster Satan

Some years ago, while I was in the Air Force, I had the opportunity to study Tae Kwon Do. Tae Kwon Do is a Korean form of karate. From start to finish, I studied under various instructors for 14 years. I was awarded the rank of second degree black belt and was able to open my own studio for a couple of years the second time I was stationed in Utah.

One of the differences I saw between beginners and experts was the way they fight. Part of Tae Kwon Do training is called "free fighting." That is where people pair off with a partner and fight without being told what to do. They can do any technique they can. White belts, beginners, will set up in their ready stance and when the referee calls "Fight!" they charge in with a kick or a punch and then fall back into their ready stance and then go again. One technique, then ready, then another technique. Punch, break, kick, break, punch ... and so on it goes.

Not so with black belts. They set up in their ready stance and when the command is given to start, they let loose with a barrage of techniques on each other until one person scores or his opponent is driven out of bounds. When they get the chance to attack they keep on attacking until they are defeated or until they get the victory.

Our adversary, the Devil is not a black belt. He is a Grandmaster. He attacks us constantly. The Apostle Paul says that we are not ignorant of Satan's devices. We know his strategy and his schemes. He would turn us against God and drive us out of bounds so that we are no longer in the fight.

I could write a book about the kinds of things Satan does to cause us to turn against God and give in to the flesh. It is enough to know that whenever you see anger (not the righteous kind), and strife, envy, backbiting, gossip, selfishness, frustration, harshness, meanness, unbelief, hardness of heart, sinful addictions, indifference to the things of God ... these are symptom of Satan's attacks. He attacks us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every second of every minute he is after us. He attacks from every angle with a variety of approaches. Some are subtle. Others are more blatant. But always he is after us.

Out defense is to draw near to God. The very things that help us most are the things Christians struggle the most to do. Simple as it sounds, Bible reading and prayer are still the best defenses against Satanic attack. Faithful church attendance is another one. The assurance of your salvation and believing the promises of God in the Bible are indispensable helps.

Satan is an expert. He is very good at what he does. He does all he can to get us to give into sin and to turn against God. He is ever out to defeat and depress us so we are ineffective in the battle against the forces of darkness in this world. he is every offering us substitutes to God. Things to give first place to in our hearts. Be careful. Be watchful. When you see signs of Satan's work, in your life or in the lives of those around you, reject it. Go to God in prayer and reject the works of Satan.

We live in bad times. Christians are under attack from within and without the church. We need to learn again that it is not the world and other people who are the enemy, it is one far older and more dangerous than all those others put together. And we need to learn again how to fight him. If we don't, we are already out of the battle.