{"id":13780,"date":"2023-08-16T04:44:07","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T10:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/2c69137f-9abe-11e8-99ad-ca52c1e5b2af"},"modified":"2023-07-11T15:55:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T21:55:13","slug":"not-today-satan-battling-the-enemys-lies","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.boundless.org\/blog\/not-today-satan-battling-the-enemys-lies\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Today, Satan: Battling the Enemy’s Lies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat are you going to do with your life?\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n

Satan:\u00a0Success is found in money and status.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was a bright-eyed college freshman. On move-in day, I walked onto the campus of South Dakota State University wearing a shirt that proclaimed \u201cJESUS JESUS JESUS till the day I die!\u201d God had changed my life that summer, and I wanted to speak out for the cause of Christ. I believed I could do anything. But my motivations were misguided.<\/p>\n

So I declared civil engineering as my major and planned to rebuild South Dakota\u2019s aging infrastructure upon graduation. But as I sat in a general engineering class, flipping through my future course schedule, I realized I had zero interest in learning about fluid mechanics, water supply or concrete theory. My only interests were the status and expected salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do with your life?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holy Spirit: You have certain gifts that God has given you to use for His glory.<\/em><\/p>\n

As I sat in my room,\u00a0alone and far from home, I wrestled to answer this question. After numerous phone calls with my parents, I switched my major to communication studies, taking a step of faith toward ministry and my dream of public speaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you going to do with your life?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Satan: You will ultimately fail.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been asked that question more times than I can count and it\u2019s frustrating. I’ve chosen to major in communication studies at college, but it’s a path that many see leading to an unsuccessful end\u00a0\u2014 failure.<\/p>\n

Failure, my biggest fear, stares me in the face as I walk to class, speaks to me when I’m discussing the future, and haunts me as I lay in bed.<\/p>\n

Satan: Communication studies\u00a0won\u2019t bring you success. It\u2019s a shame God called you to ministry merely to settle. There is so much more that you could be doing with your life, talents and abilities that would bring you social status and wealth. Plus, there isn\u2019t money in ministry. Look at your peers, their careers will provide plenty of income. Women are looking for security, especially financially. How will you support a family?<\/em><\/p>\n

I’ve been beaten over the head by every single one of those lies until eventually I began to believe them.<\/p>\n

The Battle<\/h4>\n

We were born into a vicious war. Satan is real. He roams the world speaking lies and deceiving whoever will listen. We must be willing to battle.<\/p>\n

1 John 5:19<\/a>\u00a0says, \u201cWe know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus referred<\/a>\u00a0to Satan as \u201cthe father of lies.\u201d He deceived Eve back in the garden of Eden, and he continues to deceive each of us today. I’ve had to break the agreements I\u2019ve made with Satan\u2019s lies and instead listen to God\u2019s truth daily.<\/em><\/p>\n

Growing up we were told we could do anything. Disney preached \u201cfollow your heart.\u201d The internet has only accentuated this reality. We can scroll endlessly through job listings, research different careers and dream of studying whatever our hearts desire wherever our hearts desire. But instead of providing clarity, it provides confusion. So many different options, either I choose one or I choose none at all. (See the battle?)<\/p>\n

I recently read through the book “Killing Lions<\/a>” by John and Sam Eldredge, and they address that having limitless opportunities is not freeing at all but rather suffocating. They wrote,<\/p>\n

A limitless universe of options is not a gift, not even an opportunity to dream; it is overwhelming. Paralyzing. And untrue. You can\u2019t do everything.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fortunately for us, our choices are<\/em> limited and that is a great thing.<\/p>\n

Truth to Battle Satan<\/h4>\n

God has created each one of us uniquely, gifting us in different areas. It’s easy to feel lost and confused, but we have been given the Holy Spirit as a counselor. In\u00a0\u00a0John 14:15-31<\/a>, Jesus comforts the disciples by informing them that Holy Spirit would come as a helper and teacher. Have you consulted Him?<\/p>\n

The Holy Spirit has often spoken to me through wisdom of mentors that are older than me. Do not let arrogance or a desire to do life on your own keep you from seeking out guidance from those around you who are older.<\/p>\n

In Ephesians 6:10-20,<\/a>\u00a0Paul describes the epic spiritual battle we are engaged in, encouraging us to put on the whole armor of God. He specifically refers to the Word of God as a sword. We must go into battle with our sword in hand\u00a0\u2014 which means we must not only be reading Scripture, but more importantly we must be memorizing it.<\/p>\n

When we listen to the enemy, we become confused and hopeless in our current situations. But when we listen to our commanding officer, we gain clarity for our life and move forward.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWhat are you going to do with your life?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I will …<\/p>\n