It's easy to see Satan at work in the lost. We can assign his hand to murderers, alcoholics, drug abusers, prostitutes and a long list of people whose lives are characterized by sin. But he doesn't just have jurisdiction on the lost, he most definitely goes after God's children as well- with fervency. According to 2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan blinds the eyes of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel. Satan once again doesn't stop there- he desperately seeks to blind the eyes of believers, with sin, to mess with their usefulness to God. Here is the scripture focus for today:
In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV
In my earlier blog post, I mentioned that Satan goes after the active ones- people that are considered a threat to his evil plans. He can make our blessings look like burdens. He can dangle things in front of us that seem like a much better path for us. Prettier women. Men with flattering words. Someone that seems to understand us better. A life without the restraints of God's Word. Better sex. Freedom. It all feels so alluring, and appealing. But these are all lies, things he will use to bring us down and cause ruin. Instead of living in the freedom we experienced through the blood of Jesus, we shrug back into the filthy bondage of guilt and shame. It's a familiar garment, one we wore well for far too long before we were His. But it has no place on the backs of believers.
There is no freedom in sin. There is no freedom in Satan. When we fall for his tricks, we lose joy and peace. We lose respect and confidence. This isn't a place God plans for believers, and His best plans are certainly not found in Satan's lies. Yet it happens, doesn't it? We see people who are prominent, useful, and active in the church fall. When we allow Satan to lure us away from God's ways for us, we will be temporarily blinded to what he is doing. We will question our blessings, and make excuses for why they are burdens. We will sit back, and watch marriages and families crumble, and shrug our shoulders. It won't look as ugly in the moment to the spiritually blind, but those with open eyes will look on with shock and horror at the awful price of sin. We know God won't stop pursuing a believer, and I'm so thankful for that. We can find hope in knowing that He will search for the missing sheep, speaking softly at times, and louder at others. And eventually, we pray that God will humble the blind. He is a God of restoration and healing, and He often does it when it looks completely impossible. Pray for the heart of those blinded by sin. Pray that God will open their eyes to the mess, chaos and ruin in the wake of Satan's destruction. And always- praying that through restoration, God will be glorified and honored.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 ESV
And give no opportunity to the devil. Ephesians 4:27 ESV
For you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. James 1:3 ESV
For we do not have a high priest (Jesus) who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15 ESV
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for any who are spiritually blinded by Satan. Open their eyes to truth, and help them to clearly see the destruction of their choices. Guard me against this same blindness, and help my eyes to be fixed on You. Restore the lost and broken, and give healing to the hurt and set aside. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!
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