Satan has many tricks up his sleeves and he is the author of lies. He is as slick as they come and he is an evil master controller. He is very good at what he does. He was once a heavenly angel. His name was Lucifer, which means "star of the morning." He held a high racking position in the heavenly host. He was described as an exceedingly beautiful angel with great wisdom. He was given a position of great power and influence. He was called "the guardian cherub." The Bible says, "You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; your clothing was bejeweled with every precious stone -- ruby, topaz, diamond, chrysolite, onyx, jasper, sapphire, carbuncle, and emerald -- all in beautiful settings of finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I appointed you to be the anointed Guardian Angel. You had access to the holy mountain of God. You walked among the stones of fire. You were perfect in all you did from the day you were created until that time when wrong was found in you. Your great wealth filled you with internal turmoil and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you out of the mountain of God like a common sinner. I destroyed you, O Guardian Angel, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride because of all your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. Therefore I have cast you down to the ground and exposed you helpless before the curious gaze of kings" (Ezekiel 28:12-17).
Lucifer (the star of the morning) became Satan (the accuser) when he was kicked out of heaven. When he was kicked out, he was not kicked out alone. Scripture tells us that one-third of the angels in heaven was kicked out with him. They are the fallen angels or demons that wrecks havoc on God's people. They are powerful spirit beings with demonic powers to help Satan accomplished his purpose. What is his purpose? Jesus says that the enemy comes to "steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10).
Every day of our lives, we are in the combat zone. We are in a spiritual warfare. Because we are fighting spiritual beings, they will plant all types of negative thoughts in our mind. There are many weapons the devil will use against those who belong to Jesus. He is not worry about those who belongs to him, because he knows that a house divided cannot stand. His number one job is to attack Jesus' flock.
There are many weapons he uses against us today. I am going to discuss the "D-tool of doubt." This weapon has been used throughout the ages. The very first question in the Bible came from Satan when he tempted Eve in the garden, he asked her a question, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1). He had only one purpose, to sow the seed of doubt in her mind. He wanted Adam and Eve to doubt what God had told them, and it worked. That is why Jesus reminds us that the devil is "the father of lies." Doubt is a poisonous seed, planted by our enemy. Once the seed is planted in someone's head and heart, it takes root. Then the enemy cultivates this poisonous seed, called doubt. Then we fester on it, and when we fester on it, we fertilize it.
Doubt is a very powerful tool that Satan uses on us. One of Jesus' disciples carried the baggage of doubt, like a noose tied around his neck. In John 20, the disciples had gathered together to share the joy of seeing the risen Christ, but there was one disciple who was not there, Thomas. Thomas had not seen Jesus since His death, but the others had seen Him. Thomas said, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hand and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." The Bible warns us about doubt, "But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind" (James 1:6). Only God can help you fight against the trials and temptations that Satan will bring your way.
Satan even tempted Jesus while in the wilderness over two thousand years ago. To this day, nothing has changed about him. Satan is still telling lies of deception as he seek to keep mankind from listening to the voice of God. He attacks us to make us doubt the voice of Jesus. He tells us creative half-truths, to make us doubt God's promises, causing us to think wrongly about God. Remember, half-truths are still, lies.
Doubt is one of Satan's ways to turn people away from God. He will even have you to doubt your faith. Some of the most faithful Christians struggles with doubt sometimes. Just like the man who asked Jesus to heal his son in Mark 9, Jesus told him, "all things are possible for one who believes." Then the father cried, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (vv. 23-24).
Doubt can be combated by faith and trust, because faith and trust goes hand in hand. The enemy throws a shadow over our faith and trust, by using doubt. God can help us through it all. Faith is trusting God even when we just don't understand what's going on. Even when nothing makes absolutely no sense. Faith is relying on what we do know (who is God), to get us by, when we are faced with something that we do not understand.
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