The Devil and Doubt
Did God Really Say…? – Part 1

Scripture Reading:  Genesis 3:1-5

Key Verse: Genesis 3:1

    Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

I want you to imagine that a friend of yours warned you about someone that they knew well.  Your friend told you that this person was known for lying.  This person would do their best to cause you to doubt your friend’s faithfulness to you.  When the time came to meet this person, think about your mindset at that moment.  Your “filters” would be on alert and you would immediately question almost everything that person said.  Your friend had warned you and you were prepared for that confrontation.

            I hope that fictional scenario is what will happen after reading the devotionals this month.  The title for the month is: “Know Thy Enemy.”  If we know the devil and can recognize his scheming ways, we can quickly defeat him.  As our scripture for today reminds us, the devil is very cunning, or “crafty.”  In other words, he has many ways to try to defeat us.  Doubt, discourage-ment, distractions, and defeat are the four areas we will look at this month.  I believe they are his most common schemes to rob us of our joy and destroy our witness.

            If we can walk into each day prepared for the battle, having our “filters” ready to stop his lies, we can send the devil running.  We must never forget the words of the Apostle James when it comes to our battles with the evil one: “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Father, I praise you for your warnings about the devil.  Help me spot his scheming and lying ways today.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.