If Satan isn’t anything else, he’s a manipulator. He knows how to get in our heads and control our thoughts. Satan wants nothing more than to move into certain areas of your life so he can achieve a stronghold. He’ll try anything to throw you off course to distract you from your focus. He wants to get into your head so he can keep you as far from God as he can. However, there are some areas of your life that Satan attacks more than others. As long as you’re aware of his strategies, we can be on guard to keep him out of his targeted entry points. Here are the areas of your life that Satan wants to get ahold of and keep to himself.
Your Worries
Satan wants you to be constantly stressed out. By being stressed out, you’re not resting in God’s ability to take care of you. Women tend to worry about things like bills getting paid and their children. On the other hand, men worry about their jobs and providing for their families. There are also health concerns, fears about aging parents, and different situations on our minds. These worries can drown out God’s peace in our lives and even cause us to blame God for our problems. Satan wants doubt to weave through your mind and control you. Don’t let Satan get to you with what-if questions. Instead, keep praying about your concerns and thank God for what He’s about to do in your life. This way, Satan doesn’t get a hold of your mind.
There are quite a few people that claim to know God and follow Him, but their thought patterns say otherwise. Their thinking patterns mirror those of anyone else in the world. Satan basks in that idea. He wants you to be so absorbed with the ways of the world that you’re clueless about The Word of God and what it says. He’ll accomplish this through subtle messages in music, statements from your favorite celebrities, and words of advice from your friends. The Scripture reminds us that we shouldn’t copy the behavior and customs of the world. Instead, you should let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Satan would rather have us in mental agony by listening to the world instead of following the Word of God. The best way to guard Satan against your thoughts is to soak your mind in God’s Word. Washing your mind in God’s Word will keep Satan and his worldly philosophies from getting in.
Your Speech
God wants us to be holy ambassadors for Him. He wants his people to heal and help others with our words. However, Satan would rather have you speak negatively. By participating in gossip and using profanity, we give Satan permission to make us people who tear others apart and sound no different than nonbelievers. The devil knows that we can cause a lot of damage with our mouths if we don’t get them under control. Whether it’s gossip or criticism, our mouths can be instruments of righteousness or unrighteousness. Ephesians 4:29 says that we shouldn’t let any unwholesome talk come from our mouths, but only what helps build others up. Whenever you feel like you’re about to engage in gossip or criticism, remember Ephesians 4:29. That will stop any critical spirit that gives Satan refuge in our lives.
Your Body
When people get depressed, they tend to overeat, drink heavily, or start using substances. Overeating or heavy drinking is Satan’s way of turning us against our bodies to get back at God. Satan knows that our bodies are precious to God. Romans 12:1 says that we should give our bodies to God and let them be a living and holy sacrifice. When we think of what God has done for us, it’s the least we can do. Satan knows that God sees our bodies as His temple, and God wants us to keep our bodies holy and healthy. Because our bodies are sacred to God, Satan wants to harm them in any way he can. Don’t let Satan in. Instead, ask God for a healthy body image and a desire to protect your body so you can serve Him on Earth for as long as possible.
Your Heart
Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts because everything we do flows from our heart. Satan knows he has an entry point into your life if God isn’t first in your heart. God’s first commandment under the Old Covenant was to never put any other gods before Him. Jesus restated this idea under the New Covenant when He asked what the greatest commandment is. He said we should love the Lord with all of our heart and soul. Satan’s greatest desire is to prevent you from giving God all of your heart, so he will constantly dangle distractions in front of you to create a false god.
Put Your Faith in God
Satan is a manipulator and a con artist. He has a way of trying to get into your mind and make you feel things that aren't real. He wants you to believe that God doesn’t love you and that He doesn’t care about you. He’ll use anything he can to get into your mind and try to take over. However, you can’t let Satan win. You have to remember that God is always on your side, no matter what Satan says.
The best way to stop Satan from entering these areas of your life is to follow Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 6:11-18. This verse says that we must put on the whole armor of God so we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes. We must cover ourselves in God’s character and righteousness. Above everything else, we must remember that we are God’s children, and He loves us. When you feel Satan trying to creep into your life, pray for God to keep him away from you and to keep you near Him.
