A Dog Named "Satan"

My morning walk yesterday turned from peaceful to stressful in a matter of minutes.  I was walking along on the last leg of my journey, thanking God for the black butterfly that fluttered right in front of me while walking up the hill when I saw it... the dog sitting up ahead without an owner.  Let me fill you in on a few things in case you missed my last blog post about being chased by dogs on my morning walk.  (Check out What are you afraid of? for more on that dog chase scene.)  Number 1:  I am not a fan of dogs.  Number 2:  I'm afraid of loose dogs.  So as you can imagine, fear began to creep into me as I contemplated what to do about this loose dog.

Desiring to avoid another chase scene, I decided to cross the street and hoped that the dog wouldn't notice me.  But my red shorts were quite bright, and this dog not only noticed me, but decided to trot across the street and join me.  At this point, I break into flight mode.  If only there was a hidden camera around... I'm quite sure what happened next would have ended up on America's Funniest Home Videos.  So the dog starts to chase me at a slow trot.  No barking, no rabid teeth, just trotting behind me.  And I start running and yelling "Ahhh!  Get away from me!  Ahhh! Get away from me!"  while continuously looking behind me to see if it's working.  Of course, it's not.   Then, hip, hip, hooray, the dog takes a potty break!  A deep sigh of relief pours out of me as I think that it's all over.  But no, this dog was not finished with me yet.  He trots across the street again and my panic meter escalates.  So I do what anyone else would do in this situation... I turn around and shout James 4:7 at the dog while pointing my finger at him:  "Satan, I resist you.  In the name of Jesus Christ you have to flee from me!"  And at that, the dog sat down and stayed put.  I breathed a sigh of relief as a man in the neighborhood asked if I wanted to stay behind his fence for a bit.  Let's just say I was a little bit embarrassed that he witnessed my craziness, but was thankful that someone cared enough to help me. 

When I shared this event with my husband, he named the dog "Satan."  Pretty appropriate name, don't you agree?  Yet as I pondered this event even more, God opened my eyes to the reality of how this dog could be just like Satan.  Think about it for a minute.  Some lie from Satan fills your mind.  You try to resist the lie by walking across the street because you recognize that it's a lie.  But the lie just follows you.  It's not making a big scene or anything.  It just won't leave your mind.  It starts to fill your thoughts.  You start to believe it.  It might go away for a moment or a few days, but then it trots right back into your mind.  And finally, you've had enough and you say out loud, with a voice of authority, "Satan, I resist you.  In the name of Jesus Christ you have to flee from me!" from James 4:7, and peace settles over you.  A scripture to defeat the lie fills your head.  And Satan has lost his power. 

Satan is the father of lies.  Check out this verse that explains Satan's identity so vividly:

John 8:44 (NET)
You people are from your father the devil, and you want to do what your father desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

Satan wants nothing more than to fill our minds with his lies so we doubt and disobey God.  We can't just sit there.  We have to fight back.  We have the power... the sword of the spirit, God's Word.  Check out these verses that describe our sword of the spirit:

Ephesians 6:17 (NET)
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Hebrews 4:12 (NET)
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, piercing even to the point of dividing soul from spirit, and joints from marrow; it is able to judge the desires and thoughts of the heart.

We need to study the Bible, memorize scripture and use that scripture to fight back when Satan whispers one of his lies and continues to trot behind us, whispering the lie over and over again. 

The verse of the day on BibleGateway.com today fits perfectly with this concept of defeating Satan's lies with God's truth:

So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. James 1:21 AMP

God's Word has the power to save our souls.  God's Word, when rooted in our hearts, helps us recognize Satan's lies because his lies go against God's truth.  Let's show Satan that his lies don't stand a chance.  Let's be proactive and memorize scriptures so we are ready for battle.  And remember, you aren't fighting alone.  God is fighting on your behalf as these verses describe so beautifully:

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:10-17

So put on the full armor of God and stand firm as God fights on your behalf.  You've got this!  That dog named Satan doesn't stand a chance.