For victory in any battle, it’s vital to know who the enemy is and why they’re after you. It’s the same in our spiritual battles.
Obviously, we know that Satan is our greatest adversary. But did you know he’s not after you just for the fun of it? No, Satan hates you for at least several reasons of which you need to be aware.
1. Satan hates you because you remind him of who he can’t be. At creation, when God spoke people into existence, He said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). What this describes is astonishing: You and I resemble God. Sure, because of sin, we’re a very distorted image, but we bear His qualities, nonetheless. This means that when Satan sees you and I, he gets a potent reminder of God and who he can never be. The devil is tremendously jealous of this. As I explore much more in depth in my book, Silence Satan, this is precisely why he uses accusations to convince you that you’re worthless.
2. Satan hates you because you have the power to crush his head. In the punishment for the first sin, the Lord forewarned Satan of his future: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15).
While this is often correctly attributed as the first prophesy about Jesus, God’s words here also put the devil on notice that dominion would eventually be returned to the offspring of Eve—that’s the children of God. And that’s exactly what happened! When Jesus came to Earth, He gave His authority to you and I by assuring, “I give you authority … over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19). Of course, this scares the devil stiff, and so he works tirelessly to keep God’s people from knowing about the power they have in Christ.
3. Satan hates you because God loves you. The devil knows the power of God’s love. He knows those who are convinced God loves them remain in close relationship with God. And when you’re close to God, His voice drowns out all others. The reality Satan despises is that his lies lose their power because the truth of God’s love is so much louder. Because of this, the devil doesn’t want you close to God, and so he tries to drive a wedge between you and God by relentlessly trying to get you to believe that God is mad at you.
How to Stand Against Satan’s Attacks
Here’s some great news! By knowing why Satan is after you, you know how to stand against his attacks. When he tries to tell you you’re worthless, remind him that you’re made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26). When he attempts to convince you that you’re powerless, remind him of the authority given to you by Jesus (Luke 10:19). And when he argues that God doesn’t love you, send him packing with the reminder that God proved His love on the cross (Rom. 5:8).
Finally, always remember that nothing is more threatening to Satan than someone who knows who they are and what they have in Christ!
