Not Today, Satan!

“ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

James 4:7

So, how is your day going? Your week? Your month? Your year? How about your life, how's it going? Our circumstances can change in an instant and completely cause our lives to go into turmoil. Do you ever have moments when your thoughts seem to get away from you, and you know that you should stop thinking them? I'll raise my hand. I know I have, and in those moments, I have used the phrase that Jesus used when he was being tempted by Satan on the mount which was “Get thee behind me, Satan.”

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

Luke 4:8

Satan was trying to convince Jesus that he had the power to give Him all the kingdoms of the world. (I don't know what in the world Satan was thinking here because didn't he know that God already owned all of it?) Satan went on to tempt Jesus further. How many times have you heard Satan whisper in your ear and tell you what you should think or do? His voice sometimes seems to be stronger and louder than the Lord's. And that's when we need to realize it and even, if necessary, say it out loud, not today, Satan! I have said it out loud many times. “Not today, Satan!” There's truly something about saying it out loud that seems to empower you and know that the Lord is giving you the strength that you need at that moment to defeat Satan.

“But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

Matthew 16:23

Jesus again uses this phrase when he was telling the disciples of His upcoming trials and eventually death. Peter, who was probably well meaning in defending Jesus and the upcoming crucifixion, told Jesus that basically that wouldn’t happen on his watch. But Jesus knew those words were coming directly from Satan.

 “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Ephesians 6:11

It all boils down to our surrendering to the Lord because when we stay surrendered, Satan loses his power. And when we say “not today, Satan” we're really saying yes to the Lord and His will in our lives. That's why it's so important as it says in Ephesians for us to put on the whole armor of God so that when Satan comes to attack, we are ready with an answer and can defeat him.

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

1 Peter 5:8

We all have times in our life when we are afraid or discouraged and tempted to do something that we shouldn't be doing and that's when Satan does his best work. He tells us that God doesn't care and that he's not listening to us and that things will probably never change. That's when we need to rebuke him and say “not today, Satan.” After all Satan has already been defeated and we already know the end of the story. So why let Satan get a hold of our thoughts and our minds? Put a stop to it as soon as those thoughts begin to form in your mind and rebuke him. I recently read this quote, and I thought it sums it up very well. “Every time you choose peace over panic, prayer over worry, and praise over negativity you are standing on holy ground.” Praise the Lord! He has already won the victory and all we need to do is claim it!

Not today, Satan!