Troublesome Topic: God Does Not Play Twisty with Satan

God does not play Satan’s game of arguing, analyzing, and twisting. The conscience has already spoken, God’s Holy Spirit has issued the invitation. There is no need for a debate, and it would not be helpful anyway. The Holy Spirit does not debate with Satan over differences between ancient nomads and modern man, or whether you are a big, bad sinner or a Christian. The Holy Spirit does not play Satan’s games of splitting hairs or haggling over definitions. The Holy Spirit simply invites us to “come.” God’s response is simple, powerful, and beautiful: “Just come.”

The enemy must be ignored and rejected, not debated.If God does not argue with Satan, neither should we!

What would happen if God played the game of “twisty” with Satan?

Satan would twist something just a bit so it is no longer straight. God would twist it back again. Satan would twist it a different way, but more pronounced this time. God would twist it back again. This would continue with endless twistings back and forth that are constantly more extreme. It would not take long and we, with our weak minds and limited understanding, would end up totally bamboozled! That is why God does not play “twisty” with Satan. The key is to get away from Satan’s tirades and closer to God. The longer you listen to Satan screaming, the harder it is to hear God whispering.      

God does not engage in a cosmic shouting match with Satan—that would only leave us confused and deaf! Satan tries to force us to do something; God simply asks us to commit to trusting Him and following Him.

We did not invite Satan’s initial participation, but he inserted himself into our thought process anyhow. The odd thing is that we listen to him and sometimes believe him, even though his participation was uninvited.

If we seek to hear God’s voice, we will perceive it more easily, and Satan will back off a bit. Ask: “God, where are you in this discussion?” 

The key is this: “Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:7-8). Resist the Devil, but do not argue with him. Reject what Satan is shouting in your ear and he will exit. Approach God with arms wide open.

By listening to Satan rather than rejecting him, we grant him permission to keep talking. If we resist Satan and draw near to God, confusion will dissipate, perception will clear, after which it is simply a matter of resolve.

The next lesson is Satan Uses God’s Standard against Us