Understanding the Devil: He is Cunning and Deceitful
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. – Genesis 3:1
Another attribute of the devil that believers need to be aware of and must always watch out for is cunning or deceit.
The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines cunning as ‘having or showing skill in achieving one’s ends by deceit or evasion’. This tells us that the devil uses deceitful methods to achieve his diabolical ends, and we know that is usually targeted against the children of God, particularly those who maintain a good relationship with the Father.
The devil rarely bothers about those who do not have a relationship with God. Those are easy catches for him anyway. However, those who genuinely worship God in spirit and in truth are his focal targets for two reasons. Firstly, these people have a divine hedge around them that shields them by virtue of their communion with God. Secondly, they are also his most fearsome spoilers, as they have the capacity to scuttle his works on the earth or around them.
Therefore, he will go to any length to do anything that will make these his greatest threats, genuine believers, lose ground or face in the eyes of God, or not even have a settled mind to take him on. One of the ways he gets at them is through cunning tactics. According to the same Oxford Dictionary, synonyms for cunning include crafty, wily, artful, guileful, devious, sly, knowing, scheming, designing, tricky, slippery, slick, manipulative, Machiavellian, deceitful, deceptive, and duplicitous. The opposite of these is honest, guileless, naïve (innocent).
These words sum up the various ways and methods the devil will approach a believer to try and unsettle or rubbish them, so that they can lose their confidence in Christ Jesus or lose face before God.
Now, we are one tactic more aware of his devices.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. – Habakkuk 2:14
Also read:
- Understanding the Devil: The Master of Disguise and Subtle Conspirator
- Women in the Bible: Eve – A Woman Who Shares
- Getting Your Calling Right (2): When Character Isn’t Calling
- That Will Be More Than Enough: A Story of Quiet Courage and Gentle Strength
- A Radical Makeover!
- Prayer Works!
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