How to be More Patient-Part 5: Understanding Our Enemy

Ok, so you have tried to be more patient—only to fail time and time again! You’re sincere in truly wanting to change your snappiness. You’ve put out a significant amount of effort. You may even have had a bit of success in not reacting in a frantic way or anger when someone cut you off in traffic. But for the most part you are still acting like a chicken with its head chopped off. What gives?

What’s the use? You can’t even be patient with yourself in becoming patient.

Don’t give up! That’s what Satan wants you to do!

We need to understand his ways if we’re going to defeat the devil.

7 Things You Need to Know about Your Enemy So You Can Be More Patient

1. He’s a deceiver.

2. He hates God and therefore all of his followers. His hatred makes him relentless and motivated.

3. He is powerful, but not as powerful as God

Satan is not the opposite of God. He is a created being. However, he is the opposite of God in character. He is evil embodied!

4. He is smart and conniving, but he is not smarter than our Lord. If we rely on God’s wisdom, we will defeat our foe.

He knows where you are vulnerable—your tendencies and weaknesses. But do you know what they are? What “makes” you to fly off the handle? Is it tiredness, a certain person, when you have too much on your plate?

If you know your triggers you can put your guard up in those situations. For example, be enguard:

  • Before entering the house of someone in which you frequently have conflict
  • When you are about to do a task that you dislike, feel inadequate, or has frustrated you in the past (like taxes/paying the bills)
  • When dealing with someone who frequently doesn’t follow through (like your kid who didn’t take out the trash for the umpteen time)

5. Satan’s tactics vary from small and subtle to intense and persistent in-your-face assaults. No matter his technique though, we need to rely on the Lord for help.

6. Satan increases his efforts whenever you try to live for God, including trying to be more patient. I’m not telling you this to discourage you, but to warn and encourage you to get equipped for battle.

“Get yourself ready! Stand up…. Do not be terrified…. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. (Jer 1:17-19)

7. Satan has already lost the war. He is a defeated foe–overpowered and humiliated by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. (Col 2:14-15 NLT)

We are not fighting for victory but from victory!

We Win! (Listen to this song by Mercy Me and get pumped!) 

My friend, the enemy of your soul wants you to think you can never change! He’ll come at you with deception, doubt, discouragement, despair, distraction, and whole host of other devious methods to lure you away from living life God’s way and therefore all its riches. He wants you to lose your patience so you’ll lose out on the abundant life (Jn 10:10).

That’s why I’m republishing my spiritual warfare series starting 2 weeks from now–to help you discover the dirty D’s of the dirty devil…

In order that Satan might not outwit us. (2 Cor 2:11)

And by the way, my friends, would you please pray for me? Satan won’t be happy when I reveal his secrets–he’s sure to come after me.

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. (Eph 6:19)

Blogs in this series:
How to be more Patient: Part 1
How to be More patient-Part 2: Understanding Time and Purpose
How to be more Patient-Part 3: Understanding Others 
How to be More patient-Part 4: Understanding Ourselves

THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.