Did you know that Satan hates you because of how much God loves you? Since the Lord has destined him for destruction, he lives every day knowing his fate, and there is nothing he can do to change it. He can, however, try to hurt his Maker by harming His beloved children. Since our hearts are inherently sinful, the devil works overtime to gain a foothold in our lives, and he takes advantage of the weakness of our flesh. If he can get us to forfeit the divinely-imparted peace that comes from knowing how perfectly we’re loved, he can increase his influence by invading our thoughts. He understands where we’re weak, and he preys on the areas in which his bite will have the biggest impact. That’s why it’s absolutely imperative that we take hold of our authority in the Kingdom of God. As heirs of Christ’s power and spiritual riches, we don’t need to live defeated, negative, and powerless lives — we’ve been given the resources of Heaven to help us grow deep roots. Even though the winds of trial and temptation blow and buffet, when our identity is secure in Jesus, we can endure. Nothing Satan throws at us can triumph when we’re fully plugged into the current of our Savior, for in Him we can crush spiritual snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the enemy!

My friend, now is the time to exercise your spiritual authority. Throw off the encumbrance of self-defeat, and give yourself fully to your Heavenly Father. Let your weakness be overcome by His strength, and open your heart to receive His undiscriminating and unconditional love. Root your soul in His grace so that when the devil attacks, you can discern his schemes and prevail over his attempts to distract and destroy. In Christ, you are more than a conqueror, and His love gives you power to trample on everything that sets itself up against His preeminence in your life!