How Satan Works

Voices In My Head, Part 3

I’ve been talking about voices in my head. We all have voices in our heads, a running commentary interpreting our experiences, and making judgments about us and those around us. Our thoughts don’t come out of nowhere. Often these voices are from God, or from Satan, or from our past. Today I want to focus on Satan. I don’t usually like to do that, but it is important to remember how Satan works, so we can combat him effectively.

Satan hates us

Satan hates us. His goal is to cause as much havoc and destruction as he can. And Satan’s primary tactic is deception. According to Paul, “Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” 2 Cor 11:14.

Jesus put it more bluntly:

“[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44.

Satan is a liar. And he’s really good at it. He should be. He’s had lots of practice. He’s been doing it for thousands of years. Satan loves to get inside our head and mislead us with negative or inaccurate thoughts. A lot of the time he succeeds. On average 70% of our thoughts are negative. In my opinion, most–if not all– of these negative thoughts come from the pit of hell.

No need to be afraid

As disturbing as that is, we can be confident in Christ’s power over Satan, and take advantage of it.

You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 1 John 4:4

When I think about Satan’s deception, I always think about the Wizard of Oz. When Dorothy and the gang finally get to see the wizard, they discover that it’s all just smoke and mirrors. There was no wizard. Behind the curtain, there was just a little man speaking into a microphone. Sometimes those voices in our heads can be pretty powerful and convincing. But because of the discernment God’s spirit gives us, we can peek behind the curtain. We can see that he is not the voice of truth. He is a mean hateful spirit who has not real power over us.

Are you to get rid of Satan’s lying voice in your head?