3 Ways to Overcome Evil

by Angie Ledbetter

We hear about the battle of good vs. evil and see horror movies with a wide variety of demonic images. The real question is not whether evil exists, but what form it (Satan) takes.

#1 – Be Afraid

Doubting that the devil really roams the earth is his biggest weapon. If we don’t believe he does, then we’re easily manipulated. Through Church teachings and Holy Scripture, we are assured over and over again of Beelzebub’s power.

We can steep ourselves in Biblical clues into Satan's power -- from the Garden of Eden to Revelations. If that’s not enough to convince us, some research into the psyche of serial killers and amoral people such as Hitler might do the trick.

Until the final battle of God’s victory, we must be on the lookout for the evil one’s presence and influence if we are to escape it.

#2 – Fight Back

Satan is called the angel of darkness and the great deceiver because he appears to us in numerous clever disguises. He can work through friends who offer us drugs, schoolmates who want us to help them cheat, movies and music that suggest we go against God’s teaching, vulgar fashions, and trends and lifestyles that seem to be socially acceptable.

The Ten Commandments and the Sacraments give us strength to resist these temptations and evil ploys. It’s not easy to go against the grain, but we find strength in numbers when we surround ourselves with Christian friends.

#3 – Bar the Door

When we close the door to the invitations of evil, there’s less chance of it invading our lives. Instead, we can fill our spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical lives with good things, leaving no room for Satan to come in.

With God first and foremost in our lives, the devil will have no choice but to find another target.

The devil went down to Georgia. He was lookin' for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind, and he was willin' to make a deal.
When he came across this young man, sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot.
And the devil jumped up on a hickory stump and said, "Boy, let me tell you what…"

The Devil Went Down To Georgia
by The Charlie Daniels Band

Life Applications:

What do you believe about the nature of Satan and evil?
In what ways do you fight back against Satan?
In what ways do you bar the door against Satan?

Copyright 2005-2009 by Angie Ledbetter
All rights reserved.