The Devil is not “All That”

Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? (Isaiah 14:15-17)

One day, when everything is said and done, people will look at the devil and ask, “Is that really the one we were afraid of?” Isaiah 14 portrays Satan's final state. He is brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Ezekiel 28:8 confirms this. He is cast into the pit, dying the death of those slain in the midst of the sea. And those who see him in that condition will narrow their eyes, study him, and ask, “Is this the man who made the earth tremble? Is this the one who shook kingdoms? You mean this is him?” What they will see is nothing like what he advertised himself to be. 

That is one of Satan's oldest and most effective strategies. He is a master of inflation. He makes himself appear larger than he truly is. He exaggerates his threats to sound more final than they are. His goal is to make you afraid, paralyzed, and convinced that his words about your situation are the truth because if he can get you to believe his version of the story, he doesn't have to do much else. You will end up defeating yourself. The Word tells you exactly who he is: a created being, already judged and sentenced. 

He kept his prisoners locked up through deception, not because of the power he actually possessed, but because of the lies they chose to believe. You have a key to escape any torment the enemy tries to impose on you — it is the name of Jesus and the Word of God in your mouth. The enemy knows that if you ever fully understand who you are in Christ, his influence over you is over. That’s why he works overtime to keep you small, keep you doubting, and keep your focus on the size of the problem instead of the size of your God.

Practical Application

Don't give the enemy what he's after. He's already on his way to the pit. Refuse to give his lies any more real estate in your thinking. The same God who brought him down is the God who lives in you.

Matthew 11:23; Ezekiel 28:8