Taking The Devil By The Horn

  
We all have weaknesses in either one area or more in our lives. That is what makes us humans. These weaknesses are the devil's fighting weapon (horn). There is no one man that can boast of not having any. These weak areas become our holes through which the devil come in and have dominion over our lives, destinies, happiness, families and many more. 

We have become captives to the devil because of this. How can we be happy when we are often confronted by our fears? Or how can we do more when our fears are the devil’s weapon and security. This is a hard saying because it is either we are afraid of this or that.

 The devil know this very well, so whenever we want to do something contrary to his will he quickly present these fears and we just shrink back to our shell. The devil is playing with our happiness by keeping us in fear because he knows if we are freely acting within the power and authority given to us in Christ Jesus, he has no stand against us (Luke 10:19-21).  So the only thing he can do is to play with our understanding so we don’t get to use the power given to us through Christ. He is also into this game so as to keep us in bondage and stagnated, refusing us to stand in our liberty and use our authority against his mission.

Whenever we are faced with such situation, the best weapon to use against the devil is his own horn. What is the devil’s horn? Your fear! Do you know that whenever you are afraid the devil is exalted? That is his horn.

After casting and binding, you are double minded if it will work. If I speak this truth in court, they may come after me and kill (fear of death). If I don’t belong to that class of people, I may not be prominent and successful. If I maintain strict holiness I may not be promoted in my office. I may even be sacked or laughed at in this changing society where morality is gradually not paying anymore. Can I do without him/her/them? If I try this or that will it work? Can I finish this? And so on and so forth, all of which the devil whispers into our mind to discourage and put us to shame. But do you notice that all of these things that we say in our minds are against God’s will for our lives “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

If you can reframe your fears and say: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13), the devil will mark you to be dangerous. When God tells you not to be afraid (Joshua 1:9) and you are afraid, you are disobeying God and exalting Satan because it is what you think the devil can do that is making you despise what God can do.

This is an old story I read some times ago about a dog that was walking by the side of a road. On the other side, he saw a cat and ran after it. As the cat turned and saw the dog coming, it dashed away. After covering some distance, the cat stopped, faced the dog with its claws all out. The dog stopped, stirred at the cat and turned to go back. As the cat saw that the dog was going, it took off again and the dog chased after it. After some couple of distance again the cat stopped, face the dog with claws all out. The dog stopped again, looked at the cat, and turned back to go. As it was going again the cat started running, the dog followed. Until the cat stopped this time faced the dog more confidently as if not afraid of the dog again. Again the dog turned and went its way. After few distance, it turned to see if the cat would run but the cat was still there. It continues walking, turned again but the cast was still there and when it turned the third time, this time, the cat has started walking his way home, the dog stopped chasing the cat and went its way while the cat did the same.

This inspiring old tale shows that as long as the cat continues to run from the dog, the dog will continue chasing it. As long as the cat stands its ground the dog will go back. Analogically, the devil can never conquer anybody that is determined to face at any length just to get what he wants. He is always afraid of people that signed the do or die contract in their spiritual race. The moment you give him a chance, your reproach becomes great. Always use against him what he uses against you for the scripture says: he takes the wise in their own craftiness (Job 5:13).

When he sees you using his own weapon against him, he surely will become afraid of you because he knows that you now know what he knows and what you ought to know. No wonder the scripture encourage that you know the truth and the truth shall set you free (John 8:32). The devil knows anyone who knows the truth by the things they say to him when he comes. How long shall you continue running way from your fears. Do you not know that the more you run away from it the tougher it would be for you to overcome?

David was told was told that there is no other weapon for him except the sword of Goliath whom he killed. Thus he said “There is none like it; give it to me” (1 Sam. 21:8-9). Surely there is no better weapon than the weapon used by the enemy.

You cannot conquer your fear if you don’t face it. Tell the devil whatever will happen, let it happen and you will be surprise nothing will happen. This is because our fears are mostly clouds that covers our destinies, preventing us from seeing what we ought to see and doing what we ought to do. “They were all trying to frighten us saying, their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed.” (Nehemiah 6:9 NIV)

The best way we can fight him is to courageously step into the ring and challenge the devil right in his face with his words.  

Before I round up, hear my story: I was often a victim of stage fright. I may have more clever things to say but could not say because of fear of being afraid on the stage. There was this recruitment I attended. At the training, our number outscore the needed number and almost everyone passed the written test, so the officials introduced the oral test with illustration where all participants will come out and speak to the audience on all he/she knows concerning the lecture so far. This was unusual as far as the training was concern but it was done in order to drop down our number.

It was mind blowing because it was my tension zone. The more it gets closer to my turn, the heavier the heart beat. I was so tensed that I started sweating from the inside. And just when I was about to stand up and walk out of the hall to avoid further tension and embarrassment, these words came to me: “The Lord knows you can do it, that’s why you are here.” That was my breakthrough message. I meditated on those words saying to myself in my mind, if the Lord says I can do it then I can do it. No matter how I present it, let it be that, that is my style.

Little did I know that my instructor has been observing me, so he walked to me, pointed me out: “Aha! You come out.” I believe everyone knew why he picked me out because it wasn’t my time yet but I dared not say no. With the courage gained, I walked out of the crowd and introduced myself. I noticed some disappointments in his eyes while I was speaking because my charisma was awesome. He couldn’t belief it, he thought I was on tension (a way to get me out of the game). I had a good speech that day totally different from what everyone has been saying yet very meaningful according to a later remark. I finished the speech and went to my seat. I couldn’t belief all the transformation and drama myself. It was there I asked myself why I was afraid in the first instance.

The devil is a liar and will always remain a liar. I passed my oral test and was selected and till date I have maintained that mindset: “The Lord knows you can do it, that’s why you are here.” I have taken my devil by the horn, you can do the same. It is the best weapon against him.