Be Aware of His Schemes!

Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
“1 O God, do not remain silent;
    do not turn a deaf ear,
    do not stand aloof, O God.
2 See how your enemies growl,
    how your foes rear their heads.
3 With cunning they conspire against your people;
    they plot against those you cherish.
4 “Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation,
    so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”
5 With one mind they plot together;
    they form an alliance against you.”

The psalmist is crying out to God to help the people of Israel with their enemies.  He describes them as a “calculating”, “cunning”, and “ever plotting” against His people.  Notice they assume that if their enemies are plotting against them, they are plotting against God too.  Since Israel is one nation under God, what their enemies are doing to them, is to God as well.  And this is part of their reasoning to cry out for God to deliver them for the sake of His Name.

It strikes me, as God’s people today, we have both foes on the earth and in the spiritual realm.  There are people calculating right now against the Christian church, that they might destroy it.  And we are reminded that our spiritual enemy, the devil, is described as “cunning” and “baffling”, always looking to destroy God’s people and their relationship with Him.

1 Peter 5:8 says it this way,
 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”

As a believer in Christ as you seek to follow Jesus and bring in His kingdom, you will encounter spiritual resistance.  He knows a discouraged and beaten-down Christian is an ineffective Christian. So how do we prepare ourselves for the battle?  Paul uses this theme in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, when he teaches on the importance of forgiving a brother or sister in Christ. 

He says, “Do not be unaware of the devil’s schemes, so that he might not outwit us.”  2 Corinthians 2:10-11


So, we do not have to be afraid of the evil, because of the Spirit of Christ lives within us. But we also should not be unaware of his schemes. Like the Israelites called out for God to protect them for the sake of His name, we should do the same!

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