February 21st
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better.” 1 Samuel 16:14-16 NIV
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying [“madly raving” Amplified Bible] in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. 1 Samuel 18:10-12 NIV
Our adversary, the devil, is constantly looking for ways to attack us and enslave us to sin. Sin is rebellion against God, and the devil is an expert in it. The above passages about Saul reveal an important spiritual law that the devil uses to oppress people. The law is basically this: when we rebel against God in sin, we give the devil a “legal” right to enter our life and attack us. The devil rarely misses the opportunity to enter through an open door!
Saul had just rebelled against God through disobedience, pride and deception (see 1 Samuel 15). He disobeyed God’s command by sparing the Amalekites’ King and their choice animals. He also did not attempt to correct his error even after Samuel revealed it to him. Saul’s sin caused God to reject him as king of Israel. God’s Spirit left Saul and his sin opened the door for the devil’s forces. The evil spirit tormented Saul through rage, strife, fear (of losing the kingdom) and jealousy of David. Ironically, the only way Saul could get peace was to have David play the harp and when he did, the evil spirit caused Saul to rave madly at David (vs.18:10) and try to kill him.
Satan and his evil spirits continue to look for opportunities to oppress people today, just as in Saul’s days. With several thousand years of experience with humans, the devil knows our weaknesses well. Just like Saul, we can open the door to the devil through sin.
For example, sex addiction activities open a large door to the devil in our lives. Through sex sin, we cater to evil spirits of lust and idolatry, which take the opportunity to enslave us to our own passions. Perversions, masturbation, fear, depression, suicide, anger, shame and confusion are just a few manifestations that evil spirits can oppress us with. We can even be temporarily influenced by the spirits to do bad things, yet we still retain the responsibility for whatever we do. Some examples may include: physical abuse, sexual abuse, divorce, rape, incest, rage, murder, suicide, adultery, fornication, etc. These actions may not always be motivated by evil spirits, but often they can be.
The good news is that through our faith in Jesus Christ, we are co-heirs to his authority over every evil spirit. Once we’ve confessed and repented from our sin, we can take authority over any evil spirit that may have gained power over us because of our sin. To get started in reclaiming your life for God, visit our Freedom Journey I study.
Questions for further thought:
What was it about David’s music that brought peace to Saul? How can godly music help in your walk with God?
What are some scriptures that assure us that we have Christ’s authority over evil spirits?
Considering Christ’s finished work on the cross, who alone can give sin and evil spirits power over you? (Genesis 4:7; Galatians 5:1)
Prayer:
“Lord Jesus, Thank you for dying for me on the cross and giving me your authority over every evil spirit that may be oppressing me. I confess and repent from every sin that I have committed which has opened the door to the enemy: ___________ (list). Father please forgive me from these sins through the blood of Jesus. Thank you! I now take authority over every evil spirit that is oppressing me and rebuke them in the name of Jesus Christ. I command those spirits to leave me and go straight to Jesus right now! Lord Jesus, please fill me afresh with your Holy Spirit and teach me how to walk in purity, especially in the areas of my former weakness. Thank you, Jesus. In your name I pray, Amen.”