Satan Hates You – Catching Courage

by Savannah Bourque

Why does Satan hate us? Why do any of us hate another person? This answer can be broad, but I will break it down into a couple of little words – jealousy, bitterness, and, most of all, pridefulness.

When I really started thinking about this subject, I was met with some opposition. Some opportunities to learn firsthand. I was wanting to learn the answer, and Satan did not want me to. He wanted me to believe lies so that I could stay chained.

At the beginning of this year, I was on fire. Ready to run my race and throw off all that hinders me. That is the motto for my blog and podcast for the year.

Then, I chose to take on this subject. At that moment it was like a light switch turned off. I went into a season (a moment) of not wanting to try to run that race. Of depression. It seemed like there were several things lined up for me to step into this darkness.

Sitting here now, I see there is a reason for the moment of wanting to sit instead of pushing through and running. Satan did not want me to study what I started studying. He wanted me to believe his lies instead of reading about the truths of God. He didn’t want me to study who I am in God – how God sees me despite my flaws. Despite all those shortcomings, I do my best to work through every day.

Contents

Who is Satan?

You’ve heard it before. The words that are stated in 1 Peter 5:8, which says, “Be alert and sober-minded. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (NIV).”

I have become more and more interested in the Hebrew and Greek text. Now, when I study scripture, I like to look back at what the original languages said. In this instance, I looked at the word “enemy.” I went to biblehub.com and typed in “1 Peter 5:8.” In the scripture, the Greek word for “enemy” is “antidikos.” It means “adversary.” I thought to myself, “I see advisory and enemy being alike. That makes sense.”

Biblehub.com goes further into breaking up “antidikos” into two root words, though.

• “Anti” is the first root word. It means “against.”

• The other root word is “dike.” This means “justice” or “judge.”

Bible Hub says that “antidikos” properly put is a prosecuting attorney arguing a case-at-law; an “opponent at law.”

Shadow on a white brick wall pointing at, or accusing, a woman in a defenseless position on the floor.

Satan is the guy sitting at the table next to you in a courtroom trying to argue that you are guilty. He is trying to condemn you and lock you up. To keep you pushed in a corner and scared. He doesn’t want you running free in the streets living a life after God. He wants you chained.

Who Satan Was Before?

Isaiah 14:12 says “How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! (NIV)”

Satan use to be in heaven. It is said that he was the most beautiful angel in heaven. Lucifer means “shining one.” He used to shine. Ezekiel 28:12-18 says he was perfection, full of wisdom and beauty. He was in Eden, the garden of God. He was covered by beautiful stones that were prepared just for him. It says he was “the” anointed cherub.

In other words, Satan had it made. He was adorned. He was set up high.

Then, he let it go to his head. His head got big, and he thought he could be bigger and make better decisions than God. He was blameless until that point. Then scripture says iniquity, or “wickedness” was found in him.

Ezekiel 28:17 says “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So, I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings (NIV).”

Satan went from having it made to making decisions that pivoted him to his destruction.

Who Are You?

Now that we established who Satan is and who he was, let’s talk about who you are.

You were created by God just like Satan was created by God.

Just as Ezekiel 28 stated that beautiful stones were prepared just for Satan, the scripture states that we were designed in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13).

Jeremiah 29:11 says “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (NIV).'”

God designed us. He has a purpose for us. He calls us sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18).

As a son or daughter of the King, you have been raised with Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God (Colossians 3:1).

{Related – Identity in Christ}

Woman excited about her victory in Christ!

When I look at these scriptures, I see victory. I see hope. I see people that are meant for great things. As a follower of the highest King that is who you are. You were created with purpose, with love, with a future. When you think of the best things for your life, God thinks of things much higher. His understanding surpasses even the best opportunities that you think could come your way.

Why Satan Hates You and Me

As I started establishing a small understanding of who I was according to the scriptures listed above, my faith began to build. Those lies that Satan had tried to tell me started to have some light shed on them. The truth started to prevail.

I was not a hopeless wreck. I did not have to accept depression. I did not have to accept living in a rut. It did not matter what the present situation looked like. According to John 16:33, I was an overcomer!

Satan hates us because we are overcomers. He hates us because God made a way for us at every opposition Satan has thrown at us throughout the history of humanity. Satan is full of bitterness and pride at the thought of God helping us overcome his attacks.

Check out these examples.

In the Garden of Eden, Satan talked God’s creation into sinning. God, being the God of His word that He is, took them out of the paradise that they lived in. He had told them not to take the fruit because there would be consequences. And there was! But even then, God started the process of making a way back for His children into Paradise.

In Genesis 3, God tells Satan that “he will crush your head (speaking of man) and you will strike his heel.” Gotquestions.com says this so elegantly. It says,

“In Genesis 3, God meted out various judgements against those who brough sin into His perfect world. Adam, Eve, and the serpent (Satan) all hear of the consequences of their rebellion. To the serpent, God says, in part, ‘And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.’ Even in this judgment, there is mercy. God’s curse on the serpent was laced with words of hope.”
GotQuestions.com

God gave mankind hope even in a bad situation. Not just a bad situation – a bad situation that we put ourselves in. He recognized that we needed help. That we needed guidance. That day Satan thought he had made it to where God’s other creations were sent to their demise, but God made it to where we had hope.

Even in the time of Noah, God made a way for sin to be flushed out and hope to prevail.

Then Jesus came. Satan thought he had won at the cross. Once again righteousness and love were raised up and shown as a light to the world.

At every point that Satan tries to bring down the righteousness of who God is, God intersects and gives us more hope. He gives us the option of pivoting from what could cause our demise toward what allows His glory to correct and overcome the enemy.

The enemy (Satan) is here to kill steal and destroy. He is mad and bitter because he thought he could make better decisions than God. He thought he could take over all of creation. He is jealous of the opportunities mankind has to live in peace and harmony with God. This all stems from pride.

Satan is our enemy. He is the opponent that has lost. His only defense is deception, with which he works to blind all of us from reality – the reality of the victory we already have in Christ.

What Can We Do?

It is our decision and responsibility to study and understand who we are – who we truly are as children of the King. When we start renewing our minds to think that way, then we are invincible through Christ. Only through Him. No other way. Stay humble, but be courageous through your identity in Christ.

Don’t be deceived, though. Satan is like a roaring lion, searching for those whom he can take out. Just because we are already victorious doesn’t mean he is not waiting around the corner. He hates you and is a bully. He is looking for times when you are vulnerable. He is looking for opportunities to come in when you are distracted and not focused on Jesus. Stay focused, and stay geared up with the armor of God.

{Related – The Armor of God: An Introduction}

You’ve got this because God’s got you!

My name is Savannah Bourke. I manage my parent’s construction and bed and breakfast businesses. Several years ago I started a blog. It was under the radar because I used it just as an outlet – a journal of seasons in my life with God. This past year I have been working to write more on the blog, Living in the Design. I also have a new project that I have become more passionate about – a podcast called Into the Water, which you can also find on my website.

Follow Catching Courage!