"Rear View Mirror"

He’s in my rear view mirror,

It’s where he needs to be,

We used to be best buddies,

But I’ve put him behind me.

Yes, get behind me, satan,

That’s what the Good Lord said,

When He went through temptation,

Before raised from the dead.

The devil’s a smooth talker,

He’ll promise anything,

To deceive and blind you,

Distract from Christ the King.

But he is a big liar,

And the father of all lies,

Appears just like an angel,

A master of disguise.

And he is a killer,

He will destroy and steal,

And though he is defeated,

The battle is still real.

Put on all God’s armor,

And in His strength be strong,

Fight him with the Spirit’s sword, 

And it won’t be long,

That you’ll see the devil,

Behind your old tail lights,

In your rear view mirror,

‘Cause you can win these fights.

So stand firm and resist him,

God’s Word says he will flee,

No quarter asked or given,

That lion runs, you’ll see.

In Jesus’ name we conquer,

And there will come a time,

When there is no battle,

When God says “quitting time.”

That lake of fire is waiting,

I bet he knows it’s true,

And that is just the reason,

He’s after me and you.

But it’s not us, it’s Jesus,

And only in His name,

When that old devil knocks again,

He’ll be sorry that he came.

“Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:9, NIV)

There is a reason Jesus included in the model prayer: “Deliver us from the evil one.” That is because we need God’s help to deal with the devil. And deal with him we must. We are called to proactively resist him using spiritual weaponry. We are assured the war is already won, but battles must be fought in an all-out, high-stakes struggle for the souls of humanity. But why is it this way? We probably will never know on this side of the grave, nor fully understand it. But we assuredly struggle against unseen, spiritual darkness that requires the power of God’s Spirit and Spirit-led strategy. We should neither over-emphasize nor minimize its importance, and the Lord will show us how.

Lord, help us to resist the devil and make him flee, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tyler Crow, tylercrow.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tyler, and God bless you.