“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it.” Matthew 16:18 (HCSB)
Want to upset the devil? Then operate in the opposition spirit! The enemy comes to kill, steal, destroy, lie and deceive. He wants people to reject the goodness of God. We are told to resist the devil, and he will run from us. But this resistance is not a one and done. Our resistance must become a lifestyle. Our resistance literally appalls our enemy. It ultimately upsets him and causes him to withdraw.
A huge thing we can do that totally upsets the devil is laughter. Not only is it healthy to laugh, but it sticks it in the enemy’s face when we laugh. The devil desires to make us miserable, though he will gift wrap trash, filth and death is a seductive box. God sees the nations conspiring against Him and laughs (Psalm 2:3). We are told that the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Next time the enemy throws something at you, take some time to laugh at him! One time the enemy hit us pretty hard, and as we drove away I could not help but laugh. Over the next year, God turned it into something beautiful for His glory!
Another “in-yo-face” tactic is forgiving those have hurt you! To not forgive is to hold yourself in the prison with the torturers free to make you miserable. The key to get out of that prison cell is forgiveness. Not because you feel like it, but because you choose to! If you wait until you feel like forgiving, you never will. Forgiveness is an act of your will, because it is the right thing to do! Once you forgive, then bless those who curse and/or hurt you! Love those who hate you, and the enemy is absolutely confounded by your actions!
In heaven you will exist to live. In hell you exist to suffer. On earth, too many choose to live to exist. But choose to live your life to its fullness, now. By choosing life now, sticks it in the devil’s face. Choose to live as if every second matters because they actually do. Take everything you’ve got and invest in others via the talents, gifts and opportunities God has given you. Choose to leave this world having poured everything out. Every second is pregnant with seeds that will ultimately bring forth a harvest. You will reap what you sow, not just in eternity, but even in this world. So, sow life abundantly everywhere you can. Give it away with abandonment!
Another way to upset the enemy is to speak decrees! When we speak out declarations and decrees, we are enforcing the finished work of the cross! God has given us this authority. The word of God is powerful! It is healing! It is victorious! It creates and establishes the rule and reign of our King! The word of God is enduring (1 Peter 1:23), and its power does not diminish. Speak and declare the word of God out loud, and the enemy will flee (James 4:7, Matthew 41-11). Write our decrees from the word and begin declaring them daily!
Pray that God would give you the grace to be the devil’s thorn in the flesh! Ask Him to show you how to resist the devil and the persistence to keep resisting until the devil withdraws. Ask God to train you to be the one on the offensive instead of the devil. Ask Him to train your fingers for battle and your hands for war (Psalm 144:1). Ask Him change your mind set about spiritual warfare as something the devil does against you to something you do against the kingdom of darkness. Ask Him to equip you as an effective warrior in the epic hour of history. Pray for your pastor to rise up as someone the devil fears, and your church to become an army whom the gates of hell cannot stand against. Pray that the church across our city would be mobilized and aggressively fighting and reclaiming every place enemy has stolen from us! Pray that God’s people would seriously begin upsetting the devil, starting with you!!
