Don’t listen to the accuser

A guy who worked in an office loved to play a particular trick on new employees. He would approach them and whisper, “They know what you did,” then walk away smiling. First, the person would look bewildered. Then they would get anxious and wonder, “What have I done?” Then they would think, “Who are they?” “What do they know?” and “What are they saying about me?” And since even the most innocent have a knee-jerk tendency to conceal and protect, the new employee would walk around all day anxiety ridden. That’s exactly how Satan works! He casts aspersions. But there’s good news: “The accuser of our brothers…who accuses them before…God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (vv. 10-11 NIV). There’s an unfailing strategy for silencing the voice of the accuser. What is it? Remind him that the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed you from all sin. Just as Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness, you can defeat him every time by standing on the truth of God’s Word. It’s not God who makes you feel condemned. He wants you to know you’re loved, forgiven, and fully accepted. Paul wrote, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?…Christ…is at the right hand of God…pleading…for us” (Romans 8:33-34 AMPC). So stop beating yourself up. Jesus came to save you and let you know that the penalty for your sin has been removed and its power over your life has been broken. God sees you today as righteous—and that’s how you need to start seeing yourself (see 2 Corinthians 5:21).