In 1982-83 the Cougars of the University of Houston was the greatest men’s basketball team on the planet. They featured several first-team All-Americans, led by two future Hall of Famers, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. They entered the college basketball championship game with an impressive 31-1 record and a 26-game winning streak.
The final game was supposed to be a simple formality that was required before they would walk away with the trophy. But in what is widely regarded as one of the greatest upsets in team sports history, they lost to North Carolina State, a team that lost ten times during the regular season and entered the tournament ranked #19 in the nation.
How did it happen? It would be right to say that it is just the nature of sports. Upsets happen all the time. But the discrepancy of talent between these two teams was so immense that Houston’s loss shocked the sporting world and led us to believe that Phi Slama Jama, as they were nicknamed, simply took their opponent too lightly.
We can make the same mistake. Many Christians have lost their souls by underestimating the devil and his allies. Paul reminds us that it is not just mere men against whom we are fighting, but spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12).
Everyone agrees these “spiritual forces of evil” are evil spirits in the unseen realm. We do not know a lot about them and the extent of their power, but to deny their reality is unwise. There is no doubt that the power of Satan and his spiritual forces have been curtailed by our Savior; nevertheless, they have many tools at their disposal, and they are still actively involved in doing evil.
That evil can take many different forms (pride, envy, lust, false doctrine, religious error, liberalism, etc.), all of which can have an influence on us and weaken us spiritually. But the area Satan seems to always attack first is the mind. This is the primary scheme of the devil, and we should all be aware of it. He wants to get inside your mind and set up camp. He knows that if he can influence our thinking and have an effect on our attitude and disposition, he will win the battle for our souls in the end.
Paul spoke of strongholds in 2 Corinthians 10:4, referring to the influence that Satan had on the saints at Corinth. Paul aimed to tear down those strongholds and recapture the minds of those saints for Christ.
The devil has not changed his strategy. Let us not be ignorant of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). It is a lot harder to get Satan out of our minds once he has implanted himself there than it is to keep him out in the first place. Is it your aim to arm yourself for this spiritual battle? The fight begins with winning the battleground of your mind. Protect it! Guard it! Make it your priority to keep the devil out.
As you wind down for the night, think about these things.