The Bible is clear—Satan is real, and he is always on the attack (1 Peter 5:8).  Fortunately, we do not have to defend ourselves against him by ourselves.  We have God’s help.

1 John 4:4 (ESV)
⁴  Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Who is in us?  The answer is God.  Whether John was referring to the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit, it does not matter here because the scriptures teach that all three of them dwell in us (1 Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 3:17; 1 John 4:12).  The point is this—God is greater than the devil, and as long as He is on our side, we can defeat Satan.

This being said, we must take advantage of God’s protection, and the greatest resource He gives us to overcome Satan is His Word.  The Word is a part of the armor that we must put on to stand against the schemes of the devil.  Paul calls it the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). 

Interestingly, almost every part of the armor of God can be connected somehow with the Word of God.  The belt of truth is referring directly to the Word of God (John 17:17).  The breastplate of righteousness involves living by the truth since righteousness is something that is practiced (1 John 3:7).  The gospel of peace, with which we are to shod our feet, is an obvious reference to the Word of God.  The shield of faith is connected with the Word because it is the Word that produces faith (Romans 10:17).  Finally, putting on the helmet of salvation necessitates filling our minds with God’s Word, particularly those portions of the Word that speak to us of heaven and salvation.  Without the Word of God, there would be no armor of God.

The Word of God protects us against sin.  John wrote, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning…” (1 John 3:9).  While we all sin from time to time, if we hold the Word in our hearts, we will not continue in sin.  This was the testimony of the Psalmist as well: “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

The Word of God protects us from false teaching.  When we familiarize ourselves with the truth, we can detect and fight off error, and avoid being “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine…” (Ephesians 4:14).  This is important because there will always be false teachers in the world, putting our souls in danger with their destructive heresies (2 Peter 2:1; 2 John 1:9).   

The Word of God protects us from complacency.  It does this by constantly challenging us not to be content, but to, instead, press toward the goal for the prize (Philippians 3:14).

The devil is a worthy adversary.  He is, in fact, too strong for us to defeat by ourselves.  However, when we allow the strength of our Lord’s might to protect us (Ephesians 6:10), strength which comes primarily through and by His Word, we are secure in the hands of God (John 10:28).    

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.