Articles
Possessed by Satan
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Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel (1 Chron. 21:1).
Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve (Lk. 22:3).
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The Bible depicts Satan as the archenemy of God and His people. His mission is to sow as much chaos and misery in God's creation as he can. And he is quite good at it.
These two texts provide examples of one way in which he accomplishes his nefarious work. Somehow he "enters" people and moves them to do things that are contrary to God's will. We could look at other examples, such as Jesus calling Peter "Satan" when the apostle argued with Him about His coming death (Matt. 16:23); or those in the Parable of the Sower to whom "Satan comes and takes away the word" that was presented to them (Mk. 4:15).
This is scary stuff. Can Satan really force his way into my heart and make me do bad things? Can he "possess" me and turn me into a Judas against my will?
First, the Bible makes it clear that the devil cannot do anything in our lives without our consent. Both James and Peter assure us that if we "resist the devil . . . he will flee from you" (Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9). Whatever avenue he may pursue to wriggle into our lives, we have the capacity to push back and, with God's help, prevent a take-over. So at least on that point we can relax; Satan does not have the ability to force his way into our lives. (See Zech. 13:2; Matt. 12:28-29; Lk. 10:17-18 for more details on the limits of demon possession.)
Even so, there remains one way in which Satan can creep into our heart: We can leave the door ajar for him. This was the opening that Satan used to capture Eve's allegiance (Gen. 3). The forbidden fruit already looked pleasant and delicious to her, and all it took was a false promise of becoming like God to entice her to eat it. Likewise, David and Judas became pawns of Satan because they allowed their minds to wander to places they shouldn't have.
Similarly, Satan's efforts to entrap Jesus took the form, not of direct possession, but of promises of ease and fame and glory. Unlike Eve, David and Judas, Jesus' fidelity to God was strong enough to resist the temptations, and "the devil left Him" (Matt. 4:11).
There are many people today whose lives are entirely in the thrall of Satan's power, and he uses that leverage to sow misery far and wide. But these people serve him because they chose to do so. Their demonic service may have started small and insignificant, but once Satan got a foot in the door, he quickly took over.
Satan can mess up our lives in a huge way--but only if we give him the opportunity to do so. Our challenge is simple: "do not give place to the devil" (Eph. 4:27). Slam the door in his face; shore up the breaches in the walls; latch the windows tight.
God has provided us the weapons to win this battle. But only if we are willing to fight.
--David
