Satan is working constantly to blind and bind people (2 Corinthians 4:4; Luke 13:16). When we are hurting, broken, beaten down, angered and facing things beyond our control, he uses these situations to get our feelings and emotions to work against God’s will for our lives. His desire is to move us to be controlled by our circumstances and not by the will of Christ. It is his aim to lead us to become captives of, be blinded to and to be bound by our sins. When the painful results attack faith and the desire to pray, his blinders are there.
Jesus came to save us, to “bind up the brokenhearted” (Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18 ESV). When the unsaved see our reactions to life, this often leads them to question what good serving the Savior produces. If we don’t give our broken, blinded and bound lives to the Lord, what do we expect the unsaved to do? Do we struggle to give ourselves wholly to Jesus Christ? Do we hold back and ignore the life He offers (John 10:10)? Is Satan more powerful than the Christ? We know he is most deceitful, and we must not let him deceive us (1 Timothy 2:14). Let’s oppose and expose Satan and not be ensnared and enslaved by him. How does he bind people?
Ignorance and Apathy
Choosing to remain ignorant and not being energetic enough to question what we are told is used by our enemy. Imagine not wanting to leave slavery and have freedom because it meant work, hardships and responsibility. After the Civil War, one former slave commented, “A war was fought and a president was murdered, but many of the slaves lived on as slaves, as if nothing had happened” (cf., Galatians 5:1). Christ frees from sin, but some don’t desire to be set free. Satan keeps them in darkness about the freedom available in Christ. Satan binds, while God in Christ set free (Ephesians 5:8-13).
Pride and Self-Righteousness
Some have bought into the lie that following Christ will limit one’s freedom. What do they mean by free? If it means to be able to do whatever one prefers in violation of God’s Word, this is being blinded and in bondage. If freedom means rights but no responsibilities, Satan has one bound. When it means I can save myself through my goodness and personal efforts, he has me imprisoned.
Grief, Tragedy and Loss
Satan whispers to many, “God doesn’t love you; if He did, why did this happen to you?” When life deals the unexpected or the unbelievable that knocks us down and leaves us looking up, we may become the captive of pain. Dreams are shattered, relationships ruined, a loved one’s life is cut short, a business goes bad, etc., and God is forgotten. The devil uses such to blind and bind. God can heal broken hearts and shattered dreams, and He gives the promise of reunion with loved ones. He knows the pain of a loved One dying. Pain is not the measure of His love. The Bible faithful faced constant pain in triumph (Job, Moses, David)!
There are many other ways we can become bound by Satan. We must not think we can impress God by who we are and by what we accomplish through our abilities to sidestep obedience to Christ as our Savior. We cannot make ourselves worthy by what we do, earn His forgiveness by great feats and deserve Heaven. We can’t climb to Heaven through our own power. Let’s learn to bind the devil (Mark 3:26-27) through the work of Christ.
