Victimized: When We Push the Fault on the Devil When It Is Really Us
By Apostle M. Taylor
There is a dangerous habit that has quietly taken root within the Body of Christ. It is the habit of blaming the devil for things that are not the devil’s doing. While spiritual warfare is real and the enemy does seek to deceive, destroy, and divide, not every struggle in a believer’s life can be attributed to demonic attack. Sometimes the real issue is not external opposition — it is internal refusal.
Many believers have become comfortable declaring, “The devil is attacking me,” when the truth is far less dramatic but far more personal. Sometimes the problem is not warfare; sometimes it is disobedience. Sometimes it is pride. Sometimes it is stubbornness. Sometimes it is the unwillingness to surrender what God has already asked us to release.
When we refuse to acknowledge our own responsibility, we unintentionally delay our own growth.
James 1:14 explains it clearly: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” Notice the language of the scripture. It does not say the devil forces every failure. It reveals that many struggles begin when a person is drawn away by their own desires. The battle often begins within the heart long before it appears in actions.
Blaming the devil for everything allows people to avoid self-examination. If the devil is always the reason, then there is no need to address pride, unforgiveness, jealousy, selfish ambition, or lack of discipline. Responsibility is shifted outward, and transformation is postponed.
But spiritual maturity requires honesty.
There are moments when believers must stand before God and acknowledge that the issue is not demonic interference — the issue is personal choice. God may have already spoken. Direction may have already been given. Correction may have already been provided through His Word, through wise counsel, or through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Yet when a person chooses to ignore that instruction, the consequences that follow are not always spiritual attacks. Sometimes they are simply the results of decisions.
The truth is that the enemy often gains influence through doors that people open themselves. Ephesians 4:27 says, “Neither give place to the devil.” This scripture reveals something important: the devil cannot always take a place; sometimes a place is given.
It may be given through unresolved anger.
It may be given through bitterness.
It may be given through compromise.
It may be given through pride that refuses correction.
When those doors remain open, spiritual vulnerability increases. But the solution is not simply rebuking the devil; the solution is closing the door.
One of the greatest turning points in a believer’s life comes when they move from a victim mindset to a responsibility mindset. Victim thinking says, “Everything happening to me is someone else’s fault.” Responsibility says, “Lord, show me where I must change.”
That prayer requires humility, but it leads to freedom.
Psalm 139:23–24 reflects this kind of heart posture: “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” This is not the prayer of someone avoiding accountability. This is the prayer of someone who wants transformation more than comfort.
When believers begin to examine their own hearts honestly, something powerful happens. Growth begins. Correction becomes possible. And the cycle of repeated struggle begins to break.
This does not mean the enemy never attacks. Spiritual warfare is real. But discernment is necessary. If every problem is blamed on the devil, personal responsibility becomes invisible. And when responsibility is invisible, change rarely happens.
The Holy Spirit does not come to shame believers, but He does come to convict, guide, and transform. Conviction is not condemnation; it is an invitation to grow.
Sometimes the greatest victory in spiritual warfare is not casting something out. Sometimes the greatest victory is choosing obedience, humility, and repentance.
Because when we stop blaming the enemy for what belongs to us, we create room for God to correct what needs to change.
And when correction is embraced, transformation can finally begin.