Years ago, I worked as a substitute teacher in U.S. public schools. It was an interesting job. Early in the morning, or the day before, I would get a call to cover for an absent teacher. Because the students knew I wasn’t their permanent teacher, they tended to be overly relaxed, unserious, or outright unruly. As a substitute, I was often too gentle and lenient, letting behaviors slide that would normally never be tolerated. After all, I felt like “just a substitute.”

Later on, I became a full-time teacher, and my classes were run in an orderly fashion. If any student dared to test my limits, I immediately exercised my authority and restored order.

Believers can sometimes act like substitute teachers. Even though we have been given authority over the enemy, we can act fearfully and let him take over, failing to use the power in our hands. And once you give the enemy an inch, he doesn’t hesitate to take over the entire room until someone rises up to restore order.

Believers can—and should always—exercise authority over Satan and the powers of darkness through their position in Christ, the Word of God, and the name of Jesus. “And demons also came out of many, crying, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ” ( Luke 4:41). As a believer, Christ has placed authority in your hands over demonic attacks and every form of oppression. You have the power to stand against those attacks, dismiss them, and send them back where they belong.

But the moment you take things easy and fail to exercise your God-given authority, just like in those classrooms, the enemy will take full advantage and overwhelm you. “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Tim 1:7)