Section 42

“If the devil himself admits that his power is gone, we should utterly despise both him and his demons. The enemy and his hounds have only devices of this kind. Now that we know their weakness, we are able to treat them with contempt.

“So let us not become despondent or entertain cowardly thoughts. Let us not invent fears for ourselves by saying, ‘I am afraid that a demon may come and overthrow me, or lift me up and throw me down, or suddenly attack and terrify me.’ We should not keep such thoughts in our minds at all or grieve as though we were about to perish.

“Instead, let us be courageous and always rejoice, believing that we are safe. Let us keep in our souls the conviction that the Lord is with us—the one who put the evil spirits to flight and broke their power. Let us understand and take to heart that as long as the Lord is with us, our enemies can do us no harm.

“When the demons approach, they come in a form that corresponds to the condition in which they find us, and they shape their deceptions according to the state of our mind. If they find us fearful and confused, they immediately surround the place like robbers who have found it unguarded. Then they take the very thoughts we are already producing within ourselves and magnify them.

“If they find us fainthearted and cowardly, they greatly increase our fear through apparitions and threats, and the unhappy soul is tormented by these things from then on.

“But if they see us rejoicing in the Lord, contemplating the blessedness to come, remembering the Lord, considering that everything is in his hand, and believing that no evil spirit has any strength against a Christian or any authority over anyone at all—when they see the soul fortified by such thoughts, they are confused and turn back.

“Thus the enemy withdrew from Job when he saw him protected in this way. But when he found Judas unguarded, he took him captive.

“If, then, we wish to despise the enemy, let us always meditate on the things of the Lord and let the soul always rejoice in hope. We will see that the devil’s snares are like smoke, and that the evil spirits themselves flee from us rather than pursue us. For, as I said before, they are exceedingly fearful and are always looking ahead to the fire prepared for them.