Does Satan Have You Hooked?

Let me ask you a serious question: does satan have you hooked?

The Bible says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). And again, “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath He given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16). From the beginning, the earth belonged to God and He entrusted it to humanity. But in our disobedience, sin entered the world, and through that rebellion we surrendered our God-given authority over to the fallen kingdom of darkness. This is why Scripture calls Satan “the god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

It is important to be clear here. Satan is not the god of the earth itself. He does not own the oceans, the trees, the mountains, or anything natural. Creation belongs to the Lord. But what he does rule are the systems of this world; the cultures, the industries, the ideologies, the appetites, and the distractions that pull hearts away from God.

With that understanding, we must ask ourselves again: does Satan have you hooked?

Hooked Without Knowing It

Many of us are hooked and don’t even realize it. Just as a person hooked on drugs may not see the chains tightening around them, so we are hooked through things we treat as harmless.

• Television and entertainment. We watch shows that shape our hearts with lust, violence, pride, or deceit. What we laugh at soon becomes what we tolerate. What we tolerate becomes what we imitate.

• Music. The sounds that fill our ears minister messages to our souls. Much of today’s music pushes anger, rebellion, and perversion. It feeds the flesh but starves the spirit.

• Games and virtual reality. Instead of enjoying God’s creation such as the sky, the trees, the sand between our toes, we immerse ourselves in artificial worlds. We prefer the virtual over the real.

• Food. We crave sweets, processed foods, and fast food, though we know they harm us. We indulge anyway, feeding the flesh even when it weakens the body God gave us.

• Phones and social media. Hours slip away as we scroll from one app to the next. We check notifications, chase trends, and call it connection, but all the while we are being drained.

• Lust. Quiet addictions that no one sees, yet they poison marriages, dull our spiritual hunger, and keep us locked in shame.

• Gambling, shopping, and other thrills. We chase the next purchase, the next win, the next temporary high. Yet no matter how much we feed it, we are never satisfied.

These are not just habits, they are hooks. The enemy uses them to keep us distracted, deceived, and spiritually numb.

The Cost of Being Hooked

The Bible teaches that the heart represents more than feelings, it is the mind, the will, the soul itself. Every time we give in to these distractions, we give away pieces of our soul. Satan doesn’t always need us to openly worship him. He captures us inch by inch, through what we consume, through what entertains us, through what we cannot let go of.

Even worse, we hand these hooks to our children. We put iPads in their hands to keep them quiet, we give them phones far too young, we feed them sugar and processed foods, and we train them to be addicted before they even know what discipline is. We are not just hooked ourselves; we are teaching them to be hooked too.

Not All Sin, But All Dangerous

Not everything is sin in itself. Phones, food, and music are not evil by nature. But when they control us, when they consume our time, when they pull us away from God, they become dangerous snares. Scripture is clear: “All things are lawful unto me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Corinthians 6:12).

The truth is that much of modern life has been designed to pull us under another power, and unless we resist, we end up entangled.

Regaining Control

There is hope. We do not have to remain hooked. Scripture gives us the way back: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

Regaining control begins with surrendering our lives to Christ. Without Him, we cannot overcome the hooks of the enemy. Once we belong to Him, our call is to resist and resistance looks like self-control.

• It means saying no to our flesh.

• It means denying ourselves.

• It means practicing fasting, not just from food, but from entertainment, from screens, from anything that tries to master us.

• It means setting aside time for God on purpose, not just when convenient.

Jesus said that to follow Him we must deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). Dying to self is not optional, it is the mark of a true disciple.

Making Space for God

If there is always noise, when do we hear God’s voice? If our days are full of endless scrolling, endless streaming, endless eating, when do we have time to be still before the Lord?

This is why intentional time with Him matters. Prayer, worship, reading Scripture, journaling, meditation, these are the ways we unhook from the world and plug into God. Without them, we are vulnerable. With them, we are anchored.

Personally, I set alarms throughout the day to stop and pray. You may not do that, but you must do something intentional. Give God your attention on purpose. Cut the noise. Make room.

An Urgent Warning

The storm is already here. Deception is rising, even under the banner of Christianity. False teachers, false comforts, false gospels are pulling people away daily. If you do not know God for yourself, you will be swept away.

But if you walk closely with Him, if you know His voice, if you practice self-denial and keep your soul unhooked, you will stand. You will recognize the counterfeit because you know the truth.

So I ask you again: are you hooked?

And if you are, will you stay hooked, or will you break free?

The choice is urgent. The time is short. Deny yourself, resist the devil, submit to God. Guard your soul. Pursue Him.

Because Satan may be the god of this world’s systems, but he does not have to be the god of your heart.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father,

I come before You humbly, acknowledging that without You I am weak. I confess the ways I have allowed myself to be distracted, the ways I have been hooked by the things of this world. Lord, I surrender myself to You completely.

Holy Spirit, empower me to submit fully to God. Strengthen me to resist the devil, to deny my flesh, and to die daily to myself. Give me self-control when I am tempted, focus when I am distracted, and discipline to walk in Your ways.

Open my eyes to see the schemes of the enemy. Guard my heart from deception. Fill me with a hunger for Your Word, a desire for Your presence, and a dedication to Your truth.

I declare today that I belong to Jesus Christ. My life is His. My mind is His. My heart is His. Help me to live unhooked from this world and fully anchored in You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.