“I hate you! You have no idea how much I hate you and want to see you and everything you have destroyed!”
If Satan was capable of telling the truth, which he is not, that’s what he would say to you. He’s not capable of telling the truth because he is the father of lies. Lying is his nature. It’s the only language he speaks. If he’s talking, you can take it to the bank, he is lying.
His desire, his ultimate plan for you is to completely destroy you, your family, and all God has given you and wants to give you. He wants more than anything to see you burn in hell for eternity. He knows he will spend eternity there and he wants you to keep him company. The Bible explains this to us very clearly. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes ONLY to steal and kill, and destroy.”
Understanding how the enemy works is a key to keeping him from accomplishing his goal. The only power the enemy has is the power we give him by not knowing his schemes. 2 Corinthians 2:11 tells us, “in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” Let’s look at his strategy.
We have already established that the enemy wants to destroy us. It’s the way that he goes about it that sometimes catches us off guard. We think in such a way as to look out for the huge boulder the enemy would want to drop in our life boat (the boat we call life). If we allow him to, he could destroy us with one big attack, but normally that’s not how he works. Destruction of God’s children is not a one step process for the enemy. He goes about it in a classified way.
If he cannot destroy you, he will try and devastate you. A friend who betrays you, a spouse who lies to you or is unfaithful, and bankruptcy are a few examples of things the enemy could use to try and devastate you. Why would he do this? To attempt to get you to turn your back on God. If he can make you think that God let you down, he can be successful at getting you to turn away from God.
After the death of his two year old son in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 that ruined him financially, Horatio Spafford, had planned to go to Europe with his family during a tough economic crisis in 1873. At the last minute, Horatio sent his wife and four daughters ahead as he was delayed for business. The ship his wife and daughters were on collided with another vessel while crossing the Atlantic. All four of his daughters were lost. Horatio sailed to meet his wife, after receiving the famous message from her, “Saved alone…” As Horatio’s ship approached the area where his daughters were killed in the tragic accident, he penned the words of one of the most famous hymns of the church that has inspired believers since its birth. The hymn is called It Is Well.
If the enemy can’t devastate you, he will try and discourage you. There are so many ways that we can grow discouraged. There’s not enough time for me to list them all. Discouragement is not a stranger to anyone. We’ve all been discouraged before. A situation did not turn out like you wanted it to. You didn’t get the promotion after working your hardest. You gave it your best shot, yet you still feel like you failed at your dream. Discouragement plagues us all at one time or another.
Dan Jansen was the fastest speed skater of his time and one of the world’s all time best speed skaters. In 1988 Jansen received word that his sister had passed away of leukemia the morning he was scheduled to compete in the 500m at the Winter Olympics in Calgary. Jansen fell in both the 500m and 1000m race. Four years later, Jansen again saw gold fall away as he fell once again in both races. Then in 1994, at the Olympic games in Lillehammer, as the fastest man on ice, he once again slipped and fell in the 500m race. If anyone was in the position to let discouragement overwhelm him, it was Dan Jansen. But four days later, he would capture the gold medal in the 1000m race and become an Olympic Champion.
When the enemy fails at discouraging you, he will do his best to distract you. The word distract means to prevent from giving full attention to something, or to divert. This step is realized by all of us when we go to spend time in prayer or study the Word of God. We suddenly get phone calls. The door bell rings. Thoughts of everything we have to do that day come to mind. If we’re not careful, we can get so distracted by life that we fail to spend time with the one who gives us life.
Distractions can prolong the fulfillment of our God given destiny. That is why it is so important to stay focused on God what He has for us. It’s not always easy, and sometimes it is a straight up battle.
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
When we think of this scripture we immediately think of bad thoughts. You know the thoughts I’m talking about. The thoughts that should not be going through our minds. But we must include good thoughts as well. Hang with me. Good thoughts do not trump God thoughts and must be taken captive when the timing is not right. Any thought that tries to take its place in a position above God and His thoughts should be taken captive. Those thoughts are distractions.
And finally, when the enemy fails to destroy you, devastate you, discourage you, and distract you, he will attempt to delay you and the answer or promise that God has given you. Too many believers fall prey to the enemy during the delay. When the delay is long, we grow weary, and when we grow weary, we are vulnerable.
In the book of Daniel chapter ten we read the story of a dream that Daniel had concerning a great war. It troubled Daniel to the point of mourning and fasting for three weeks. Finally, on the twenty-fourth day, an angel delivered the answered to Daniel’s prayer. Listen to what the angel told Daniel.
Daniel 10:12-13
“Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.”
I hate delays. Most people do. We hate to stand in line. We hate to wait for the pizza guy to arrive. We hate to wait for the Pastor to be done preaching so we can leave church. We hate to wait for God to answer our prayers. We need an answer now. And when we have to wait, we grow tired, weary, irritable, and if we’re not careful, unfaithful to the Lord.
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
The message of this verse is pretty clear, but let’s make it clearer. The despising of the waiting and the failure to fight during the wait robs us of our harvest, our promise, and our victory. Don’t you dare grow weary! Don’t you dare quit! God’s about to hand deliver your answer, your promise, your breakthrough, and your victory.
So if the enemy can’t destroy you, he will try and devastate you. If he can’t devastate you, he will try and discourage you. If he can’t discourage you, he will attempt to distract you. When all of that fails, he will do his best to delay you. So what do we do during this process? We do what James 4:7 tells us to do.
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Ultimately, if we stay submitted to God, the enemy’s schemes fail. Even though he has a plan to ultimately destroy you, your hope comes in the last part of John 10:10 where Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life, and life abundantly.” Rise warrior and child of God. For this trial, this storm, this trouble will pass, and you will stand victorious with Christ, the anointed one, at your side! YOU WIN!
Comments