This Is What Causes Us To Become Discouraged So Quickly. Because As Soon As God Gives Us A Word, Satan Goes To War! God Speaks Healing, And Here Comes Satan With Another Symptom;God Speaks Wealth And:

Here's what happens: God's Word has landed in your heart. You're starting to gain some ground spiritually, so hell has been notified and your enemy is alarmed. He comes immediately to try to take away the ground you just gained through God's Word. This Is What Causes Us To Become Discouraged So Quickly. Because As Soon As God Gives Us A Word, Satan Goes To War! God Speaks Healing, And Here Comes Satan With Another Symptom; God Speaks Wealth, And Here Comes Satan With An Unexpected Bill; God speaks promotion, and here comes Satan with a layoff; God speaks a new home, and here comes Satan with a leaky roof; God speaks opportunity, and here comes Satan with obstacles; God speaks calm, and here comes Satan with chaos; God speaks anniversary, and here comes Satan with divorce papers! And he doesn’t drag his feet either, the Bible says, "at once, by force, right away, immediately, no sooner than, quickly, and as soon as" the Word is Sown, here comes Satan with his Shovel!

Mark 4:15, “These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the Word is sown; but when they hear, SATAN IMMEDIATELY comes and takes away the Word which has been sown in them.” (AMP)

It's important to understand that Satan doesn’t want you to gain any more ground!

Satan, the commander of hell's forces, is determined to stop you from ever becoming what Jesus died for you to be! And like any smart general, he knows he has to stop you before you grow and gain any more ground. His strategy is revealed in Mark 4:15. "Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. AS SOON AS they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them."

Listen to what Satan does WHEN YOU HEAR A WORD FROM THE LORD: “AT ONCE AND BY FORCE… RIGHT AWAY SATAN COMES… SATAN SOON COMES… SATAN IMMEDIATELY COMES… SATAN COMES AT ONCE… NO SOONER DO THEY HEAR THE WORD THAN SATAN SNATCHES… SATAN QUICKLY COMES…”

Let’s look at this Scripture in a few translations:

“The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown [in their hearts], but when they hear, SATAN COMES AT ONCE AND [BY FORCE] takes away the message which is sown in them.” (AMPC);

“Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like the people who hear the teaching of God, but SATAN QUICKLY COMES and takes away the teaching that was planted in them.” (NCV)

Listen: If you don’t Guard the Word God has given you, Satan will come in IMMEDIATELY, and fight to steal it! And in the end, you will be the one fleeing, and surrendering everything, including those attached to you!

In other words, by no means is Satan playing games, in fact, he’s playing for keeps! “The thief’s PURPOSE is to STEAL AND KILL AND DESTROY…” (John 10:10 NLT) Nothing about that sounds like child’s play! Which is why it’s so vital that you take the enemy seriously! He has a Purpose just as much as you do! And if you let him, he will fulfill his, leaving you to forfeit yours!

Which may help explain why things have suddenly gotten so tough for you, why things are going wrong, maybe why you don't have the spiritual enthusiasm you did before. Your logical reaction is, "I've been really trying to do what God wants, so what's wrong here?" The answer is, "'Nothing's wrong! It's because something's right!"

You have (‘a promise’; ‘a word from God’) and the enemy is worried and ready to attack because he can’t let you have that ground, then gain more! So suddenly he's interested in you. He didn't have to bother you when you weren't a threat. He didn’t bother you when you stopped fasting, became lazy in reading/studying the Word, started slacking in your prayer/devotion time with God, when you stopped going to Sunday School, and started making excuses for skipping Bible Study. The enemy didn’t think 2 cents about you. You didn’t even appear on his radar, in fact he may have said something like this: “But the evil spirit retorted, “I know and recognize and acknowledge Jesus, and I know about Paul, BUT AS FOR YOU, WHO ARE YOU?” (Acts 19:15 AMP)

The enemy doesn’t bother those who don’t bother him! If you’re not reading the Word, in prayer, fasting, obeying the commandments, fellowshipping with your brothers and sisters in Christ, walking in the Spirit, being directed and guided by the Holy Ghost, what does he want with you? After all, what can you do to attack his kingdom, when you aren’t armed with any of the weaponry of the Kingdom yourself!?

However, for those who have made the decision to get rid of their bad habits, attitudes and addictions; those who have decided to reignite the fire in their gifts, prayer and devotion time; those spending more time with God, the saints, and in the sanctuary; those hearing from God and following the directives of the Holy Ghost, the enemy is screaming from hell, “READY, AIM, FIRE!”

And by no means should that terrify you, in fact, it ought to excite you, that you’re finally on the enemies hit list! It’s not because of what you’ve done wrong, it’s because you’ve finally got it right!

So now he's got to get himself in position to make it hard for you! He's got to stop your forward progress fast or there's no telling how much ground he's going to lose! He has to stop you before you start interceding for folks, laying hands on people, speaking in tongues, binding the works of the flesh. He’s got to stop you before you start pleading the blood of Jesus over your family; before you start anointing your children. He’s got to stop you before you start speaking those things that be not as though they were. He’s got to stop you before your hope is renewed and your faith is revived. He’s got to stop you before you start believing that God meant just what He said concerning you.

He’s got to stop you before you start dreaming again. He’s got to stop you before you stop living in the past and start seeing yourself in a great future. He’s got to stop you from walking with God, before you gain more ground!

Satan gets busy whenever God has made a major landing in your life. Maybe you've recently made a new surrender of your life to Jesus or you've said yes to His call on your life. You've stepped up to leadership. Could it be that you've begun a new work for the Lord? Made a new commitment to be the marriage partner or the parent you should be, to give more to the Lord's work, to live by new priorities? Guess what? Alarm bells are going off in hell!

But don't get discouraged. Don't go back to the old ways. This is just your old enemy trying to stop this progress while it's new and fragile. If you keep going this way, your enemy's going to lose big time and he knows it. So step up and launch a Biblical counterattack. In the words of James 4:7, "Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you."

Psalm 91: “You who sit down in the High God’s presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow, Say this: “God, You’re my refuge. I trust in You and I’M SAFE!” That’s right—He rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you—under them you’re PERFECTLY SAFE; His arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. You’ll stand UNTOUCHED, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. Yes, because God’s your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can’t get close to you, harm can’t get through the door. HE ORDERED HIS ANGELS TO GUARD YOU WHEREVER YOU GO. If you stumble, they’ll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. You’ll walk UNHARMED among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path. “If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God, “I’ll get you out of any trouble. I’ll give you the BEST OF CARE if you’ll only get to know and trust Me. Call Me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times; I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party. I’ll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!” (MSG)

That’s the security you have when you come near to God and He comes near to you! Not only is He your refuge keeping you safe, but He’s also Ordered (not asked) His angels to guard you wherever you go! Remember this the next time God gives you a Word. Protect it by remaining in the Presence of God. Knowing that His angels are with you, guarding you, keeping you safe, wherever you go. That’s how you protect your beachhead (‘your promise/your Word from God’). Don’t just let the devil take your property! Fight for it, guard it, and stay as close to God as you can!

Don’t get all excited about the Word from God, and forget to Guard it! Remember the enemy is ready to steal, kill and destroy, and that includes you and the Word of Promise given to you. Don’t let him get it! He’s ready and alert, now make sure you are too!

1 Peter 5:8-11, “Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.” (MSG) Stay Alert, The Devil Is Poised To Pounce! The Danger for us as believers in becoming lazy, is that the devil never is! He’s Poised to Pounce! He’s in Position to Attack, are you?!

Charles Spurgeon said, "The greatest sign of God's will and God's power is the Devil's growl." If you're hearing the "growl" you're probably on the right track! You're on your way to some of the greatest victories of your life! Protect Your Word, Protect Your Promise! He’s Only Getting Worse, Because You’re Getting Better! It will be a fight to the finish, but one you will finish and win! Keep your armor on, and fight the good fight of faith!

You’ll Gain More Ground If You Keep the Devil Under Your Feet!

1 Timothy 6:12, "Fight the good fight of the faith [in the conflict with evil]; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and [for which] you made the good confession [of faith] in the presence of many witnesses." (AMP)

Therefore, Soldiers in the Lord's Army, Put Your Warfare Clothes On, Go to Battle and Guard the Word God Gave You!

Ephesians 6:10-18, “And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his demons. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.” (MSG)

Blessings

J.P. Olson