Here is what happens: God's Word has landed in your heart. You are 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.
One Of The Enemy’s Favorite Entry Points Into Our Lives Is Disappointment. 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 does not 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!
The Enemy Does Not Bother Those Who Do Not Bother Him! If you are 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? What can you do to attack his kingdom, when you are not armed with any of the weaponry of the Kingdom yourself!?
You see, you have (a promise; a word from God) and the enemy is worried and ready to attack because he cannot let you have that ground, then gain more! God is getting ready in this season to open the door for breakthroughs. It's important to understand that Satan doesn’t want you to gain any more ground! He knows that the enemy is ready to attack, you see suddenly Satan is interested in you. He did not have to bother you when you were not a threat. He did not bother you when you stopped fasting, became lazy in reading/studying the Word, started slacking in your prayer/devotion time with God, and when you started making excuses for skipping Bible Study. The enemy did not think 2 cents about you. You did not even appear on his radar.
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)
1 Peter 5:8, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (NIV)
1 John 2:14b-15, “I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.” (NLT)
Let's face it; we all have some days when we feel like we're stuck in the basement, right? The view isn't very inspiring, and neither is the situation we're in. We’re low in funds, low in joy, low in peace, low in confidence, low in health, low in marriage, low in single-hood, and low in dealing with the battles of raising children, low in dealing with coworkers and even low while sitting in the pew next to our brothers and sisters in Christ! There are simply some moments in life when we have crashed in the basement, instead of breaking through the ceiling! Can we be real about it?
Know that everybody who says they are praying for you, is not! Not everyone asking about your situation cares that you get out of it, some just want to make sure you are still in it! That is why discernment and wisdom are necessities, not options! Well, the good news is that there is no basement so deep or so gloomy that you must stay there, because there’s an elevator just waiting to take you up! Trust God and Trust, the process. That’s why discernment and wisdom are necessities, not options! Despite what you face as a struggle, it’s important that you learn how to put your praise in place, so your problem doesn’t knock you out of position. The problem with us is that we let fear supersede our faith!
Every Miracle In The Bible First Started As A Problem. Jesus's first miracle was in the village of Cana in Galilee where they ran out of wine, which was a problem, Jesus, then turn water into wine. The miracle with Sarah at an old age of 90 years she conceived Isaac, but all the mess before that was a major problem that still exists today.
Truth is, we must reach a place of trust, reliance, dependence, and faith in God where our circumstances don’t alter our praise! We need our situations, trials, and struggles to see that we walk by faith, even when that walk takes us through the valleys of the shadows of death!
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 must stop you before you grow and gain any more ground. His strategy is revealed in Mark 4:15. "Some people are like seeds 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: If you do not 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, why you don't have the spiritual enthusiasm you had 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!"
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 are finally on the enemy's hit list! It is 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 a position to make it hard for you! He has got to stop your forward progress fast or there's no telling how much ground he's going to lose! He must 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 are 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!
When the enemy tries to tell you, your mission is impossible. Do the part which is possible for you and God will do the impossible. Absolutely nothing is impossible for God but with humans yes, we are limited but our God is limitless.
Satan will distort your vision and your situation will look impossible. If you give the devil attention, he will give you direction. Sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. Satan cannot solve problems, but he can create them. Satan will set you up to be set up. God is the reason even in pain, we smile. In confusion, we understand. In betrayal, we trust. And in fear, we continue to push forward. Satan tries to limit your praying because he knows your praying will limit him. Do not face the day until you have faced God in prayer. Prayer is the best armor against all trials. Change your dialogue and you’ll change your destination.
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.
That is 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 is 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!
Something I pray on a regular basis is that God will give me a keen awareness of the enemy’s plans and schemes against me. I want to be able to recognize his traps and avoid them.
As I compared these passages, I had a serious epiphany about how Satan goes after us. These verses outline Satan’s 3-pronged plan of attack on our hearts. And it is the same plan we see him using while tempting Jesus in the desert in Matthew 4:1-11! A fact that tells me while the enemy may be powerful, he is also predictable.
I Want To Share With You How To Recognize The Three Strategies Of The Enemy So You Can Stand Strong.
Let’s take a closer look at Satan’s plan as revealed in Eve’s story and Jesus’ story:
1. Make them crave some sort of physical gratification to the point they become preoccupied with it. Be it sex, drugs, alcohol, or food.
Satan tempted Eve with fruit, which “was good for food” (Genesis 3:6b, NIV).
Satan tempted Jesus with bread while He was on a fast. (Matthew 4:3-4, NIV)
Satan tempts us with whatever physical sense we are too preoccupied by — be it taste, smell, sound, touch, or sight. God says that our senses are good. He gave them to us to enjoy within His boundaries. But venture outside God’s intention for them, and they become an attempt to get our needs met outside the will of God.
2. Make them want to acquire things to the point they bow down to the god of materialism. Keep them distracted by making their eyes lust after more and more stuff.
Satan tempted Eve by drawing her attention to what was “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 3:6c, NIV).
Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world and told Him that He could have it all. (Matthew 4:8-10, NIV)
Satan flashes the newer, bigger, and seemingly better things of this world in front of us, trying to lure us into thinking we must have it. He tempts us to think: This will make me fulfilled. This will make me happy. And then it wears out, breaks down, gets old and reveals just how temporary every material thing is.
3. Make them boastful about what they have or do. Keep them distracted and obsessed with their status and significance. Choke the life out of them using the tentacles of their own pride.
Satan tempted Eve by promising an increased awareness which would make her become more like God. (Genesis 3:4-5, NIV)
Satan tempted Jesus by telling Him to throw Himself off the highest point of the temple and command the angels to save Him. (Matthew 4:5-7, NIV) This would be very impressive and raise Jesus’ status and significance in the eyes of the world.
Likewise, Satan tempts us to try and elevate ourselves over others. We wrongly think we must become something the world calls worthy. This creates a need within our flesh to have people notice us, commend us, revere us, and stroke our pride. We then dare to boast about all we are.
This is where we must stop and remind ourselves that we don’t have to be held hostage by Satan. We are onto him and his schemes. And the enemy’s power is nothing compared to the freeing promises of God.
There was an enormous difference between Eve’s response to Satan and Jesus’ response to Satan. Eve dialogued with Satan, and she allowed him to weave his tangled web of justifications. Jesus, on the other hand, quoted Deuteronomy with every temptation as He answered, “It is written …” and He immediately shut Satan down with the truth of God.
Do not 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 one 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?!
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!
The good news is that there is no basement so deep or so gloomy that you must stay there because there’s an elevator just waiting to take you up! Trust God and Trust, the process.
Dear Lord, thank You for making us aware of the enemy’s plans against us. I declare today that while the enemy may be vicious, he will not be victorious in my life. Not with You helping me walk in truth and light. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.journeyintotheword.com
Join Journey Into The Word each Sunday morning at 5:30 AM CST & 6:30 AM EST on The Now Network http://www.theNOWnetwork.org
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