When Trouble Comes
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV)
One of the hard facts of being a believer is that we will always be subject to attacks by Satan and his evil cohorts. It is a common misconception by the world that tells us that Satan attacks the unsaved. Satan has no need to attack the unsaved because he already has them. His focus is and always has been on the believers that endeavor to draw closer to God or who desire to be active in ministry or evangelism. These believers will face the full arsenal that Satan has, because they are a threat to him. He only bothers those believers that do not desire to be active in ministry enough to hinder them from growing in Christ because they are no threat to him!
Because we are the target of Satan, we must be ready and able to withstand his attacks when they come. This takes training and discipline. We must train ourselves by the study of God’s Word and disciplining ourselves by applying it to our lives on a daily basis. Satan’s battle ground is in our minds. By definition, a satanic attack is a deliberate assault upon an individual, which is designed to cause spiritual, physical, material, or emotional harm. He will come against us when our circumstances are at their worst. If we are spiritually weak, he will make us think that we are unworthy to be a believer. If we are sick, he will cause us to focus on our health so that we ignore our spiritual training. If we are in financial difficulties, he will cause us to doubt the validity of God’s promises in His word. The last area of attack is his most fruitful, our emotions. He will use our emotions against us by causing us to doubt the motives of our friends, family members and co-ministers. He will attempt to cause us to be angry at innocent comments. His bag of tricks is endless and his deceits are subtle. We will rarely recognize his attacks for what they are because he is the master of deceit.
When tragedy strikes our community, friends or family, Satan will cause us to doubt God’s mercy and love. He will cause us to question God and ask “Why?” His desire is for us to doubt what we believe. Tragedy is incomprehensible when it is personal. Our emotions are raw and we rail at every question as our grief overtakes us. This is a perfectly normal reaction; but that is also the time when we need to cling strongly to our faith because Satan is watching for the weakest so that he can devour them: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
Our only defense is to walk close to Jesus. He is our salvation when we are attacked because Satan is powerless to stand against Him. When we put on the whole armor of God on a daily basis, we protect ourselves from the enemy. If we relax, Satan will use that moment to distract us from our primary purpose of honoring and serving God! He wants to destroy our peace and steal our joy. We must stay close to our Savior by reading His word, praying and fellowshipping with other believers.
In Christ, we are victorious! Outside of Christ, we are easily defeated!
In Christ,
Lighthousejohn
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV)
One of the hard facts of being a believer is that we will always be subject to attacks by Satan and his evil cohorts. It is a common misconception by the world that tells us that Satan attacks the unsaved. Satan has no need to attack the unsaved because he already has them. His focus is and always has been on the believers that endeavor to draw closer to God or who desire to be active in ministry or evangelism. These believers will face the full arsenal that Satan has, because they are a threat to him. He only bothers those believers that do not desire to be active in ministry enough to hinder them from growing in Christ because they are no threat to him!
Because we are the target of Satan, we must be ready and able to withstand his attacks when they come. This takes training and discipline. We must train ourselves by the study of God’s Word and disciplining ourselves by applying it to our lives on a daily basis. Satan’s battle ground is in our minds. By definition, a satanic attack is a deliberate assault upon an individual, which is designed to cause spiritual, physical, material, or emotional harm. He will come against us when our circumstances are at their worst. If we are spiritually weak, he will make us think that we are unworthy to be a believer. If we are sick, he will cause us to focus on our health so that we ignore our spiritual training. If we are in financial difficulties, he will cause us to doubt the validity of God’s promises in His word. The last area of attack is his most fruitful, our emotions. He will use our emotions against us by causing us to doubt the motives of our friends, family members and co-ministers. He will attempt to cause us to be angry at innocent comments. His bag of tricks is endless and his deceits are subtle. We will rarely recognize his attacks for what they are because he is the master of deceit.
When tragedy strikes our community, friends or family, Satan will cause us to doubt God’s mercy and love. He will cause us to question God and ask “Why?” His desire is for us to doubt what we believe. Tragedy is incomprehensible when it is personal. Our emotions are raw and we rail at every question as our grief overtakes us. This is a perfectly normal reaction; but that is also the time when we need to cling strongly to our faith because Satan is watching for the weakest so that he can devour them: “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
Our only defense is to walk close to Jesus. He is our salvation when we are attacked because Satan is powerless to stand against Him. When we put on the whole armor of God on a daily basis, we protect ourselves from the enemy. If we relax, Satan will use that moment to distract us from our primary purpose of honoring and serving God! He wants to destroy our peace and steal our joy. We must stay close to our Savior by reading His word, praying and fellowshipping with other believers.
In Christ, we are victorious! Outside of Christ, we are easily defeated!
In Christ,
Lighthousejohn