Satan Will Use Everything he Can to Attack You
We have looked at the attacks Paul faced, and the truths from Scripture that a life of faith does not mean that affliction and persecutions won’t come.
It does mean, however, that there are certain things you must do before God’s power and anointing will step in. What do you do when you face any of these tough attacks by Satan? Simply stated, you trust God. Here are the steps you need to take.
Why Is the Attack Happening?
You need to recognize why the attack is happening. Satan will not only use affliction and persecution, but he will also use the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches—either with you or against you—and the lust of other things to choke the Word and make it become unfruitful (see Mark 4). You have to remember that the attack may be happening because you are doing what God told you to be doing. You are sowing the Word. You are witnessing. You are performing for God as Paul was. In all of this, you refuse to be trapped and tripped up. You refuse to stumble or be enticed to sin.
If you do stumble and if you do sin, however, don’t beat yourself up. First John 1:9 comes into play: “If we confess [acknowledge] our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (emphasis mine). As we’ve seen, John was talking to Christians (see First John 2:1). If you confess your sins, right standing with God will be restored. Nothing will be in your way to keep His assistance from reaching you.
Forgiveness is not automatic! If it was automatic, why did Paul tell us to come boldly to the throne of grace to receive mercy? Why did Paul tell us to confess our sins? Never trust the word of a preacher if that person can’t show you teaching from the Word of God. We are under no obligation to accept teaching that is not Word-based.
Go to God
We must realize that God is not the source of our problem; we must acknowledge that He is the source of our answer: “Let no man say when he is tempted [tested or tried], I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” ( James 1:13-14, emphasis mine). This echoes what Jesus says in Mark 4. In other words, the source of our answer is His grace, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power.
Stay in Faith
In the face of tough attacks, we can become offended. We can stumble. We must decide to stay in faith, however. We will stay in faith by seeking God for the word He wants us to announce. Don’t say whatever comes to your mind in the middle of your situation. Get before God in prayer and say, “Holy Spirit, give me what You want me to say in the face of this issue. What do You want me to release out of my mouth?” He will give you a rhema word, a spoken word from God. Then you can speak in the midst of that situation and release God’s Word out of your mouth into the midst of the problem.
Decide to believe the Word of God and receive what it says. If you’re looking at the doctor’s report that says you have an incurable disease, choose to believe God’s Word that says you are healed. If you are looking at an empty bank account, choose to believe the Word of God that says that God will supply all your need. You are the one who decides whether you will receive what God’s Word says or not.
Count It All Joy
In James 1:1, the twelve tribes are running all over the known world to avoid persecution. But look at what James says: “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (vv. 2-4).
In other words, we need to know how to be abased and how to abound. We need to know how to keep the right attitude, and not lose it. We need to keep ourselves together. The worst thing we can do is panic and start saying the wrong thing, doing the wrong thing, thinking the wrong thing, and acting the wrong way, because then we will give the devil a signed blank check to finish the job he has begun.
You may be experiencing pressure in your body, your finances, or in a life situation. If so, I’m here to tell you that it’s not over! I’ve been in the fight a long time, and I can testify that it’s not over unless you decide to say that it’s over. Instead, choose to say, “I’m not going to be moved by what I see! I’m not going to be moved by what I feel! I’m only going to be moved by what I believe, and I believe God’s Word! I count this situation as all joy!”
I realize, of course, this is easier said than done. Remember, you can do all things through the anointing, and the anointing is activated by your decision. If you believe and receive this teaching from God’s Word, it will last you the rest of your life. It will get you through anything you will ever face. It will help you when the enemy wants to take you out!
The anointing will enable you to live in the fullness of your days. It will keep you from being sick in your body because of worry. It will keep you from financial ruin when you continue to make bad decisions. It will cause you to stop going to the wrong person for advice, which will only further mess up your life. It will cause you to go to God Almighty to get wisdom.
Paul’s Response to Trials
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me (2 Corinthians 12:7-8).
Three times, Paul went to God and said, “God, will You stop this thing from messing with me? Stop the stonings and shipwrecks!” In other words, He said, “I understand, Lord, that this is a demon spirit.” He didn’t say, “Stop the people from doing this to me.”
Your enemy is not flesh and blood. Your mother-in-law is not your enemy. Your father-in-law is not your enemy. There is a demon behind these folks, and this demon is using them against you. There is no sense in treating the symptom—go right to the source! Stop getting mad at the symptom and get angry at the source. Recognize that Satan is the source of your problem, and decide to deal with him instead of dealing with people. Walk in love with them and use your authority against Satan.
When Paul prayed, notice that the Lord did not answer him the first time. No doubt Satan whispered, “You’re doing work for God; you have suffered all these things, and now God won’t even answer you. Where is your God?”
Paul asked a second time, and God still did not answer him. Some of you say, “I have been seeking the Lord for a while now, and I can’t seem to get an answer.” God isn’t in a hurry. You are the one in a hurry. He is not bound by time. He understands that if you do what you are supposed to do, everything will work out.
But Paul was still growing up. Paul was still learning. He was a human like us. So he asked the Lord a third time, and finally the Lord answered him and said, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9a).
God told Paul, “My power, My anointing, and My miraculous ability is enough for you! My supernatural power is made complete in your inability.” In other words, God said, “Son, I know you can’t deal with that demon spirit. You couldn’t beat a baby demon with one hand tied behind its back. But you don’t have to take him down. Your Big Brother has already done that!” These are shouting words! Jesus has already defeated Satan!
Paul got it! The light came on. He received the revelation! “Most gladly therefore will I rather glory [brag] in my infirmities [my weaknesses, my inabilities, my failure to get the job done by myself], that the [supernatural] power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (v. 9-10, emphasis mine).
Notice Paul’s attitude change: Therefore I take pleasure. Instead of saying, “Lord, why are You letting this happen to me,” he is now saying, “I get it!” I take pleasure:
• In infirmities, a word meaning weaknesses and inabilities.
• In reproaches, when other people talk badly about him, causing him to become an individual whom people scorn.
•In necessities, a word that means dealing with lack or need, including financial problems.
• In persecution, which is pressure brought upon a person by Satan, who uses other people to bring it.
• In distresses, a word meaning calamity.
Again, do all of these things mean that Paul is out of favor with God? No! At least Paul sought the Lord for advice, instead of his friends. Stop talking to folks and start talking to God. Stop asking people for their opinion; consult the Holy Ghost. One word from God can change your attitude. One word from God can change your life forever. One word from God can change your life and release the power of God in your life.
Say, “I am taking pleasure in my weaknesses and inabilities. I take pleasure in people talking about me. I take pleasure in the fact that I have no money today. I take pleasure with these folks messing with me.” The anointing was over Paul: for when I am weak, then am I strong. You need to keep your attitude, get back in faith, seek God for the Word to announce, decide to believe it and receive it, and count it all joy!
Turn Up the Praise
Let’s return to Paul and Silas in the dungeon in Acts 16 and see how they responded. After Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, thrown into prison, and chained to a post, they sang, “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” It didn’t matter what the dungeon smelled like. It didn’t matter what it looked like. It didn’t matter what was going on. They chose to believe the word God gave them, and the power of God showed up. The jail shook with an earthquake, and everybody’s bands were loosed.
You’ll see the power when you use the joy. When you praise, you will release the power, God’s ability to move. If you give credit to God instead of to the circumstances, there will be a whole lot of shaking going on in your life! There is some shaking that is going to happen to your money. There is some shaking that is going to happen to your body. There is some shaking that is going to happen to your family. If you will do what God says to do, the power of God will be on its way!
Get ready to receive the manifestation of the power of God. Get ready to have your circumstances turned around. Get ready for the devil to be kicked out of your life. James saw tests and trials as an opportunity to get better, and that was Paul’s attitude as well. You can see the circumstances as reason to doubt God, or you can see them as an opportunity to learn and grow. God’s not using the tests and trials. Your trials don’t come only to make you strong. They come to knock you out! But you can choose to say, “I know where this comes from, I know why it is here, and I know what to do about it.”
Live in Patience
Look at James’ advice: “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” ( James 1:4). The trying of our faith works patience, but let patience run its course.
Too many people don’t want to hear about patience, but sometimes we have to be patient in an unfair situation. It wasn’t fair for Joshua and Caleb to be refused entrance to the Promised Land. They spoke the Word of God, yet they had to go in the wilderness for forty years with everybody else, even though they were right.
Understand this. Life is not fair. Life is not about comparing our lives to someone else’s; it’s about what we do with what we have, wherever we started. With the power of God, we can get anywhere. The power of God will knock out all the jealousy, all the envy, and all the covetousness.
God is just. At the end of the forty years, when that unbelieving generation died, Caleb said to Joshua, “I was forty years old when that happened, and now I am eighty. But I remember the word that God gave Moses concerning me. The power of God is upon me, so give me my mountain!”
The power of God can make up the difference! The date on our birth certificate may say that we are old, but the power of God can make us young! The power of God can keep us. The power of God can restore us. The power of God can deliver us. The power of God enabled Caleb and Joshua to enter the land and take the inhabitants. And their families got all of their inheritance.
One of the names of God is “the One who will make things right.” We need to have enough patience to let Him work. Faith and patience enabled Abraham to inherit the promise, and the same will be true for us.
The reason we may have to wait is because God has to deal with other people, and it may take time for them to obey. For example, in the matter of giving, Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” If God wants to accomplish this through a person who chooses to disobey, we may have to wait. God will give a person space to come to his senses, but the day will come when that person will need somebody to step up for him, and he will have to wait as long as he made somebody else wait.
There may come a time, however, when the Lord will speak to someone else in order to accomplish His Word. If that person obeys, know that God will give us our return on sowing with interest! He always gives more!
If you need wisdom to know how to act, ask God for revelation. You don’t need to see a psychiatrist. You don’t need to buy a self-help book on how to handle stress. You don’t need a girlfriend or boyfriend to help you through your situation. If you start acting and talking in unbelief, you will stop God’s actions: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).
Stay the course! Maybe the Lord has been working on you and you finally turned and started heading in the right direction. Satan can see that you have to take only two more steps before you get there, and that is when he will turn up the power. He doesn’t want you to get blessed. Turn up the praise in the darkest hours just before dawn. That is the time to shout, because the God who makes things right, will make your situation right if you continue to walk in faith. His grace will be sufficient!
