Nop. Believe it or not we are not Satan's target. Yes he hates us because we are made in the image of God. Yes, he'd like to kill and destroy us. But not because of us. It's because of God's Word living within us. He doesn't bother people who don't know God, who don't know His Word. It's only because we have God's Word in us (through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit) that Satan attacks.
Remember the garden of Eden? How did Satan go after Eve? "Did God say.....?" He questioned the Word of God. He did the same thing when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness. If Jesus had done what Satan asked: throw himself off a building, bow to Satan, he would have been essentially saying I don't trust God to do what He says He's going to do. He would have been denying God's Word.
What about you? How does Satan attack the Word in you. Perhaps by telling you you're worthless, telling you you'll never find that special someone, your children will never return to the Lord, you'll never do anything important, you're weird and weak, and nobody really loves you. All attacking what God says about you.
If we look at the parable of the seeds, it's clear that Satan is after the Word. The seeds are the Word of God, and in each case, Satan attacks the Word. Only the Word that fell on good soil prospered.
We can see in each case, how Satan attacks the Word.
- Persecution
- Affliction
- Cares of this world
- Deceitfulness of riches
- Lust for other things
What is the solution? How can we withstand these attacks. The answer is simple. It is to have a heart of good soil. A soil where weeds and thorns cannot grow. A soil fertilized by God. His presence, His Word, His Love. If you've allowed weeds to grow in your garden, repent and pluck them out. Then just love the Father, the Lord Jesus, and your neighbor as yourself. Seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Let Him add, don't try to get in your own strength. Allow your heavenly dad to be good to you. He wants to!
And don't worry about that old guy with horns. There's nothing he can do to harm good soil!
Monday, June 20th,
ReplyDelete"Morning, MaryLu."
Well, I can certainly identify with this ! With me ... the attacks mostly come through the perception of my own self-image -- self doubting, unworthiness, and the feelings of never amounting to or doing anything important for the Lord. And, even beyond that .. is the feeling or sense, that "only God" Himself loves me; and that my family (and extended family) think I am a tad -- strange/weird/different. (Again ... because I seem to worry more about what 'others' think of me, instead of just being concerned with, what "God" thinks of me !)
Dear friends of mine often remind me of that verse: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."
Thanks, MaryLu .... for the great reminder -- of having 'a heart of good soil' ... 'fertilized by God'. God IS good, ALL the time ... no matter what !!!
Take care, and, God Bless,
In Him, Brenda Hurley
I never thought of it quite in this way, but it is so very true. If Satan can pluck the Word from our lives, we are harmless to him and ineffective for the kingdom of God, for then we walk in lies and defeat. Great reminder this morning. Thanks, MaryLu!
ReplyDeleteGreat post and so true! And remember: whenever you are under attack from the enemy, it means that you are a threat to him, which means you are on the right track! So keep going and persevere to that prize! Satan attacks me all the time, so I count it a blessing, because it keeps me even closer to God. *hugs*
ReplyDeleteI think Satan attacks most of us, Brenda, by trying to make us feel worthless and weird and unloved. Just remember when you feel that way, it's the enemy. Tell him to bug off and that you are a precious child of God.
ReplyDeleteAnd Debbie, how true. The enemy's attacks should be flattering to us. Good way to look at it.
And thanks for dropping by, Anne!
WOW, great post, MaryLu! It confirms what I've been suspecting the past couple of days...I have been rediculously busy with college homework and family issues the past 2-3 days, all of which has prevented me from spending nearly as much time praying and studying the Bible as I would like to; it struck me that maybe that was an attack from Satan to keep me out of communication with God, and when I read your post, I realized, "Yep! That's what he's doing." So now that I know for sure, I can treat it like the battle it is! :-)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been visiting here much, lately. Work and school and my brother having a surgery have kept me pretty busy. But I've missed this blog, so...TADA!!!! Sasafras is back! :D
ReplyDeleteIt's so true that Satan is attacking God. Satan perceives us as being Christ's "weakness." While that is false, Satan thinks that when he can hurt us or cause us to fall, he can get a thorn into God. What he cannot understand is that no matter what he may do to us, or succeed in tempting us to do, because Christ's blood is covering us we are UNTOUCHABLE. We will never be lost.
That's something I'm struggling with right now. Perhaps it's Satan, perhaps not, but I'm struggling with an attraction to a man that, while he has some wonderful character qualities that I've rarely found, he 1) has a girlfriend and 2) isn't a Christian and doesn't seem to care about the things of God. So far God is helping me to stay under control both outwardly and inwardly, but it's still a daily struggle.