"...when the enemy attacks know you're on the right track"
You know those victorious moments that we encounter in our relationship with God? When a new passion has been found, sincere worship has once again been restored, and you, again, feel like God is your everything! There's nothing more refreshing than when you feel a spiritual dry spell coming to an end and being quenched by the tangible presence of the Lord in your life. You feel invincible, determined, and capable to take on any future attack of the enemy but what about when the attack is a lot closer than we'd like it to be?
In my personal life I've witnessed the devil attack me soon after I have experienced a moment such as the one previously mentioned. Almost immediately I've become discouraged and the encounter with God I regarded with such deep appreciation is forgotten. "Has God withdrawn His presence from me momentarily? Was the build-up a shimmer of light in the reality of the darkness that I am meant to live in?" Hardly, butI have met many people who have a very intimate and personal encounter with God but soon after facing a discouraging strike they disregard it because things became bad in their lives. They assume that bad things in our lives are a sign that we aren't in the right place. However, on the contrary, could these attacks be a mere sign that God was most definitely at work and ready to grow you to another level and that as sure as there is a God for you there is also enemy against you?
I think many times christians forget that in taking a stand FOR Christ and walking WITH Him also means that we are taking a stand AGAINST satan and are walking AWAY from him. We have to understand that as there is work being put into establishing the kingdom of God, so is there an opposition working to tear it down. A story that closely reflects this is a story that comes from the reforms that King Hezekiah brought to Israel (2 Chronicles 29-32; 2 Kings 18-20). The bible tells us that he celebrated a feast called the passover and called the people to worship and to giving (2 Chronicles 30) and as a result came great joy, a blessing, and that their prayers were heard (vs. 26-27). Reading this I felt like all three of those things are things we as christians need in our lives. (However, note that they came as a result of worship, prayer, and giving.) Having God respond in such a way was refreshing for the people of Israel because they had forsaken and walked away from the commandments of the Lord, therefore, suffering the withdraw of His manifest presence. There it was again and in such a way that it had never been seen before (vs. 26). How exciting to witness this moment and simultaneously participate in it! I can imagine that the people were excited but it wasn't long before an enemy would rain on their parade.
"could these attacks be a mere sign that God was most definitely at work and working to grow you to another level and that as sure as there is a God for you there is also another against you?"
Chapter 32 of 2 Chronicles talks about an enemy invasion on Judah immediately after that moment. The devil had worked hard to steer Judah away from God and wasn't going to just allow them to return to the joy, the blessing, and ultimately, to God. Believe me when I say that he takes the same approach to your life; when he has worked hard to see you fall and fail he won't let you just flee. However, when the enemy attacks know you're on the right track! When you are glorifying the name of God be prepared to meet defiance. That may sound intimidating but rest assured that simply because you meet defiance from the devil doesn't mean you have to see defeat; that's avoidable. So how does the enemy attack Gods people and how do we overcome it?
Before addressing that I want to mention something essential that King Hezekiah and the people did before the invasion occurred; they deprived the enemy of anything that could strengthened Him. 2 Chronicles 31:3-4 tells us that Hezekiah and the people worked to stop the flow of the springs that flowed through the land so that the enemy forces would not come and find something that they could use to their advantage. This spoke profoundly to me! Check this out, James 1:14-15 tells us that "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." In his book "The Spirit of Python" Jentezen Franklin says it like this, "The devil looks for footholds in a believer's life because he knows that we have been given victory in Christ, but when we give way to him and allow a foothold, we give away that victory"(45). When we give into our own desires we give the enemy an advantage against us. We are literally equipping him to beat us. King Hezekiah and the people starved the enemy of the thing that could be used to strengthen his attack. In the same way we should deprive the enemy from any opportunity to overcome us by refusing to give into what we desire and instead submit to what God desires.
"...rest assured that simply because you meet defiance from the devil doesn't mean you have to see defeat; that's avoidable."
So the enemy attacks with all the spears and heavy weaponry that he has, right? Well not exactly. The bible tells us in Isaiah 54:17 that "no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed" so the enemy doesn't immediately begin to attack offensively; otherwise risking a huge waste of effort. He first works to deplete us of our defense. The story goes on to tell us in vs. 15 that the king of Assyria came and spoke to discourage the people so that they would lose their faith saying, "Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!" He comes to discourage you and convince you that you could never win but don't believe it! Ephesians 6:16 tells us "in all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." So if the enemy can get us to lose faith in Gods word then we are left exposed to his attacks with no means by which to protect ourselves and that sounds like a loss to me. How do we make sure we don't lose?
Verse 5 reads like this "(Hezekiah) set to work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the Millo in the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance." In preparation for the attack the king built up the defenses and it says that he worked RESOLUTELY (ESV). That word is defined as "charactarized by firmness and determination, as the temper, spirit, actions, etc." Hezekiah was determined to build up the defenses and not only rebuilt one wall but established another. How determined are we to establish our defenses (faith in the word of God) in our lives so that when the enemy comes we are prepared and not shaken? Do we scramble around ill-prepared and clueless as to how to overcome an attack or have we invested time in building up our faith in God in such an unwavering way that when the enemy comes to attack we are ready to see his defeat instead of our own. When our faith is found and established in Gods word then we are prepared for the invasion no matter how large, how soon, how long....we are ready! This means spending time in His word and taking His promises as truths despite what the enemy's claims or what you see.
The story ends by telling us in vs. 21 that "the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword." I want to use this story to encourage you not to run or quit when there is a spiritual attack in your life but to learn to build up your faith in what God says with his word and stand boldly and confidently that God will deliver you out of the hands of the enemy. When we arise in faith, the enemy will arise in fear (intimidation) but my God will arise to fight and He will win; start building your walls!
Blessings,
Allan Guido
Casa de Adoracion Youth Pastor
You know those victorious moments that we encounter in our relationship with God? When a new passion has been found, sincere worship has once again been restored, and you, again, feel like God is your everything! There's nothing more refreshing than when you feel a spiritual dry spell coming to an end and being quenched by the tangible presence of the Lord in your life. You feel invincible, determined, and capable to take on any future attack of the enemy but what about when the attack is a lot closer than we'd like it to be?
In my personal life I've witnessed the devil attack me soon after I have experienced a moment such as the one previously mentioned. Almost immediately I've become discouraged and the encounter with God I regarded with such deep appreciation is forgotten. "Has God withdrawn His presence from me momentarily? Was the build-up a shimmer of light in the reality of the darkness that I am meant to live in?" Hardly, butI have met many people who have a very intimate and personal encounter with God but soon after facing a discouraging strike they disregard it because things became bad in their lives. They assume that bad things in our lives are a sign that we aren't in the right place. However, on the contrary, could these attacks be a mere sign that God was most definitely at work and ready to grow you to another level and that as sure as there is a God for you there is also enemy against you?
I think many times christians forget that in taking a stand FOR Christ and walking WITH Him also means that we are taking a stand AGAINST satan and are walking AWAY from him. We have to understand that as there is work being put into establishing the kingdom of God, so is there an opposition working to tear it down. A story that closely reflects this is a story that comes from the reforms that King Hezekiah brought to Israel (2 Chronicles 29-32; 2 Kings 18-20). The bible tells us that he celebrated a feast called the passover and called the people to worship and to giving (2 Chronicles 30) and as a result came great joy, a blessing, and that their prayers were heard (vs. 26-27). Reading this I felt like all three of those things are things we as christians need in our lives. (However, note that they came as a result of worship, prayer, and giving.) Having God respond in such a way was refreshing for the people of Israel because they had forsaken and walked away from the commandments of the Lord, therefore, suffering the withdraw of His manifest presence. There it was again and in such a way that it had never been seen before (vs. 26). How exciting to witness this moment and simultaneously participate in it! I can imagine that the people were excited but it wasn't long before an enemy would rain on their parade.
"could these attacks be a mere sign that God was most definitely at work and working to grow you to another level and that as sure as there is a God for you there is also another against you?"
Chapter 32 of 2 Chronicles talks about an enemy invasion on Judah immediately after that moment. The devil had worked hard to steer Judah away from God and wasn't going to just allow them to return to the joy, the blessing, and ultimately, to God. Believe me when I say that he takes the same approach to your life; when he has worked hard to see you fall and fail he won't let you just flee. However, when the enemy attacks know you're on the right track! When you are glorifying the name of God be prepared to meet defiance. That may sound intimidating but rest assured that simply because you meet defiance from the devil doesn't mean you have to see defeat; that's avoidable. So how does the enemy attack Gods people and how do we overcome it?
Before addressing that I want to mention something essential that King Hezekiah and the people did before the invasion occurred; they deprived the enemy of anything that could strengthened Him. 2 Chronicles 31:3-4 tells us that Hezekiah and the people worked to stop the flow of the springs that flowed through the land so that the enemy forces would not come and find something that they could use to their advantage. This spoke profoundly to me! Check this out, James 1:14-15 tells us that "each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." In his book "The Spirit of Python" Jentezen Franklin says it like this, "The devil looks for footholds in a believer's life because he knows that we have been given victory in Christ, but when we give way to him and allow a foothold, we give away that victory"(45). When we give into our own desires we give the enemy an advantage against us. We are literally equipping him to beat us. King Hezekiah and the people starved the enemy of the thing that could be used to strengthen his attack. In the same way we should deprive the enemy from any opportunity to overcome us by refusing to give into what we desire and instead submit to what God desires.
"...rest assured that simply because you meet defiance from the devil doesn't mean you have to see defeat; that's avoidable."
So the enemy attacks with all the spears and heavy weaponry that he has, right? Well not exactly. The bible tells us in Isaiah 54:17 that "no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed" so the enemy doesn't immediately begin to attack offensively; otherwise risking a huge waste of effort. He first works to deplete us of our defense. The story goes on to tell us in vs. 15 that the king of Assyria came and spoke to discourage the people so that they would lose their faith saying, "Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!" He comes to discourage you and convince you that you could never win but don't believe it! Ephesians 6:16 tells us "in all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one." So if the enemy can get us to lose faith in Gods word then we are left exposed to his attacks with no means by which to protect ourselves and that sounds like a loss to me. How do we make sure we don't lose?
Verse 5 reads like this "(Hezekiah) set to work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it, and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the Millo in the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance." In preparation for the attack the king built up the defenses and it says that he worked RESOLUTELY (ESV). That word is defined as "charactarized by firmness and determination, as the temper, spirit, actions, etc." Hezekiah was determined to build up the defenses and not only rebuilt one wall but established another. How determined are we to establish our defenses (faith in the word of God) in our lives so that when the enemy comes we are prepared and not shaken? Do we scramble around ill-prepared and clueless as to how to overcome an attack or have we invested time in building up our faith in God in such an unwavering way that when the enemy comes to attack we are ready to see his defeat instead of our own. When our faith is found and established in Gods word then we are prepared for the invasion no matter how large, how soon, how long....we are ready! This means spending time in His word and taking His promises as truths despite what the enemy's claims or what you see.
The story ends by telling us in vs. 21 that "the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword." I want to use this story to encourage you not to run or quit when there is a spiritual attack in your life but to learn to build up your faith in what God says with his word and stand boldly and confidently that God will deliver you out of the hands of the enemy. When we arise in faith, the enemy will arise in fear (intimidation) but my God will arise to fight and He will win; start building your walls!
Blessings,
Allan Guido
Casa de Adoracion Youth Pastor