| Spiritual Warfare Lesson #9 Your problems are not unique. As you grow in your spiritual walk with the Lord, You need to know that the attacks on your life may begin to escalate. The good news is that your knowledge of God's word will help you to eradicate these attacks. The adversary doesn't want you to grow. Spiritual growth in your life equals trouble for him and his kingdom. He would rather that you remain a baby in your spiritual life, so that you will not do any serious damage. Therefore, when you begin to really grow and expand your knowledge in God's Word and in the power of The Holy Spirit. Your growth will pose a threat to the devils kingdom. Beware! The enemy is going to try to attack you to stop you from growing in the Lord. But don't let this discourage you. But remember you must study God's Word. Hosea 4:6 says, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. If you do this then God will back you up all of the way. 1st Corinthians 10:13 says, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Lets look at 1st Corinthians 10:13 in the Living Bible. But remember this--the wrong desires that come into your life aren't anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible. You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it, for he has promised this and will do what he says. He will show you how to escape temptation's power so that you can bear up patiently against it. The devil may try to coax your flesh and emotions into thinking that no one else has suffered like you, or that no one has ever gone through the difficulties that you are going through right now. This is a trick to make you fix your eyes upon yourself instead of Jesus and what His Word says. If you allow the devil to do this, it will ultimately lure you into a maze of self centeredness, where everything revolves around you, your problems, fears, difficulties. He does not want you to grow in faith, Don't let him play this trick on you. Be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Please be aware that when you begin to grow You will have plenty of opportunities to use your faith, Therefore you must resist the devil and all of his tricks. These attempts of the enemy are to drive you back from the land of promise. He doesn't want you to obey God's precious Word and experience blessing. You must know that an attack against your finances, your body, your church, your friends, your mind, your joy, your marriage, your friendships ect, are not unusual. This is how the enemy works. He waits until you begin to grow and then he will try to strike you with unrelenting force. By knowing ahead of times how the enemy works, You will be mentally prepared to handle his challenges. Your knowledge of how and when the devil will attack, will equip you how to deal with these attacks more intelligently. James 1:2 says, My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; The word when implies that these assaults will come. James doesn't warn us to cause us to fear, but rather he forewarns us of this reality so that when these attacks do come, we will not be shocked and taken off guard. The devil does not want you to make spiritual progress in your life, and he will try to stop you dead in your tracks. If nothing else these attacks prove that you are making headway in your spiritual life and are becoming a threat to his kingdom. Otherwise these unseen enemies would leave you alone. Mental preparation removes the element of surprise, and this will always give us the upper hand. |