10The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. John 10:10 AMP
The previous entries discussed the first two tactics that Satan uses against individuals in the kingdom of God. Satan’s first tactic is stealing, which he does through deception, and attacking other areas of our life in pursuit of our faith, praise/worship, peace, etc. Satan’s second tactic is to kill, which I believe he seeks to cause our spiritual death which is to cut our relationship/connection God, more-so than our physical death. Satan’s last tactic is different from the 1st two in that this last tactic is direct action towards God and his kingdom, moreso than (wo)mankind as individuals.
Destroy
The objective of Satan is defeat God, or prove him wrong in his love and desire to have direct relationship with (wo)man. Satan tries to do this by destroying the communication lines between God and (wo)man.
12Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in opposition to me for twenty-one days. Then, behold, Michael, one of the chief [of the celestial] princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:12-13 AMP
In this passage of Daniel, he had been in prayer and fasting for 21 days yet he had not received an answer from God. Most of us in this situation grow frustrated from impatience due to the belief that God either doesn’t hear us, or is just refusing to answer us, so many quit praying in the midst of adversity. However, Daniel continued to pray for the entire 21 day duration in spite of not hearing an answer, and because of his perseverance he was able to overcome Satan’s strongest, and desperation tactic. This passage shows that Satan’s last ditch effort was to delay, or prevent Daniel from receiving a response to his prayer, which he believed would sever the relationship between Daniel and God. If you consider the entire story of Daniel, 1st Satan attempted to steal his, and the other Hebrew males identity by forcing Babylonian culture on them while serving in Nebuchadnezzar’s court (Daniel 1). Secondly Satan tried to kill Daniel and the other Hebrew males physically through the fiery furnace (Daniel 3), the lion’s den (Daniel 6), AND spiritually in both situations by testing their faith and confidence in God through real adversity. When these tactics didn’t work he tried to destroy the relationship through blocking the communication. God seeks to commune with us as he did with Adam and Eve in Eden, and the way that he seeks to establish his kingdom on Earth is through us, which is accomplished when we allow him to work through us which is dependent upon relationship. Most relationships end when one party doesn’t feel the love, or investment from the other party that they feel they deserve, and Satan feels that if he can prevent (wo)man from realizing and experiencing God’s love then he can effectively destroy God’s kingdom on Earth. Like Daniel we must understand the power of prayer AND fasting in good AND bad times. We must first read and understand the promises of God so that we aren’t easily confused or deceived by Satan when he deploys tactics 1 and 2 against us. I must leave you with this quote from a recent sermon I listened to on YouTube
The enemy challenges us through faith fatigue by trying to wear us down. Do NOT lose faith at the WRONG TIME!!!
I Need it back – dr. dharius daniels
Reflection Time
Have you lost your faith, or confidence in God? Do you feel that you have been defeated, wounded, or deceived by Satan in a particular area of your life or relationship with God? What tools has God equipped you with to serve in his kingdom, and/or resist Satan’s destroying tactics? One last quote to leave you with:
