The New Testament writers are very clear that Satan lays traps and designs schemes against God’s people. We are not to be ignorant of his schemes (see 2 Cor.2:11) so it seems that we should give some thought to the processes by which Satan attempts to pick us off one by one.

I appreciate the way in which Graham Cooke describes one of Satan’s patterns so often used to take God’s people out of the game.  “ The Enemy’s strategy works on that same principle.  He is geared to make us feel dissatisfied with who we are.  He wants us to separate from God, the church, our friends, and any useful function we may adopt in furthering the kingdom. If he can get us to hate ourselves and tell our hearts that we are of no account and, as such, it doesn’t matter if we don’t go the meeting or pray or worship, then apathy will follow.  If we allow apathy into our lives then it will hold the door open to unbelief, condemnation, self-loathing, bitterness, anxiety, fear, misery and selfishness.  All these things spell passivity, a passive acceptance of life, and a demoralized outlook on the things of God.  The prophetic is geared to challenge this whole issue since it is based on the truth of God’s love, grace, kindness, and mercy.” (Graham Cooke, Approaching the Heart of Prophecy, p.50).

Notice the progressive nature of this scheme.  We become dissatisfied with ourselves and, after a while, come into agreement with Satan’s accusations that we are unlovable, unworthy, and incompetent.  As we begin to agree with him on those issues our self-image plummets and we begin to suspect that other people feel the same way about us.  Because of that, we begin to withdraw and isolate ourselves from the very people who love us and give our lives meaning. As we isolate ourselves our fruitfulness begins to wane. Since we are already feeling bad about ourselves we push back against any encouragement to re-engage and against any conviction from the Holy Spirit because we take it all as criticism and rejection.  As we numb our senses to avoid any more feelings of rejection, we slide into apathy and passivity which continues to alienate us from ourselves and isolate us from God and his people. Of course, throughout the entire process Satan is whispering how much God, the church, and our friends have let us down so that our misery is really all their fault.

Satan excels in placing us in mindsets and situations that create a downward spiral.  For instance, Christians who feel a great deal of rejection and who question their own worth and significance often seek to medicate the pain of their self-loathing through pornography.  The temporary rush of sexual fantasies or the endorphins released during the fantasy soon give way to a sense of shame and failure.  The sense of shame and failure depletes their self-image all the more, which increases their need for escape and the medicating effects of more porn, which then creates more shame.  The shame creates secrets. The addiction becomes a secret part of his/her life that is hidden by lies and deception which, in turn, undermine trust in a marriage relationship or family.  The broken trust then tends to alienate one spouse from another which usually leads to arguments, frustrations, withdrawal from church and isolations from friends. The cycle is self-perpetuating and can devastate not only the man or women caught in the cycle but those who love them as well.

Huge numbers of believers have been marginalized by these schemes and traps of the enemy.  The key is to understand the outcomes and the strategies and to take steps to short-circuit the strategy as early as possible in the process.  Not only should we short-circuit the process but also we should create safeguards in our lives to keep the enemy from even getting a foothold.  Let me recommend a few things.

1.An honest evaluation of our spiritual and emotional health.  This is the hardest step as those of us who struggle with self-worth try to avoid acknowledging any weaknesses or sins in our lives because we fear rejection if others were to find out.

2.Choose to have accountability partners in life with whom you will be ruthlessly honest about your struggles.  Give them permission to ask the hard questions and call you back to spiritually healthy dynamics in your life or when you start to withdraw or isolate yourself or begin to make excuses about diminishing spiritual practices and ministry involvement in your life.

3.Recognize areas of weakness and sin in your life and get to work on those areas while they are occasional struggles rather than something that is dominating your life.  Low self–esteem, anger, addictions, fear, compulsions, etc. are all life issues related to our brokenness and sin nature.  They will not get better without taking action both in the natural and spiritual realms.  Unhealed and unrepented, these issues will be open doors for the enemy to gain access to your life and your soul – first a foothold and then a stronghold.

4.When you recognize you are caught in a scheme of the enemy short-circuit his strategy by refusing to go the to the next level in the process.  Refuse to live a lie.  Refuse to withdraw and isolate yourself from church, friends, and family.  Face the shame by telling someone immediately so that the shame does not grow and give the enemy a more powerful stronghold.

If you know you struggle with your self-mage get help immediately by finding healing in the Lord, establishing your identity in Christ, gaining freedom from spirits of rejection, bondage, fear, and condemnation through deliverance, and by getting intercessors to pray with you until that issue is overcome.

5.Know that the longer you put off surrendering your struggle to the Lord and humbling yourself by getting help from the body of Christ, the harder it will be to find freedom and the more it will have cost you before you do.

Ask yourself:

•  Where will I be in five years if I do not get victory over the sin and brokenness in my life?
• What will it cost me to continue to hide and deny my struggles?
• What will it cost my family and my relationship with the Lord if I don’t deal with this now?
• What could my life look like if I found true freedom from my sin and brokenness?

We are not to be ignorant of the devil’s schemes and we must take action as soon as we sense we have stepped into his trap or have vulnerabilities that invite his presence.  Jesus has come to heal and set free and he is willing to do that for you. If we excuse or deny these struggles, we are making ourselves easy targets for enemy.  Jesus has purchased so much for you by his blood and the Father is so willing to gives those gifts to you, don’t let the enemy steal your life and your blessings.  Be wise.  Avoid the traps or at least call for help as soon as you feel the noose tightening around your ankle.  Be blessed and be wise today.  Tell someone the truth about whatever you have been hiding or denying.

I’m writing this morning for those who may be feeling that their God is far away even though they have faithfully loved and served Him. If you are part of that group you may be struggling with thoughts that you have served him and even sacrificed for him but there seems to be no reward for your faithfulness.  The desires of your heart have gone unanswered.  Your prayers seem to hit the ceiling and drop lifelessly to the floor.  Perhaps, tragedy has struck your life in such a profound way that you feel as if God has never taken notice of your love and service to him.  Otherwise, why would this terrible thing have happened?  As the holidays approach, some of these feelings risk being magnified and amplified, as others you know seem to walk in the joy and satisfaction that you long for.  Just this morning, I attended the funeral of a young man who took his own life, leaving a daughter and a beautiful wife. I’m not sure how they will feel as the holidays drift in and their holiday dreams and traditions highlight his terrible absence.

There is a recurring theme throughout scripture.  It is the cry of God’s faithful wondering why life seems to hard and empty for them when those who could care less about God seem to have everything that life offers.  The psalmist put it this way.

But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills…This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. (Ps.73:2-5, 12-14)

To serve God and not have the desires of our heart granted while others who don’t care for God flourish, offends our sense of justice and fairness.  I am certain that Satan loves to fuel those feelings and roll out his Eden strategy once again where he hinted that God was stingy and withholding good things from Adam and Eve – good things that would be released to them when they ate from the tree. So now he highlights the girl at the office who sleeps around and makes it to happy hour every day. She seems full of life. She has flirted her way into the good graces of the boss, her future seems bright and secure, and you seem hardly noticed.

Satan shines a bright light on that disparity.  And what about the celebrities on television who are celebrating their third child out of wedlock?  They make millions, get arrested every week and excused every week.  These are the beautiful people who attend galas and sip Champaign on their yachts while never giving God a second thought.  At the same time, you cry out every night for your rent money, a companion, or healing in your life or the life of a loved one.  The book of Job summarizes it with the theme, “Why do the wicked prosper?”

I can’t answer every question about the “good fortunes” of the unsaved.  I know that the prince of this world can bless people too. I can also say that the kindness of God calls men to repentance. I can talk about free will and God’s timing, but in the middle of the night when you are feeling alone and unnoticed those things give little comfort.  The bible, however, speaks to what we can know and that is what we must hold on to.

First of all, an easy life is no definite indicator of God’s approval nor is a hard life a definite indicator of his disapproval.  Otherwise, he disapproved of his own Son who was acquainted with sorrow and had no place to lay his head.  Remember, Jesus told us that in this world we would have trouble.

Secondly, you can know that God loves you desperately and died for you.  Graham Cooke put is this way.  “ When we could have cared less about God, He could not have cared more about us.”  We have to stand on that truth even when it doesn’t “feel” that way. He has given you himself as a sacrifice.  He is preparing a place for you now and in due time will surely come and take you to be with him. He has camped in your heart and made you his temple and the apple of his eye. His Spirit sets you apart from billions on this planet and declares that your are his and that he knows what is going on in every part of your life and cares deeply about it.  He is not indifferent to your pain or your prayers – regardless of how it feels.

Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name. “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.”  So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.  (Mal.3:16).

The passage above from Malachi says that God sees you, hears your conversations and writes your name in a book of remembrance so that you and your needs will never be forgotten.  The psalmist went on to say that as he worshipped in the temple, God revealed to him the final end of the wicked who will not repent and the final reward of those who serve him in this life without such luxuries. Justice will be served in the courts of heaven f not in the courts of men.

The truth is that the unmet longings that plague us in this world are the very things that drive us to God and that make us look beyond this natural realm to a heavenly home. It is our longing for a home we have never seen but a home for which we were created. Every longing that cries out in us now will be met there in abundance. But these unmet longings also drive us to the Father now and it is in Him that those longings can be met while on this side of eternity.

These longings will not be met in what he can do for us, but will be found in who he is. He is joy.  He is abundance.  He is peace. He is love.  He is friendship.  He is…. Our solution is not found in asking for more answered prayers but in asking for more of Him.  When life seems unfair and God seems far away remember that he promised that he will never leave you nor forsake you. Feelings can be deceptive. Satan can use them against us but God’s truth stands forever. His love in an unfailing love for you.

As Jesus walked on this earth, he was never rich in earthly terms but he never lacked for anything. He was a man acquainted with sorrow but his constant companion was joy. He was a man who was finally forsaken on a wooden cross so that we would never have to be.  In spite of your struggles and your longings and the good fortune of the wicked in this world, remember that God is always close to the brokenhearted and has written your name and your longings in his book of remembrance. You are not and will never be forgotten.

Remember to always focus on what he has done for you rather than on what he has not yet done.  The Lord says, “But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.” Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;” (Isa.49:14-16).  God feels that way about every child in his family and you are one of his sons or daughters. You name is always before Him and he will never forget.

When the world and life seem unfair, only the love of a Father can turn that pain to joy. When the world and life seem unfair, remember God for he will never forget you. Be Blessed.

In the book of Nehemiah we find one of Satan’s most subtle and effective strategies for hindering the work of God on the earth. In 586 B.C. the southern Kingdom of Judah fell to Babylon and all but a few were scattered throughout the Babylonian Empire as slaves and servants of the state. The temple and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed and for the most part remained a pile of rubble for seventy years. After seventy years of captivity, God allowed some of the Jews to return and to begin to rebuild.  Zerubbabel led the first return and rebuilt the temple while the city wall remained in disrepair.  Ezra was sent later by God to call the people in Judea to faithfulness and, finally, Nehemiah was allowed by the king he served to return to rebuild the city wall.  There was, of course, great opposition to the rebuilding of Jerusalem by their traditional enemies who lived in the area – the Samaritans, Ammonites, and Arabs.

Although God had ordained the rebuilding of the temple, the city, and the wall of Jerusalem, the enemy pushed back against the completion of God’s vision for the city.  We see the first part of Satan’s strategy in Chapter 4.  As the building began in earnest, the enemies of the Jews began with ridicule.  The first strategy was to criticize the vision that God had given Nehemiah and that he had brought to the people in Jerusalem.  In effect, they declared that Nehemiah’s vision would fail, that it was foolish, and that the Jews had neither the resources nor the skills to finish. For those with a minimum vision or minimum faith, such ridicule is debilitating. Yet, Nehemiah knew that the vision he held in his heart was from God and believed God for the materials and the skill.  The work moved ahead.

The next bit of Satan’s strategy unfolded when conflict broke out among the Jews themselves. Some felt that they were sacrificing much more than others. Discontent and comparison is always an effective strategy of the enemy because it divides God’s people. It also takes leaders away from the primary vision of the kingdom while they settle disputes.  Nehemiah settled the issue with wisdom but the detour cost them time.

Satan’s next move was to have the leaders of Israel’s enemies invite Nehemiah to a summit to discuss what was going on in the region. Nehemiah instinctively sensed that he would likely meet with “an unfortunate accident” on the way to the summit but, more than that, he knew it was another distraction from the enemy.  His response was one that we should remember. “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”  His enemies invited him to attend the summit four times and he refused each time.  Undoubtedly the national news agencies painted him as a man who did not want peace or as a polarizing man who would not compromise for the sake of the region. I’m sure he was criticized and encouraged even by some of his own people not to turn down these noble offers to speak about peace.  Yet God had not sent him to compromise with the enemy but to finish the work he had been given as soon as possible.

Next came the accusations that Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem with a plan to rebel against the king who has sent him there.  If Satan can’t pull you away from the work God has given you, he will work to discredit you and your motives. For those of us who aren’t sure of our motives or who care too much for the opinions of men, those attacks can be very distracting and discouraging.  His response to the accusations was simple. “Nothing like what you are saying is happening.”  Because Nehemiah was building a kingdom for God rather than himself and because he had acted with integrity throughout the project, he was able to dismiss the charges and move ahead.

Finally, he was told that men were coming to kill him and he should simply run away to save himself. The possibility was certainly there that assassins were on the way, but his response was revealing. “Should a man like me run away? … I will not go … He (the messenger) was hired to intimidate me so that I would commit a sin by doing this and then they would give me a bad name to discredit me.”

Nehemiah understood the nature of leadership.  He also understood that if God gave him a vision to complete, then no man could stop him unless unbelief or unrighteousness on the part of Nehemiah entered the picture. The text then says that the work was completed and that when all their enemies heard of its completion, they were afraid.

Each of us has a call on our life by God. He has created us for good works which he has prepared in advance for us to complete (Eph.2:10). Satan’s most frequently used strategies are not direct opposition to what we are doing but distraction and discouragement. On a national scale, those who stand up for biblical values and righteousness are often encouraged by the people closest to them to compromise with the opposition. If they will not, then their vision is ridiculed, their motives are questioned, and their careers are threatened. Sound familiar?

But what about you?  What great thing have you imagined doing for God that you have set on the back burner for months or years because of distractions – busyness doing good things but not the thing God has prompted you to do. What about discouragement – the fear that you do not have enough skill or resources to complete the vision, questions about your motives, or fear of losing something if you step out? How many great projects still sit in the garage of the kingdom of God that have not been rolled out because the enemy has used these strategies of distraction and discouragement against us?

Maybe it’s time to take the vision or the dream back out the box, dust it off, and get on with what God has called you to do. For many of us unbelief has kept us in check – either unbelief that the dream and desire was truly from God or that he will not resource us and protect us while we do his will.  Pray about it. Recommit. Recognize the strategies of the enemy and get back to building the wall. If your vision were unimportant, Satan would never have stood in the way.