Christian

Is Satan Trying to Discourage You?

Cindy Dawson

One of Satan’s favorite weapons is discouragement. I get discouraged sometimes, but the Lord always picks me back up. Sometimes encouragement comes through another person who is walking closely with God. This happened recently when I read Devotional Treasures by Alan Kearns. You can read it here.

Alan said, “It is not our ability that matters, but rather the Might of our Father God.” That hit me right between the eyes!

The Lord was showing me that if I have doubts and fears about my ministry (and we all have a ministry, you know) it’s because I’m taking all the responsibility on myself instead of depending on Him and trusting Him to accomplish His will. He has promised,

 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.” Psalm 32:8 NIV

Satan likes to attack our minds, making us think his lies are true. Doubts, fears, frustrations, distractions, and even fatigue may be the attack of the enemy. The following verses show us that the enemy attacks our minds.

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 ESV

“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV

I love the story of Nehemiah and how he led the exiles back to Jerusalem where they were obeying God and rebuilding the demolished walls of the city. You can read about it in Nehemiah, chapters 4-6 here.

These chapters reveal how the enemy tried to stop the work God had given them to do: rebuilding the walls. So don’t be surprised if the enemy tries to stop the work God has given YOU to do!

Nehemiah and the Rebuilding of the Wall

Whether you are writing a blog, teaching a Bible Study, going to the mission field, pastoring a church, working in the nursery, or building a wall, the enemy’s plan is, first and foremost, to STOP THE WORK.

Satan’s plan is to make you give up!

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9 NIV

If we depend on our own abilities and strength we will fail. Consider the words of the Apostle Paul.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-11 NIV (emphasis mine)

Be strong in the Lord!

In His Love, Cindy

Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?

Pray for Israel

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22 thoughts on “Is Satan Trying to Discourage You?”

      1. Thanks, Cindy! Always appreciated. I suspect that some glorious day we will know how the prayers of our brothers and sisters in the Lord have lifted us up. God’s continued peace, grace and blessings to you and yours!

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  8. The devil has a field day strangling our thoughts when we aren’t focused on the Lord and doing His will. Thank you, Cindy, for reminding us that the might of our Father will help us stay the course!

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  9. These truths are so encouraging to me, Cindy. An area that I struggle with is when I compare myself to others who are in “bigger” areas of ministry – ones that we equate with success in serving God. When I do that, my little corner of the world seems insignificant. But not to God! Imagine the impact if we all stopped serving God where we are. Thank you for your always wise and timely words.

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    1. You are absolutely right! We can’t really know if our ministry is big or small. We don’t always see the fruit of the seeds we sow. When I was a young teenager, my pastor gave me a Bible and wrote this in it: “Either this book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.” I never forgot it. I doubt that he had any idea how much he influenced my life.
      God bless you today!

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  10. Great post Cindy! Nehemiah is one of my favorite stories to go back to when I need to remind myself to continue the work. I love how Nehemiah stays focused no matter how many times his enemies try to distract him. I need to look at this story again. Thanks!

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