tools . According to Pastor Rick Warren , “ Problems always get our attention . It often takes a painful situation to get our attention .”
We may distinguish between whether Satan ’ s attacks are allowed by God to discipline or prune us by assessing our own lives . The areas under attack in our lives help to highlight what is being disciplined or developed in us . We can use this information to assess whether or not sin is the root cause . Oftentimes , we already know if we are in sin . If the Holy Spirit is in us , His work is to convict us of sin and help us see truth . God often warn us about where He will be working in our lives , but we often neglect or forget what he has shown us . If we are unsure , we can certainly ask the Lord to show us why we are afflicted .
In instances where individuals are in the will of God , Satan ’ s attacks may be his attempt to thwart God ’ s workings in and though the lives of His children . However , Satan cannot outsmart God . For even though Satan may harass and afflict God ’ s children , God turns Satan ’ s antics into “ manure ” for a bounty of growth in His will for our lives and in the advancement of His kingdom . In essence , Satan serves as a catalyst — a tool — to affect change in behavior or path in life . For example , God used the persecution of early Christians to spread the Gospel , as dispersed followers of Christ shared the message of the kingdom of God wherever they went .
Another motive for Satan ’ s attacks stems from his attempts to neutralize kingdom authorities and seize benefits belonging to the children of God . Christians are seated in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus , and we are blessed with every spiritual blessing ( Ephesians 1:3 ; 2:4-6 ). We are co-heirs with Christ as we share in His sufferings ; so , we are kings and priests in the kingdom of God ( Romans 8:17 ; Revelation 1:4-6 ; 5:9-10 ). We have dominion over Satan and his kingdom , and that makes a Christian a formidable threat to the enemy .
Additionally , we have authority through the Word of God and the name of Jesus Christ . We also have power through the Holy Spirit to bind the enemy , pull down strongholds , and destroy every agenda of the enemy . Furthermore , Christians are charged with declaring the truth and works of Jesus Christ . This authority and power offers deliverance , restoration , and the shalom kind of peace for all of Satan ’ s captives .
Certainly , the greatest threat to the kingdom of darkness is an obedient child of God who knows his or her authority and power , knows how to use it , and is not afraid . This truth alone gives Satan incentive to attack Christians . God may not always prevent Satan ’ s attack , but He does turn darkness into light . In the case with Peter , Satan asked to sift Peter as wheat . Instead of removing the threat to Peter , Jesus allowed it but prayed that his faith may not fail ( Luke 22:31- 32 ).
It is God ’ s creative nature to bring forth light and life out of darkness ( or our struggles ). Darkness serves as a catalyst . Everything , including this world , endures a time of darkness and stillness . In the beginning , the earth was dark ; and in God ’ s time , He brought forth light and life . Every seed endures the darkness and stillness of the dirt it is buried in ; but in God ’ s time , it pushes through to the surface into the light and its new life . A babe in its mother ’ s womb must endure the darkness and stillness ; then in God ’ s time , it pushes out into the world into the light and its new life . As it is with our physical existence , so it must be with our spiritual existence .
Throughout this human existence we endured spiritual darkness and stillness while we were buried in sin — the semblance of death . In God ’ s time , we believed the Word of Truth and pushed through to the true light and our new life in Christ Jesus . As we transition from temporal , corporal existence to more spiritual , eternal beings , we must also push through the influences of spiritual darkness — unproductive dead works — into spiritual light and a new life of righteousness . Satan serves as the necessary spiritual darkness and stillness , the catalyst , which God uses to cultivate true light and new life in us as we transform into the likeness of His son .
We must persevere through the dark times and the still times . These are the times when we are suffering through the enemy ’ s attack and God seems silent . Perseverance is the fruit of