And our enemies said, “They will not know or see till we come among them and kill them and stop the work.” (Nehemiah 4:11, ESV)
Life is great! You get married. You get a new job or promotion. A new baby is born. You are experiencing a profound and deep sense of intimacy in your relationship with God. You feel as if nothing can go wrong.
But as great as you feel today, there is much that can derail your joy, contentment, and peace in life. Sometimes life takes unexpected turns. You face a divorce. You lose that job or are demoted. A loved one dies. You find yourself in a great struggle and begin to waiver in your faith.
When Satan left Jesus after the temptation in the desert, the Bible tells us that Satan left until an opportune time (see Luke 4:13). The point was that Satan was not done yet. Satan would have a few tricks up his sleeve in an attempt to derail God’s plan of salvation.
There are forces of darkness that are aligned against us that seek to undermine the Kingdom of God in our lives. Satan has been at work for a long time. He is cunning, and he knows where we are vulnerable. He knows our weaknesses and where we are suspect. And he is patient. He waits for the opportune time to derail your faith.
When the people of Jerusalem were rebuilding the walls, their enemies sought to catch them off guard. They planned to catch them by surprise when they least expected it. The enemy looked for an opportune time.
It is impossible to prevent every attack and assault on our life. Unfortunately, we are only as strong as our weakest point. And the assaults will hit us when our guard is down. This is why it is important to build ourselves up and to strengthen ourselves in the good times so that we are prepared for the difficult times.
In the good times, we attach ourselves to Jesus Christ, the Solid Rock. Because the difficult times will come when we will not be able to stand on our own. But if we are connected to Christ, he will stand for us and hold us up when we cannot stand.
Reflection
- Where do you sense you may be weak and vulnerable to the attacks of Satan?
- How do you minimize the potential areas of weakness in your life?
Prayer
Lord, strengthen me and guard me against all evil. I am weak, and you are strong. I know I am not strong enough to stand on my own against the assaults of the evil one. So I ask that when I cannot stand that you will hold me up. Amen.
Leave a Reply