Satan is a slick schemer! We must be careful that he does not take advantage of us. To that end we need to be aware of his schemes and the devices he uses. Paul warns us concerning this in II Corinthians 2:11: In order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. Could we not apply this verse to many different circumstances?
The more our focus is upon the Lord, the more attention we should give to hear what He is saying about the path in which He is leading us. That path can be interpreted on several levels. On the lowest level, it could be interpreted, “Well, we know that time and chance happen to everyone, and this is the way the chips are falling.” That is a very low attitude. On a somewhat higher level, we interpret everything that happens as being in Jesus’ hands; the devil cannot be seen in it at all. This attitude is basic and probably the best. It is the attitude that Job had when Satan was allowed to strip him within a hairbreadth of his very life. When everything had been swept away, Job bowed and he worshiped, saying, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). He recognized that the enemy could not have done anything if God had not allowed it. In this instance there was no spiritual warfare involved; rather, God was bringing the testing and trial upon Job’s life in order that he might receive a double portion.
God works that way in our life, too. However, in these days of the Kingdom, there are also many instances when God is leading toward another attitude. We face spiritual battle, which is not only extremely fierce, but also difficult for us to interpret. As the battle keeps raging against us, we realize that God has led us into this path. We recognize that the enemy is assaulting us in God’s plan and in His will. This does not magnify Satan, for God intends that we engage him and manifest his defeat. That is why God is allowing Satan and his demons to pop up, like a line of ducks in a shooting gallery. The first time they come around, we will not be able to shoot them all. We will try again and bring down some more the next time. But those that we shoot down today, we do not expect to see again!
We are aware that Satan comes forth on the scene only to manifest the culmination of an age-old battle. This is the time that Satan gets it! The demonic realm has been aware of this for some time. They know that there is a distinct, appointed time for their judgment. Even when Jesus was on earth, the demons asked Him, “Have You come to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29.) If they ask that question now, we can tell them very emphatically, “This is the time! This is the time for Satan to be defeated!” We know that the Lord is leading us into the battle. In no way does this magnify Satan in our thinking.
We have entered into an area of deeper sensitivity, but I do not interpret this as a defeat. Instead, I take it as an indication that we are becoming a barometer of a stepped-up battle. We must move into a new level of authority and bind the problems over to the will of God. As we renew our vigilance in intercession, we will cause the enemy a lot of trouble because we are not allowing him to smooth things over. We turn on the machine that is bringing the ducks around. We have paid our quarter, and we are entitled to shoot! The demons are coming forth on the scene because we have smoked them out. We need to be very alert to the lies and devices of Satan, his schemes and the tricks that he plays, because we have entered into a new plateau of spiritual warfare. No longer are all of the battles initiated by Satan. We have taken the spiritual initiative in the will of God; we walk with God right into this arena.
The presence of the Lord and His anointing must be found in everything we do, so that it does not become just another form. Why stay up and pray all night if our intercession is not effective? We want to see God bring the victory!
Do not be deceived for a single minute; you are not a victim of Satan’s movings. He is coming against you in retaliation; he is bringing a counterattack. Do not be intimidated by the nature or style of his attack.
The enemy does everything he can to discredit you, and he succeeds when you feel that you have to be something in yourself, in the flesh. When you expect to accomplish anything on the natural level, it is easy to become discouraged and feel that you are a failure. Realize that the Lord is everything and you are nothing. Do not even expect your brother or sister to be anything, except in the Lord. There we will all be everything.
We need to understand more about military strategy. An army often uses diversionary tactics to divert the attention of the opposing army, making them think that they will be attacked from a certain direction, and so they prepare to fight there. Then when they are surprised and attacked from the opposite direction, they are not prepared. That diversionary tactic is often used by Satan. He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44); therefore he tries to create a situation that diverts you from the real issue. Just when someone is really focused on the Lord, Satan may bring a diversionary action in the form of an accident or some other mishap. When this happens, the real warrior rises up and proclaims, “This came against me, but I do not forget that I have the privilege of choosing the time, the place, and the adversary that I am going to fight.”
The enemy brings one circumstance after another, and if you focus on the circumstances, you will always be fighting them. The children of Israel provide a good illustration of this. God had promised them, “The Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever” (Exodus 14:13). And they did not, because Pharaoh’s army was destroyed in the Red Sea. However, even after all of the Egyptians had been drowned, the devil was still working against the children of Israel. In the wilderness they were attacked by the Amalekites, who cut off the stragglers—the herds and the women and children—and destroyed them (Deuteronomy 25:17–18). Therefore God said, “I will have war against Amalek from generation to generation. I swear it. I will utterly blot out their memory” (Exodus 17:14, 16). Years later, when God sent King Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites for what they had done to His people, Saul did not obey fully. And for that reason he was rejected as king.
The subtle attacks of Satan were so effective that many of the Israelites finally perished—not because they did not have a covenant from God, not because they did not have leadership, not because they did not have a pillar of fire and a cloud to lead them, not because they starved to death for lack of food (they had manna every day), not because they died of thirst for lack of water. They perished because they had been diverted from the Word and the promises that God had given. They did not realize where the battle really was. They murmured and complained—acting as if the momentary circumstance was an end in itself—instead of realizing that if they would get their eyes off that and keep their focus on God, they would go ahead; they would make it.
All of the men, except two, who were twenty years old or older when they left Egypt, were judged; they perished in the wilderness. Caleb and Joshua were the only men of that generation who survived, because they wholly followed the Lord their God (Numbers 32:12). When they were sent with the rest of the spies to go and look through the land of Canaan, they were not moved by the giants or the high-walled cities. They said, “God has given us a Word. Let us go and take the land!” The rest of the people insisted, “We cannot ignore the circumstances. The odds against us are too great. We are like grasshoppers in their sight. Let’s give up. Let’s run!” They were so furious that they picked up stones to stone Joshua and Caleb.
You are defeated the day you are distracted by the diversionary action of Satan. Do not be ignorant of his schemes. He may tell you to choose another star to follow. Determine to listen only to what God has said. Go right back to the Word that God gave in the first place and hold fast to it. It has not changed one iota. Forever His Word is settled in heaven (Psalm 119:89).
Are you discouraged because things are not going well in your life? But how can you judge how your life should work out? Joseph could have cried with Egyptian jailhouse blues: “I dreamed a dream, and in my dream I was wearing long kingly robes and everyone was bowing down to me. I was ruling the land. But I guess something went wrong, because here I am in this Egyptian jail.” His loved ones thought he was dead; everyone seemed to have forgotten him. It appeared as though the jail keeper had thrown away the key and forgotten about him. But even then Joseph was so close to God that he was receiving revelations from Him. He was being prepared to be one of the greatest rulers of all time. He was wise enough not to exalt his own intelligence in judging what was happening to him and why.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him (“I’ve got my eyes on You, Lord; I’m following You”); and He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5–6). Not only the leaders, but all of the people must be involved in the heat of battle. No one should be ignorant of what is going on. When the day brings us deep into furious battle, everyone must reach in and say, “If this is the way we must go, Lord, we stay with it.”
Today we see a unity, a drive, a greater determination to go forward than ever before. If it appears that there is division, it is only because there is a difference in the levels the people live on. Some are taking a big step forward. There is no difference in the calling of God. The Word over the people and over the churches has not changed. Sometimes where there seems to be trouble or rebellion, where there are things to criticize in an individual, it may be because he has taken a step forward.
Unity has a function; it has a purpose. Thrusting people into one another’s company tends to bring out all the differences between them, unless they have a common dedication. Consequently, some of your greatest difficulties will come from those with whom you are supposed to be one, unless that oneness has a drive and a purpose and a direction from God. Oneness always has a purpose and a function to fulfill. With a husband and wife it is the fact that God sought a godly seed. When God talked about the oneness of marriage in the book of Malachi, He asked, “Wherefore did He make one? Because He sought a godly seed” (Malachi 2:15). He had a greater purpose than just keeping a man and a woman from arguing with each other, or having a marriage without a quarrel. That was not His purpose in making them one. He wanted something to come out of that relationship besides arguments, or even beyond compatibility. He had a purpose and a function for that oneness.
What is the purpose of oneness in the Body of Christ? There is a function and a purpose to our oneness besides our intercession, beyond our refusing to be divided. Why are we determined not to break ranks, not to thrust one another through? We want to become an army so effective that nothing can stand against us. We have problems and faults, but those will be solved. We have differences; those we will take care of. We are determined not to break ranks, as we do the will of God. New horizons are before us. New doors are open to us. We are reaching into a greater effectiveness in the Lord.