How the Enemy Attacks…
“Nothing that is attempted for God will go unchallenged, and scarcely a tactic be unexplored by opposition.” - Derek Kidner
This morning I was reading the book of Ezra and God showed me something I’ve never seen before about the purpose and point of all opposition. Truth is - every ounce of kingdom territory will be contested by the enemy. What does that mean? The enemy hates progress!
Have you ever noticed how right when you make a decision to go all in for Christ, or when you try to develop new holy habits, or when you go on a fast, or when you do anything that advances the Kingdom of God, opposition immediately comes against you!
I’ve found myself in this same place many times and it often causes me to question - “What is going on?! Why is all this happening? I’m trying to do everything right and everything seems to be going wrong…”
Yes! You’re right! You are trying to do everything right and that’s why the enemy is doing everything he can to come against you because he wants to stop you.
Okay so, back to Ezra. For context, the book of Ezra chronicles Israelite families returning back to Jerusalem following about 70 years of captivity. These people have been taken away from their homeland, living as exiles, stripped of their identity and removed from everything they have ever known. Their homes were demolished, their temple was destroyed, and their city was desolate. But suddenly (that’s often how God works - SUDDENLY!), in the midst of what felt like a hopeless situation, God moved on the heart of Cyrus King of Persia. He let God’s people return to their homeland and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. This truly is a miracle moment.
In chapter 3, the people have returned and lay the foundation of the temple (Ezra 3:10-12). This was such a powerful moment and a strong start, but they still had to rebuild the rest of the temple. In chapter 4 verse 1 we see that as soon as the enemies of God’s people hear that they rebuilding, they immediately try to stop the work that’s being done. This is the same strategy we see the enemy use in our lives when we start to rebuild something or move forward in obedience with the things God has called us to. The enemy uses a variety of different tactics but they are all pointed towards one purpose - to delay the work and to defeat the workers.
First, we see the enemy try to use DECEPTION (Ezra 4:2). Their enemies play nice and try to partner with them in the project but their motives were impure. Zerubbabel, Joshua, and the other leaders employed discernment to decipher against this deception. This is why learning to quiet other voices (even ones that seem to have your best interest at heart so you can hear from God who really has your best interest at heart) is so important.
Next, we see the enemy try to use a combination of DISCOURAGEMENT, FEAR, and INTIMIDATION (Ezra 4:4), followed by FRUSTRATION (Ezra 4:5). Friends, the enemy is after your confidence!! He usually uses other people to say things at you or about you, and do things to you or against you, but his whole purpose in those attacks is to strip away your confidence (both in God and in yourself). That’s why Hebrews 10:35 says “do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.”
One thing we must understand about the enemy is that he doesn't stop. He has no mercy. When you have a bad day, when you’re down on the ground, you’d think he’d take a chill pill. No, that’s then he goes in to kick you even harder. We have no reason to fear because greater is He who lives in us (1 John 4:4) but we need to be aware of how the enemy operates so we can know how to defeat him.
Next, the enemy uses ACCUSATIONS (Ezra 4:15) against the people. Essentially, the enemy tried to use their history against them by bringing up old sins and past mistakes. An accusation is typically a skillful combination of a little bit of truth and a whole lot of lie. And this how the enemy tries to make you FEEL disqualified with guilt, shame, and condemnation from your past so you don’t move forward into the future that God has for you. Remember this - God is the one who calls you and qualifies you so nothing the enemy brings up or brings against you can disqualify you from what God has ordained for you. You are righteous because of the blood of Jesus and satan can never take that away from you!
We see ultimately that these attacks delay God’s people but the enemy does not defeat them! God makes a way for them to continue the work and even brings people to help finance the project (God will give you double for your trouble, come on somebody! lol). But truly, this is an incredible story about the persistent of hell, the faithfulness of heaven, and the victory that we can experience in HIM if we chose to press on. Like my momma always says, persistence overcomes resistance!
I encourage you to go back to Ezra chapters 3-6 and read the full story. I believe God will bring even more revelation as you read these chapters for yourself, but I hope this brief summary was helpful to you! As I really broke down the specific strategies that the enemies of God’s people used against them, it became evident that this is the same pattern the enemy uses against us as God’s people in our lives today.
No matter what’s going on in your world, keep pressing on and don’t let the enemy distract with you with discouragements. Keep your confidence in God and fix your focus on Him, He will always see you through!
Xo,
Carla
