2 Enemy Attacks We Must Recognize

I’m writing today about two particular attacks of Satan and his forces on believers, but I could list others (like false teaching, idolatry, etc). I focus on these two ways today because I increasingly see them in local churches and in pastoral ministries today. One is more corporate, and the other is more individual:

1. Division. Since the Garden of Eden when Adam blamed Eve for his sin, the enemy has sought to turn the people of God on one another (in fact, Genesis 4—the next story after the fall of Adam and Eve—is about a brother turning against his own brother). Divisions in families, among believing friends, and in corporate church bodies are nothing new—but they can be agonizing and tragic. The enemy knows we will not threaten him as long as we are shooting each other in the back. 
2. Isolation. God created us to be in relationship with Him and with others; thus, it truly is not good to be alone (Gen 2:18). Like the roaring lion who separates its prey from the pack, the enemy seeks to devour us in our aloneness, in our vulnerability as we fight our battles unaided and unsupported (1 Pet 5:8). Temptations increase in the darkness of isolation, and the enemy delights when he finds us unprotected, un-prayed for, and unaware of his wiles. 

Thus, here are some questions all of us must consider:

• “Do I need to mend any broken relationships?” 
• “Do I foster unity or promote division and disunity in the body of Christ?” 
• “Am I intentionally isolating myself from other believers for some reason?” 
• “What battles am I losing in the darkness?”

If you see yourself in this post, I encourage you to seek intentionally to build relationships with others – and then lean on them in the power of the Spirit. Reject the enemy’s lies by standing on the truth of God’s Word.