How To Survive Satan’s Attack on Your Life

“And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.” (Luke 22:31-34)

And, as we know from the rest of the story, that Satan did tempt Peter to deny Christ, and it was a very dramatic and chaotic time in Peter’s life. Friends, I want to tell you right now…it is no secret that Satan…the enemy of your soul…wants to destroy your faith…he wants to destroy your testimony…and he wants to destroy your life. As I was reading this scripture, I was reminded of a familiar story in the Old Testament.

So I want us to look at the story of Job for a few minutes, and maybe by looking at this story again, we can get a glimpse into how the enemy attacks, and what we can do to help us to stand strong when those times of testing come into our lives. You can read the whole story in your personal Bible study time, but for right now I want to touch on a few highlights on the story of Job with you. If you would please turn with me to the book of Job Chapter 1:

• Verses 1 tells us that Job was an upright and Godly man. The scripture says he was blameless, he was upright, he feared God and he shunned evil. Job was the kind of person that we all strive to be in our Christian lives. There was no fault found in Job.

• Verse 2 explains that Job was also a family man. He had 7 sons and 3 daughters…and I believe that Job loved his family with all his heart. I believe that he went to great lengths to see that his family had everything they needed.

• Verse 3 tells us that Job was also a very wealthy man. This scripture even declares that Job “was the greatest of all the people of the East”. He was a very prominent man in his community. He had many herds and livestock. So we can see that Job was a man who was very very blessed of the Lord.

But one day…something strange happened in Job’s life. Satan appeared before God and asked permission to test Job’s faith…and God granted it. Let’s look at that conversation. (verses 6-12)

"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.

Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord." 

After this time, EVERYTHING in Job’s life began to fall apart. We read in the next few verses of the tragedy that struck him. In one day, Job lost his home, his cattle, his sheep, his children, his servants…EVERYTHING in Job’s life was destroyed…it was all gone. And later on in the story, we find that Job even lost his own health! He had absolutely nothing but his life and his wife!

Verses 20-21 tells us that Job fell into a time of deep sorrow and mourning…as is very understandable under the circumstances. And yet, verse 22 give us the victory statement of Job’s life. It says, “In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” Job did not blame God for any of the troubles that had come into his life.

Friends, I want you to know, there will come a time…and maybe more than one time in your life…when your faith in God will be tested. There will be a time when Satan is allowed to bring your life to nothing. And when he does…I want to ask you some very difficult questions. What will your testimony be when it feels like God has turned away from you? How will you stand against the wiles of the Enemy when everything in your life is falling apart? Where will you turn when all of your friends forsake you and turn their backs on you? Will you have what it takes to make it through those hard times of testing?

I want to share with you 4 steps that Job took that helped him to make it through this time of chaos and confusion in his life, and if you will apply them, they will help you too when your time of testing comes: 

1. Remember God’s past faithfulness in your life, and keep trusting Him no matter what happens. In chapter 13 verse 15 Job said this: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” Job had determined in his heart that no matter what happened in his life or how desperately his life was turned upside down…he was going to trust God! He knew that God had blessed him…he knew that God had been faithful to him…he knew that he could depend on God to bring him through this difficult trial that he was facing in his life. God had always been faithful to Job, and no matter how bad the circumstances in his life became…he determined that he was going to keep trusting God. 
2. Remember just who God is! In chapters 38 and 39 God begins to remind Job of who He is. I want you to remember that your God is the Creator of the Universe. He is the One who created the Heavens and the Earth. He is the God Who flung the stars into the sky and He is the One who holds the sun and the moons and all of the planets in place and He keeps them from falling out of the sky. He is the God Who holds back the flood waters and protects us from drowning. He is the God who made everything that there is out of NOTHING! He is the One who holds your very breath in the palm of His hands. So when you are going through difficult times, remember the Glory and the Majesty of our God! Meditate on the Greatness of our Lord and begin to praise Him for Who He is! Give to Him the honor and glory and power due His Name. Worship Him…even though you don’t understand what is happening in your life…Praise Him anyway! 
3. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord. In chapter 40 verses 4-5, Job said, “Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; Yes, twice, but I will proceed no further.” Job humbled himself in the presence of the Lord. Once he realized God’s past faithfulness and once he had considered the Majesty and the Glory of God, He could proceed no further. All he could do was to humble himself under the mighty hand of the Lord. He realized he was nothing more than a fragile human being that depended on God for everything. We would also do well to humble ourselves in the Lord and to give ourselves over completely to Him. 
4. Repent of your lack of faith in God’s provision in your life. In chapter 42 verse 6 Job said this, “Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.” We need to understand that God owns us and He has the right to allow anything He wants to come into our lives. But we need to also realize that when He does allow difficulties to come, He will use it as a tool in His hand to shape us and mold us to be more like His own dear Son Jesus. That is our destiny…to become more and more like Jesus. And even during the most difficult of times, God is using these hardships to make us more like His Son. 

And then after this great time of testing, we are told that the Lord restored to Job twice as much as he had before. You can be sure…when the trial is over, God will restore you and He will bring you forward. In chapter 23 verse 10 Job declared, “But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.”

Friends, I want to encourage you today…our God is not against you…He is for you. If you are going through a time of testing right now in your life, I’d like to pray with you and encourage you in the Lord. He’s with you…He has not forsaken you…He hears you when you call upon His Name and He will restore you.

Father, we thank you first of all because we know that You are faithful in all Your ways. We thank You that no matter how difficult the times may become, You will always be there watching over us to make sure that we come out on the other side, and when we do, we will be stronger in our faith and more like Jesus. Father, help us to keep our eyes steadfast on You and Who You are in our lives so that we can go through this time of testing and help us to "come forth as gold” when it's all over. Thank you Father. In Jesus Name we pray...Amen.