Luís Alberto Alves
We Christians make many mistakes during our walk with Jesus Christ. Most of the time, we do not pay attention to the details that exist in the spiritual world. Another mistake is to underestimate Satan's ability to act. Since he once lived in Heaven, he is familiar with the celestial sphere and how battles are fought there.
The Devil does not have the power to prevent blessings from coming to the life of a Christian. What God promises is fulfilled. However, it is in these details that darkness acts. Imagine a hungry person looking for a restaurant for lunch or dinner. They find themselves in an unfamiliar city and need to quickly eat a meal. In this case, they will look for the closest one.
We do not always find good quality food in an unfamiliar restaurant or one without good references. Because of their rush, some people go into the first place they find. They may run the risk of eating something left over from the day before or even something that is spoiled. But the important thing at that moment is to satisfy their hunger.
Patience
The Enemy knows our needs, especially when they are financial. He will place despair on the person in debt, increase oppression and prevent them from sleeping well. He will also attack their nervous system, so that they lose control over their patience. Lack of emotional control is the fast track to making several mistakes.
Disbelief enters the scene, with the suspicion that Jesus Christ may not fulfill the promise of opening the doors of prosperity in the life of that family. Since he cannot manifest himself physically, the demons sent by the Devil will use people, usually close to them, including relatives and friends, to sow words of discouragement.
Hell's strategy is to take away the peace of this person who is waiting for the blessing to come true so that they can escape financial suffocation and breathe a sigh of relief. It is in this area that the Devil will strike hard, because he knows that this person will have in his hands the blessings promised by Jesus Christ. In any area of life, when one loses focus, there is a great risk of suffering losses.
War
Since spiritual warfare is rarely discussed in church services today, some Christians even believe that the Devil is good. Like an irresponsible soldier, they let their guard down, relax in prayers and even in reading the Bible. They imagine that their pastor can resolve all issues. In other words, when the bomb is about to explode, they can just call the church and leave the situation in the hands of the intercession group.
As I said, the Devil knows this type of Christian. He will exploit their weak points (and we all have them) and work on these weaknesses. For former alcohol addicts, the demons will create situations where this type of drink will appear in large quantities, accompanied by the terrible phrase: “nothing to do with it”. For former drug slaves, the full plate will be the illicit substances that this person used.
For former prostitutes, the darkness will use women (most often beautiful) filled with legions of evil spirits to try to bring down this Christian. The list is long, but in all of them the Devil will exploit the weakness of the person who has freed himself and had an encounter with Jesus Christ. He will not offer a brick of cocaine to someone who has never used this type of drug. This strategy is used against former drug addicts.
Seduction
This arsenal of darkness is to try to prevent the Christian from achieving the blessing he dreams of, the fruit of prayer, fasting, campaigning, visits to the mountains and deep intimacy with God. Since there is no way to make this person lose this gift from the Lord, Satan's solution is to try to hinder the completion of the process, which has already begun in the spiritual world.
Therefore, when a servant of God plunges into a period of deep spiritual warfare, with bombs exploding in various areas of his life, and feels strong oppression, including with his mind filled with evil thoughts, it is a clear sign that the great blessing is on its way. At this time, Christians need to pay extra attention and look to Jesus Christ.
It is extremely important to guard your mouth. Do not murmur, and if you make a mistake, you need to quickly lie down at the feet of the Lord, with prayer and supplication. You cannot, under any circumstances, make the mistake of thinking that you are a failure, that you will never be free from this type of temptation, that God has already forgotten about you, etc. The tip is to double your prayers, listen to spiritual praise (like all the Christian harp songs) and flee from everything that seems evil. Do this and the blessing will not escape you.
Luís Alberto Alves is a pastor and author of the books “Are you prepared to hear God’s No?” and “Theory of the Empty Refrigerator”.
