Wounded and Sick: Things That Cripple Your Faith

Steal, Kill, Destroy

   "And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

        "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have LIFE, and have it to the full."
(John 10:10)

- The thief in this scenario is the enemy, Satan. He and those with him come to do three things to us as Christians: steal, kill, and destroy. The question is steal, kill, and destroy what?

That's where 1 Corinthians 13:13 comes in. 

- The Bible says that three things will always remain at the end of the day: faith, hope, and love, with love being the greatest. These three things are extremely powerful, especially when they live strong and fed within us. They are so powerful that they can spread to those around us and start a positive change in our world for the Kingdom.

- Satan hates that! He hates anything that gives God power in the world. . . well, more power than He already has anyway. I feel like when Satan wants to try to stop the advancement AND our personal walks with Christ, he aims to stifle one and/or all of these three things. The thing is, though, that no matter what, Satan won't win the war he is waging against God. However. . . if you let him, he can win the battle he is waging against you and your personal walk with Christ.

- Using this basic "formula" so to speak has helped me recognize when Satan is attacking, how he's attacking, and what he hopes to achieve from the attack. 

1. Steals hope 

Things like sadness, grief, loneliness. They can make your heart and spirit feel heavy, and make you feel like all is lost. Satan wants to steal your hope; by stealing your hope, he wants to see you take your eyes off God, forgetting who He is and what He has said. God is Hope- our Hope- and no matter how dark things may become, God and the hope He gives us can't ever be taken from us. 

2. Destroys faith 

Doubt and fear are the first two things I connect to this. If the seed of doubt or inkling of fear is left to grow, it will only become bigger and stronger until it completely blots out God's image and influence, and leaves only disbelief; this is exactly what Satan wants to see happen. Doubts and fears are natural, but when you are afraid or doubtful, you should ask for answers or comfort through prayer or in the Bible. . instead of letting the questions and worries fester silently. You just need to trust ultimately because trust counteracts doubt. Trust that God will hear you and will answer, then believe in that fact fully and completely. 

3. Kills love

Anger. Greed. Apathy. This is where Satan will try to almost turn you against God and other people. Heard of the term "heart of stone"? That's what he wants to happen. Your faith- our faith is founded on love. . . . without love, there is no faith at all. This is why Satan doesn't want to just steal or destroy love, but he wants to kill it. He wants it to die out. And you know. . . at times, it looks like he succeeds. But here's the good news: Love can't be killed! Not really. The Bible says God is Love, and God cannot be killed. They tried to kill Jesus, Son of God as man (in essence, Love) and failed. However, we do need to be willing to let God and Love live in us. It can be hard somedays, especially in the world today, but we are called to love.