Obstacles Along The Way

I have vivid dreams, but not everyone does. My husband is one of those who can't remember his dreams although I'm sure he probably has them. Over the weekend, I dreamed I was driving down the road with a friend as my passenger. All along the road, there were things set up to cause problems. Some were barricades, some were lunatics beating on my car window and trying to jump inside with us, some were huge potholes and cliffs. I grabbed my friend's hand and told her this was a spiritual battle and we were going to fight these obstacles in the spirit and with prayer. I told her we had to press on, keep driving and not get our eyes off where we were going. Then my dream was over. I have no idea why I had that dream, but I imagine I will soon find out. It seems most of my dreams are prophetic in nature so I will await that revealing.

Satan can't steal our salvation, but he has the power to do several other things. He can destroy the quality of our lives. He will send anything our way that can affect our physical, emotional, mental or financial health and in our relationships. Satan can attack our peace and our joy. He likes to stir up trouble and keep us in a state of unrest. Satan loves to use unbelievers or weak believers to harm us in the things they say and do that make people question our reputation. Satan brings confusion, frustration and anger into relationships and situations, for no apparent reason. He wrote the book on how to cause misunderstandings. And, Satan will decrease your witness for Christ here on earth in order to diminish your heavenly reward.

So how should we respond when Satan attacks in this way? The way we respond will determine whether our faith will be strengthened or weakened. Our response will determine whether God's power in our lives will be real and whether or not He receives the glory and praise for it. And, our response to Satan's attacks will determine whether our unsaved family members, co-workers and friends are more inclined to trust in Jesus.

No, we cannot defeat the devil in our own strength. That would not bring glory to God. Paul put it perfectly in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."