Have you ever felt like drowning in your sorrows? Or have you ever felt in jeopardy? Do you feel you are about to perish with the water raging over head?

We must remember that Satan feeds on our weaknesses and delights in exploiting our vulnerable points. He feeds on our vulnerabilities.

Let’s look at some areas that have a potential to bring weariness in our lives. These are common causes of discouragement that make us weary in doing well:

1. Broken relationships
2. Busy lifestyles
3. Divine delays in God’s promises
4. Emotional problems
5. Family problems
6. Substance abuse
7. Financial problems
8. God’s chastening
9. Hard times
10. Marital problems
11. Sickness

This list is by no means exhaustive. But they can take a toll on you and literally wear you out. In 2 Corinthians 2:11 it states “…lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

I heard a story once of a Nurse in Australia. She was attending a Bible Study regularly. She was not a believer, but she was curious and was attending to understand the faith.

The teacher of the Bible Study started speaking about the peace and joy that believers experience that others cannot. The Nurse disagreed! From her vantage point she said something to the effect:

“No – I can’t believe that! You speak of peace and joy. Yet in my daily rounds I go to your Church members homes and give them shots and dispense medicines for anxiety and fears. When I stop going to your members homes, then I can believe.”

I know many want to walk in the peace and joy as stated in the Bible, but it seems so fleeting. Can we really enter into God’s rest?

You can be walking along feeling all is right with the world when, “wham” out the blue you feel as if you are toppled in an emotional world of hurt. Or you could be going through a situation that has extended for days, months, or even years and are crying out because it’s been going on for so long.

How do you react in these situations? How do you protect yourself during these times? What is it you can do? What are your coping mechanisms?

Perhaps you speak to your Doctor and you receive medicines for anxiety and depression (this may be beneficial during a real trying situation to help you in a time of need)? Or, do you self medicate your self with over the counter drugs, illicit drugs, alcohol, become gluttonous (over consuming junk foods and comfort foods for example)?

Or perhaps you get involved in exercise and other activities to divert your attention the best you can, like running, arts and crafts, T.V., fishing. These activities in themselves are good, but, is it enough?

I would encourage you to identify the area where you are vulnerable and use the shield of faith and the belt of truth against it. Satan is firing his darts you better get your shield up to protect yourself.

In the next post I will speak on “How to apply the shield of faith” to protect yourself from these fiery darts that come your way. But for now I will leave you with Ephesians 6:13-16:

¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

This message was heavily influenced by Ken Birks  kenbirks.com/outlines/overcome-difficulties.doc

There is an enemy of our soul out there. We are told in the scriptures that he comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). He wants to exploit the areas of our lives that are causing us heartache, disappointment’s, and difficulty.

His objective is to make us weary and loose heart. He is literally trying to wear us out! We see a glimpse of this in Daniel 7:25.

²⁵ And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

This scripture is speaking of the antichrist, which will be released in the earth on the last days prior to Christ’s coming. But it’s important to know that the spirit of antichrist is already lose and working towards these objectives.

Last year my wife and I took a trip to visit our son in Arizona. While there we took a trip to the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful! We flew in a little prop plane from Sedona to the Grand Canyon.

As we flew over the Canyon and saw the majestic view my heart was overtaken with awe. It was  beautiful and breathtaking.

The thing for this message I’d like to get over is, the canyon was carved by water pouring over those rocks. In time the water was able to carve a large swath in it’s path. In much the same way the events of life can wear us down.

The antichrist spirit that is loose in the world today is trying to wear God’s precious saints down and out with discouragement in the midst of various trials and hardships of life. His objective is to begin to plant seeds of apostasy so that when the time comes we will not have any faith to draw upon.

His objective is to get as many saints as possible to loose heart and faith which will lead to apostasy. He wants to take as many down with him as he possibly can. The Bible tells us we are not to be ignorant of his devices. In 2 Corinthians 2:11 it states:

 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

One of the first steps we need to take is to realize this. For knowing there is an enemy of your soul out there that is working against you is better than being hit and not knowing why.

It’s comforting to know, we can withstand Satan and his objectives. Stay tuned, to learn how. More to come in the following posts.

This message was heavily influenced by Ken Birks  kenbirks.com/outlines/overcome-difficulties.doc