Satan’s greatest goal is to take our focus off of praising God.
Satan is the great deceiver. He loves to fool us, distract us and flat out lie to us. Why? Because His greatest goal is to take our focus off of praising God. He never wants God to get the glory and let’s be honest, when is God ever glorified by our worries? Never. That’s why Satan loves it when we fret. It makes his job easier because when we are worrying we get so wrapped up in our own fears about what might happen that we miss what the Lord is doing in our lives right now.
When we spend time and energy worrying about what if’s, we completely miss the opportunity to celebrate what is.
When we feel tempted to worry, we must remember to stop, pray, and put your focus back on the Lord. Do not let Satan get a foothold into your heart through fear or worry. Once He has that foothold, he will always work to get the rest of his body in. Remind yourself that your heart belongs to the Lord, it is His territory and Satan has no business there.
Three ways Satan is using fear and worry to distract us.
1. Satan wants our focus to be on our future fears rather than on our present blessings.
When our focus is on the future and what may or may not happen, we are not living in the present. When our focus is on our worries and fears about what tomorrow may bring, we miss all that God wants to teach us today.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
What you can do: Thank the Lord that He is continuing to grow you and bless you every day, through the good and the bad. Praise Him for knowing what’s best and do not be afraid to confess your unbelief. God knows your heart and your faith, and He desires to heal it and strengthen it if you ask Him to.
2. When we focus on things we fear may happen, we forget to praise God for the things He’s doing today.
Satan hates it when we praise God, so why wouldn’t he want to keep our focus on fear and worry rather than on thanksgiving and praise?
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior, and my God.
Psalm 42:5
What you can do: Ask the Lord to help you recognize the ways He is blessing you and growing you within your circumstances. Praise Him and remind yourself that the Lord wants to continue His beautiful work in you for as long as you are here on this earth.
3. Satan tricks us into believing that worrying gives us some control over our circumstances.
But the truth is, we are never in control. We may tell ourselves that we are, and sometimes it feels like we have control over our circumstances, doesn’t it? But that’s not the truth. We don’t even have the power to keep ourselves breathing today. God is the only one in control and the only one who ever will be.
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
Luke 12:22-26
What you can do: Take time to confess to God that you have been battling with Him for control. Thank Him for being a mighty God who always knows what is best, even when it may not make sense to us. Praise Him for His love and protection over you in all things.
Heart-clutter. That is what I call things like fear, worry, and anxiety that Satan uses to distract us and keep us from becoming the woman God created us to be. We need to get rid of our heart-clutter because it negatively impacts all our relationships – even our relationship with the Lord.
I would love to talk more about heart-clutter with you and if you’d like to hear about the Peace Secured Study for Christian women, you can schedule a free call with me here.💜
