“But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.” (Daniel 10:13)
The purpose of our adversary is not to cause people to sin, those who will live their lives in an unrepentant state are already sinners, and those who are hid in Christ have an advocate with our Father in heaven, who knows we are dust, and offers us each time we do sin the means to confess our sins and be forgiven.
His purpose in part is to tempt, but again we will be shown the way out each time those temptations arrive, and the wicked seek for them even without his assistance.
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1)
I personally believe that one of the main purposes of Satan is to cause doubt within those who have been born-again, for doubt is the beginning of questioning not only faith, but the Sovereignty of the Living God, and when people doubt, they search for another truth.
The three times that we are made aware of when Satan was sent to tempt the Lord Jesus Christ in the wilderness were all centered around attempting to cause doubt, doubt in the necessity of reliance upon the Most High. Make bread for yourself, jump and cause yourself to be safe, receive those kingdoms now, why wait?
“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (James 1:6)
“If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” (Prov. 24:10)
Doubt can cause us to stop trusting, to stop following, to question the will of God in our lives, doubt wants us to either stand on our own strength, or rely upon an alternative, and it is one of the reasons you will find the following sentence repeated here so often.
“No matter the circumstances or the possible consequences to ourselves.”
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” (Prov. 3:5)
Those doubts will cause fear, anxiety and in many cases carelessness, for those who fear open themselves up to subtle suggestions.
One of the best examples of this in recent memory are those who locked the doors of their churches, placed a covering over their face and rolled up their sleeves in an attempt to cancel out those doubts. They professed to continue serving while in fear.
“And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23)
Nearly every news broadcast, every video you watch in these days of darkness is meant to cause doubts as to the continuance of the human race as it has been for so long, and that is the plan of our adversary.
Again, I have penned these words before, but they bear repeating, the wheat must be tossed into the air many times before the chaff is removed, and it must be very windy.
The days of imposed doubts have begun, and they will intensify, if you are standing firm on the Rock of our salvation expect to be knocked down more than once. Not knocked off, but that wind is going to go from breeze to gale force, and the doubts will be blown with it.
Thus it has always been for the remnant of the Almighty that He has chosen for Himself.
“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2nd Tim. 1:12)
Every doubt that arrives in your life, no matter how seemingly insignificant, must be met with those words of the Scriptures that you have hid in your heart, the sword of the Spirit must always be kept at the ready, the darts of our enemy must find no crack in your armor.
Moments of doubt will arrive, prepare yourselves for them, accept them for what they are, the normal response of the flesh that still serves sin. Then reveal to yourself the mind that serves Christ and stand by His strength against those doubts.
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised;” (Heb. 10:23)
