How often have you made a commitment to do something you know God has put on your heart to do, and then before you know it you forgot? We all have been there—but did you know it is actually a premeditated plan of the enemy to distract you from doing what God told you to do?
Mark 4:14 The sower sows the Word. 15 The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown [in their hearts], but when they hear, Satan comes at once and [by force] takes away the message which is sown in them. AMPC
As soon as you hear God direct you in any area, or as soon as you acknowledge His Word, Satan is going to come and try to steal that directive from you with a distraction of some sort. He isn’t choosy about what distraction, as long as it keeps you from knowing God and doing the will of God.
Mark 4:19 Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless. AMPC
Satan has it all thought out ahead of time; he knows our weaknesses and exactly what will tempt us to get us off of the will of God. He knows and has planned before hand what he will use to keep us from God.
When the enemy steals God from us he has stolen everything from us. God is our everything, our peace, our joy, our protection, our provision and of course our eternal life.
Jesus said we had to understand this one thing— that the devil has this trap already set up, and if we didn’t know this and what to do about it then we’re lost and without any understanding of God‘s Kingdom principles and how things work in His Kingdom.
Why? Because if we don’t get past first base so to say, we’re stuck. If he can steal God from us right away then it is impossible to have a relationship with God. Without a relationship with God we can’t grow in Him and we won’t have the revelation knowledge we need to overcome. We won’t have means to confer with God with out relationship with God.
Mark 4:13 And He said to them, Do you not discern and understand this parable? How then is it possible for you to discern and understand all the parables?
Jesus said if we didn’t understand that as soon as we heard the Word (God), Satan would come and try to take it, we wouldn’t understand anything. If we don’t get through this first piece of revelation knowledge then Satan would consistently get away with stealing the Word (God) from us.
The answer— don’t let him distract you, make a decision to recognize that he is plotting against you to distract you from the will of God and you are not going to let him. Next, you have to ask God to help you not only see when he comes to distract you, but to resist him.
The very first thing, the most important thing to Satan is to steal your time with God from you. In your time with God is of course your relationship with God where you are empowered by God and where your revelation knowledge of God is. Satan knows that if he can rob you of that time he has you. You might not know he has outwitted you but he has if you have no time to spend with God. Know, you and I cannot do anything without God.
Satan knows if he can steal the Word form you, he has stolen everything from you. He knows if you don’t understand (know) that he comes to steal the Word from you, your time with God from you; he has outwitted you.
Jesus taught us what to do about it though and that is to pay attention to the Word, purposefully tend to it and then when we did, we would gain revelation knowledge and as we gain knowledge we would have even more knowledge. The more we know the more we are capable of and the easier it is to make overcoming decisions.
Mark 4:24 And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to [he truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. 25 For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away [by force]. AMPC
Having revelation knowledge is half the battle because when we know (when God reveals things to us), it not only give us a sense of security in Him, but the knowing of what is going on and how God will empower us to win.
Why is it Satan’s quest? Why is it so important to him to steal God from you? Because God is the Precious Pearl. He is all we need in every circumstance in life. When we have God living on the inside of us then we have it all.
Don’t let Satan do it, don’t let him control you, but submit to God and resist him and he will flee (James 4:7). Not so easy alone, but if you submit to God, ask God to help you, He will, He is faithful and just. AMPC
He will help you not only to resist the enemy but to get to the place of living in heaven on the earth. Living out His will instead of the will of Satan. All those good things Satan does not want to happen in our lives God will make happen as we abide in Him, in His will.
When we purposefully seek to know God and His way, we won't live distracted, and we will rule the enemy instead of him ruling us.