"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy..." ~ John 10:10
The Bible uses very aggressive language when it talks about the enemy's mission. See John 10:10 above - steal, kill, destroy. But it's important that we know that while the enemy's goals are aggressive, often times, his tactics are not. The Bible tells us to stand against the devil's "schemes" (Ephesians 6:11) -
schemes invoking thoughts of subtlety, deception, and discreteness.
In Matthew 16:23, Jesus describes Satan as a stumbling block. Think about that. A stumble doesn't completely knock you out or even take you off your feet. It certainly doesn't steal, kill, or destroy you. But it does slow your progress and distract you. It may even cause embarrassment, humiliation, and shame. More importantly, it knocks you off balance, making you susceptible to even stronger attacks.
So often, as Christians, we only recognize the enemy's "steal, kill, and destroy" attacks. But we must remember that, more often than not, he simply tries to get us to stumble first.
So watch out for those stumbling blocks!
God bless,
J.W.
P.S. If you like this post, please feel free to share it with friends and family. I'll be writing more soon.
