When I think of being a TARGET I start looking for a place to hide. That means something or someone is looking for me to do me harm or disrupt my peace. Time to duck and cover, put on the armor, bring up the defense shields. Being a target can’t possibly be a good thing. can it? What if I’m targeted for a promotion? Targeted for an honors program or award? The targeted recipient of favor from God? Either way, something has made me a target to someone and they are coming after me. While I am hiding I think I’ll try to figure out what made me a target in the first place.
The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the exact struggle Satan had with God while Satan was still one of God’s angels. It does tell us enough to know that Satan had a pride and rebelliousness about him that made him question God’s wisdom. God then cast Satan and a third of God’s angels, who had decided to follow Satan, out of heaven to roam the earth. Satan took a third of God’s messengers with him when he fell. Satan is still looking to steal souls from God. The Bible calls Satan a thief and tells us his purpose in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (NLT).
We must have something of value if Satan wants to steal from us, kill us, and destroy us. What could that be? He has dominion over all the earth until Christ returns to claim…His own…to Himself…and then all those SAVED in CHRIST will LIVE with God FOREVER. Hmmm…. Something Satan can no longer do because of his bad attitude and unwillingness to work with others. (Isaiah 14:12-14) Satan’s only “job” is to separate humans from relationship with God.
Here are a few of the reasons I found for Satan to put a TARGET on us:
- We are a target simply because we are human.
- God loves us and created us for a relationship with Him.
- Satan cannot fix his problem himself and be returned to a relationship with God.
- If he can’t have a relationship with God, then neither can we. NAH! NOT! Whatever!
- Satan knows that every soul close to God is capable of great and wondrous things.
- Satan knows how the story ends.
- Satan is fighting to keep God’s precious creation distracted, distressed, and demoralized so that we don’t experience the fullness of our place with Him in heaven.
I admit to being human AND to God loving me and wanting a relationship with me. I acknowledge the fact that Satan has NO POWER to fix his relationship problem with God, and he holds no authority over my life either. Just because he messed up his opportunity to serve God doesn’t mean I let him distract me from the perfect plan God has for ME. I’m glad I know how the story ends, too, because I now have the power to choose to follow Jesus, to live for Him, and to bring other humans along the path with me.
The only point here that I haven’t really addressed is that with God I am capable of GREAT and WONDROUS things. Who? Me? Satan knows who I am. Do I? We, you and I, are daughters of the King of Kings. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God. We are fitted for GLORY. We have supernatural potential to be whatever God needs us to be. All we have to be is willing and ready to serve when He calls our name. To God, we are a HERO!!!!! No wonder Satan is throwing darts at us. No wonder when we are on a God-journey the stresses in our life get stronger. No wonder when we are pursuing a life patterned by Jesus, our kids go haywire, our car dies, the dog runs away, we lose our job, fail a class, the house is a mess, and we are out of groceries with no money to buy any.
In our book, Lisa Bevere says, “I believe that the attacks on your life have much more to do with who you might be in the future than who you have been in the past” (p. 7). This one statement made me realize that God created me for a purpose in this time. I have a choice to fulfill that purpose and live a rich and satisfying life that God wants to give me or I can let Satan steal, kill, and destroy me. I get to CHOOSE.
I choose to be a Christian. A Christ-follower. An Anointed One. Beloved. A Royal Daughter of the King. I choose to grow in my faith, strengthen my walk, and lead others to Jesus so that they may have a rich and purpose-filled life as well. I choose to draw a weapon against the evil one and do everything in my power (given to me by the Holy Spirit) to prevent Satan from stealing one more soul from fellowship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I choose to be a HERO!
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Let’s Pray:
Heavenly Father, We thank You for choosing us for relationship and purpose. We thank You for Your love and protection from the fiery darts of the enemy. We know they are meant for a distraction from our true purpose, and that is to light the path to lead others to You. We thank You for the confirmation from the enemy when we are on the right path and are a threat to his evil ways. Lead us to the purpose You have planned for us so that we can live a rich and satisfying life in Your will. We choose You. Use us how You will. AMEN
Put on the WHOLE Armor,
Teresa
About Teresa Bolme
God’s LOVE is Personal!!
And isn’t it awesome that He loves us so very much, Tonya?!! 🙂
It’s so good to know that He will not leave us alone, but will equip us with the Word of God, our Sword to thwart off the enemy!! 🙂
teresa, thank you for each and every reminder that you have left us with today! i especially love being reminded of ALLLLL that God has already done for us and accomplished through Jesus our Lord so that we CAN be heroes…and more than conquerors…all because of God’s great love for us! i, too, choose to be a hero. <3
The thing that I keep thinking about is why do we make it so difficult to just believe that God loves us, Jesus died for us, and through Jesus we HAVE victory! The Word tells us to take our thoughts captive, to stand against the enemy and resist him. The Word tells us that Jesus DIED for us because of the love of the Father! He sacrificed His only beloved Son for US. I know for myself, for YEARS, it was just so hard for me to believe that I could be loved that way!! That I could be loved so deeply! That someone would die for me! I struggled for years, and still do to some degree, that I am worthy of that kind of love. satan loves that I struggle with that at times! The more I struggle with that, the less effective I am for the Kingdom…and that’s EXACTLY why satan likes lieing to me!!! We MUST stop believing the lies!
You are exactly right, Christi, I have struggled with this very same thing, with Satan lieing to me, trying to make me feel unworthy!!! Once I decided to accept God’s love and resisting Satan’ lies in taking a stand on God’s Word of truth, it was then that God’s love became so real to me!!
You are a hero, Coleen. Your personal prayer support is a shield we all covet in our daily battles. Love you friend.
Thanks Teresa for this devotional. It’s full of lots for me to meditate on today. In your prayer you thanked God for choosing us for relationship and purpose. In my many years in The Church it seems there has been/is lots and lots of emphasis on relationship and only some emphasis on purpose. It makes us feel good and we grow personally, but if God has a purpose for us then we need to be pursuing that too. “…realize you are alive with purpose.” That is the challenge, and I believe that is what this study is going to show us and lead us in accomplishing.
Meditating on this: We were chosen by Him, for such a time as this. He chose us to share the Truth with others, all across the globe! Victory comes from Truth. And when we experience TRUTH, we want to share that victory with others so they can experience the victory in Christ also!! no wonder satan wants to stop us!
We are not here by accident, no matter what circumstance we entered this life under. We ALL have a purpose if we are willing to rise to the challenge, lay down our selfish ways and take up our cross. You are a Mighty Warrior, Clella. Bless you
I choose to be His!! So true mama T!! We have been given dominion over so much and we serve such an awesome God! Being a target for something good well that rocks! He is amazing! Thank you!
We have been given dominion, but we also need to remember that when spiritual attacks come over us. So many of us want to fall under the attack instead of stand up and take authority over it!! We have the ability to put satan under our feet! We just to remember that!! 😉
You are HIS! Never doubt that. If we begin to see attacks as a confirmation that we are causing Satan to notice, it should give us renewed strength to keep fighting. Never give up, my friend. You are a worthy warrior.
T — I love the quote about the attacks being more about who we will be than who we have been. I firmly believe that when we take a stand for God, Satan gets riled up and determined to fight harder to take us down & out. Knowing that the attacks will gear up, and that they’re not so much about us (as they are about keeping God silent) … I have even more desire to fight!
Right on, Amy!!! I with you Girlfriend!
You go girl! When that thought really sunk in for me, it gave me additional to resolve to press through the pain, stand under pressure and see the fiery darts as a distraction. My purpose to serve God makes me like the ‘Energizer Bunny’. Take that enemy.
Teresa your words hit me right between my eyes (so to speak) this morning. Sadly to admit I fail put on the armor of God each day. Knowing that we are a target only makes sense to suit up with Gods word (our armor) so we are prepared for the things that come our way. Thank you so much for your words of encouragement and reminder to put on our armor to protect us from the things that are being targeted at us.
I have a friend who actually “puts on” the armor each day….the helmet of salvation — she puts on a helmet. the breastplate of righteousness — she puts on a breastplate, and so on. It’s part of her daily routine, so she never leaves the house w/o the armor on! This of course comes after her Quiet Time. Maybe this would be a good way to help you remember to put on the armor??? Just a thought. 🙂
We have to train before we go into competition or battle. We can’t fight with weapons we don’t posess. I challenge you to continue developing your skills and building your artillery to fight the good fight and finish the race strong. Be blessed!
Great blog, Teresa! Just as you said, “We, you and I, are daughters of the King of Kings. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God. We are fitted for GLORY. We have supernatural potential to be whatever God needs us to be. All we have to be is willing and ready to serve when He calls our name. To God, we are a HERO!!!!!” There is another side to this, too: SATAN knows this about us, too, so no wonder he is going to try everything he can to discourage us and stop us as Christian women! WE need to “get this”…Who We Are In Christ!
We are HEROES through Christ!
The world gives Satan too much credit. God is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, not the evil one. We need to turn our attention to God and His purposes and learn to deflect the blows of the evil one. We are conquering heroes in God’s power. Love you friend.
Excellent points you made, Teresa. I was hit with: Just because he messed up his opportunity to serve God doesn’t mean I let him distract me from the perfect plan God has for ME.
AMEN Sister!!
This is one of those sad truths we live with. A miserable person wants company to go down with them. Choose to lift your eyes and rise above. Thanks friend.
Reading the first chapter, I was a bit fearful being a target but not being targeted is also a sign that I am not a threat as a Christian.I must admit that I do not attend one specific church and do not have a fellowship for support for the past years. The Lord did lead me to opening a childcare facility which I did 20 years ago.Satan used my direction or purpose as I am purpose driven to keep me from Church.The Lord opened my eyes when he allowed part of my facility to burn down.I am telling you that I was under attack and Satan was using everything to destroy me. I really needed to move on and let my daughter take over the business she is a Christian. I gave the business over to the LORD many years ago. I believe he honored this but I also must take responsibility for my chooses more recently. I am moving forward and want the relationship more then the purpose but if God shows me a direction I am wiling but I know my weaknesses. Please Pray for my husband and I to find the church the LORD wants us to be in. Thank-You
True. If you were not a threat to satan, he wouldn’t waste his time on you! 🙂 Praying God will open the doors to a home church and when you visit that church, you will just know that it’s the one He has chosen for you!! Be strong Girlfriend!
praying for your need for a church home…thankful you are here! <3
Thank you for your comment. Never be afraid to be known as a child of the King. We have been given the end of te story and God wins…we win! Stand strong sister. You need the support of a good church family. We will be praying for God to reveal His place of growth for you and your family. Stay strong, friend.
Teresa,
Awesome blog! I agree that Satan can get whole of your mind, thoughts, and life and have a grand ole when we let him in. In the last few months I have gotten closer to God and seen how amazing his Love is and that it is also intimate and personal. Like I choose to be a hero and not a target for Satan!
I meant to he a hero for Jesus and not a target for Satan!
Just keep reminding yourself of that Michelle…You ARE a Hero!! And you do not stand alone!! ((hugs))
You already are a hero, Michelle. Put on that armor, learn the skills and use them to crush the enemy. You are a mighty daughter of the King.
yes yes yes yes yes! I love your blog today Teresa:)
Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Ephesians 6:10 How awesome is it that we have access to the POWER OF THE LORD!? With His power surely I choose to be a hero too!
I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me. It’s in His power. In His power, we have all authority over the enemy, and we can do ALL things. Meditate on this today!!
Diane the warrior the princess! You are gifted and blessed, my friend. Thank you for your encouragement and support. Love you.
I believe that the attacks on your life have much more to do with who you might be in the future than who you have been in the past” (p. 7). This one statement made me realize that God created me for a purpose in this time. I have a choice to fulfill that purpose and live a rich and satisfying life that God wants to give me or I can let Satan steal, kill, and destroy me. I get to CHOOSE. <3 this! That statement really caught my attention, that maybe satan is trying to thwart my future. Awesome perspective 🙂
Amen Girlfriend!! Don’t ever let ole smutty face tell you otherwise! You have a purpose on this earth that God determined for you before you were even born! You are His! He chose YOU to fulfill that purpose!! Rock on!!
Choose LIFE! …and not just A life, but life more abundantly. All the blessings and honor and glory that come from being an heir to the throne are OURS now. Take hold of those promises and live in that truth.
So many truths in this blog! Thank you, Teresa!
So many truths, and so many blessings, all in one! May His full blessings be yours CG!
Thank you for reading and growing with us. Thank you also for your encouragement.
Thank You Teresa !
Teresa is out of town today, so I’m filling in for her Rita. But I’m sure she would say THANK YOU!! 🙂
Thank you for your time. You bless my heart just to know you are part of our study and willingness to take up arms and fight the good fight.
Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement. I’m glad you were able to take something from the words given to me through the study of this book. To God be the glory for what HE is doing in all our lives. Much love to you all.
Put on the whole armor – is such a command. It reminded me of accepting Jesus not just what is seen by our eyes but also what is not seen. Taking up my cross and moving forward into the life God has planned.
Amen! Keep pressing on Anne.
Terry, thank you for sharing our thoughts with your audience. Love the heart in your words.