My Dear Friend,

Satan's assaults on God's people are not imaginary. They are real, constant, destructive, and potentially deadly. When a church, ministry, Bible study, or intercessory prayer group is making spiritual progress - walking closely with God, faithful and selfless in service, humble and self-examining in attitude, trusting Christ from the heart, and aiming only to honor Him and grow His kingdom - the age-old adversary of our God and souls takes note. And he rarely takes very long to respond.

How? What is his strategy? At what does he aim his sharp spiritual arrows and thrust his deadly invisible swords? It's pretty simple, really.

He wants to get at our souls, our very spirits. He wants to offend us, so we grow angry and, blaming many for the wrongs of a few, turn away from Christian fellowship. Or he will try to intimidate us, so we draw back from challenges and stop boldly reaching out to help build God's kingdom. Or he will try to discourage us in our calling or ministry, until we feel like such a failure that further devotion or service seems futile and our ministry labors grind to a halt. What happens then?

If the devil offends us with people for disrespecting or wronging us, or with the Lord for allowing painful adversities or delaying encouraging prayers and promises, soon anger, unforgiveness, and self-pity set in. Before long bitterness sets in and the Spirit is quenched. All His rivers of living water in our souls dry up. While obsessing over wrongs dealt us, we start wronging others by no longer thinking of and helping them. Sin's bitter poison replaces the Spirit's sweet fruit. All unity with others ceases and division sets in. And Satan wins.

If the adversary intimidates us with fearful imaginations of "What if," "What next," or "What will he think, or she do?" we quickly become weak, confused, double-minded, and ineffective. Drawing back into our self-protective shell, we soon avoid even the smallest challenges for fear of conflict, opposition, disfavor - and that most dreaded evil of all: failure! So, Satan wins again.

If the arch liar can discourage us by getting us to focus on our worst failures, antagonists' bitter criticisms, fellow Christian servants' phenomenal results and our meager results, very quickly our attitude sinks. We go negative on everything and want to walk away from our divine calling - forgetting that God intentionally takes us through barren deserts of fruitlessness to humble and prepare us to reap rich fields of fruitfulness. It was with this in mind that the psalmist penned the uplifting verse, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalm 126:5). Seasons of apparent failure prepare us to experience seasons of great success without becoming proud and self-serving, and forgetting God. But if we let discouragement halt us halfway through the wilderness of barrenness, we will never taste the sweet fruit of God. And Satan, once more, wins.

What if his target is not an individual but a group? How does Satan attempt to inflict the harm described above on churches, ministries, missions, Christian schools and charities, Bible study fellowships, and intercessory prayer groups?

Two words: weak links! Weak links are Christians who, though they are born again, are weak in their new Christ-life because they are still strong in their old self-life. They do not think spiritually, that is, scripturally, about life. Rather, they are still carnally minded, seeing everything through the mind of the flesh, or the old, unregenerated way of thinking. "You are still carnal . . . and behaving like mere men" (1 Corinthians 3:3, NKJV), or "living like people of the world" (NLT), or "living by merely human standards" (CJB). They hear God's Word but do not seriously and persistently practice it in their thoughts or behavior. Their motives and attitudes are not aligned with Christ's nature and teachings or with spiritually minded believers. Why are these Christians, though born-again, "still carnal"? And why are they our weak links?

Their carnal minds are very susceptible to the suggestions of the prince of carnality, Satan, and his nefarious will and works. This is because they have never learned to control their thoughts, to "cast down imaginations" and every "high thing" that rises up within them to oppose God's will and work in their lives or the lives of other Christians with whom they worship, work, or associate (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). So, they are easy prey, like the Israelites' stragglers whom the Amalekites targeted (Deut. 25:17-18). The enemy can plant any thought he wants in their minds, knowing they will not examine themselves and reject it. Therefore, there is a high probability his thoughts will "move" them to speak, act, or react in the way he wishes. And what does he wish?

He hopes they will offend their fellow Christians! And the more, the merrier! So, they act rudely, speak offensively, and deal unfairly. They are callous and insensitive to others' needs. They gossip, spreading unsubstantiated rumors about other people, often those they've never met. Quickly, unkindly, and unlike Christ, they misjudge others by appearances or rumors. They are neither teachable nor correctible. Nor leadable. They criticize leadership without any cause . . . except their desire to resist authority! They question their every directive and impugn their every motive. And they are not quiet about it. They broadcast their grievances to anyone undiscerning enough to listen.

Paradoxically, these weak links are strong trouble! And they quickly reproduce their own kind. Stirred by envy, Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stirred 250 of Israel's princes into such an agitated state that they openly rebelled against godly Moses and Aaron, splitting the nation - and bringing swift judgment on themselves. And the "mixed multitude's" lustful murmurings also stirred and split the Hebrew tribes, moving thousands to lust, murmur - and die!

Moved by similarly satanic thoughts and motives, our "Korahs" and "mixed multitudes," create similar troubles. They quickly become hardened in sin. When leaders humbly tell them their wrongs, they arrogantly deny them, refusing to confess sin or say they are sorry. Pride reigns and controls all their actions.

Their spiritual souring soon troubles everyone else in their church, ministry, or Christian group. Peace leaves, agitation enters and spiritual progress halts. Unity is spoiled, the group is broken into factions for or against the troublemaker, and the entire plan and purpose of God is shut down. Why?

Two words: weak links! Carnal Christians who were vulnerable to the same ancient arch-troublemaker who thousands of years ago inspired the Amalekites to pick off Israel's stragglers one by one. Not a pretty picture. And not one God wants to look at!

Three solemn charges will wrap this up. First, don't be a weak link. Determine to become spiritually minded and Christlike in your living. Second, never help a weak link in their mischief. When you encounter one working hard to create trouble, damage, and failure - often without realizing Satan is using them - pray for grace, speak the truth in love, and quickly do anything you can to restore unity. Third, pray fervently for God to give your weak link repentance. Before it's too late.

And one more thing. Press on! Determine to keep making spiritual progress in your labors of love, "steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58, NKJV).

Steadfast, immovable, linked to Christ's strength,

Dr. Greg Hinnant

GREG HINNANT MINISTRIES