The danger of losing faith

The Devil is constantly attacking the children of God (born again Christians). He is doing this because He wants to create enmity between them and God. His mission is to attack and destroy God’s children forever. The fastest way of distancing an individual from God is to make the person lose faith in God. This is because without faith, no man can please God. Every Christian must, therefore, be very careful about losing his faith in God. This is why the Bible warns in Luke 22:31-32: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: 32: But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

Apostle Peter was a man of self-confidence and the Devil wanted to capitalise on this to attack his faith. Knowing this, our Lord Jesus Christ prayed for him and the Devil was kept at bay. Indeed, Peter was the wheat while his self-confidence is the chaff. The Devil had wanted to deceive Peter, make him lose faith in God, so that, he will separate him from God and later destroy him. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not allow Satan to do this, because the Apostle had faith in God. This is why he was advised not to allow his faith to fail.

The Devil always attacks believer’s faith, knowing that His success at making a believer lose faith in God will open up ways for Him to attack and destroy the person.

A Christian needs all time strong faith to remain afloat in life. With faith in God, a Christian’s life is defined; his/her purpose and conviction is manifested. This is why the lead scripture encourages Christians to wait for the vision and the things that are coming. The vision is for the appointed time; this is the response to the watchman and, indeed, to all Christians.

For the vision to manifest, three elements of the prophecy must be established. These are: The Lord’s judgment of evil practices of the Israelites; the future purpose of God that the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as water covers the sea; lastly, this revelation shall usher believers to the second coming of the Lord in glory. After the fulfillment of the vision, the knowledge of the glory of God shall fill the earth. For the meantime, the just shall live by His faith. This great evangelical word is applicable to both the Jews and the Gentiles, as stated in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11-14 respectively.

The Devil attacks the faith of a believer, so that he/she will lose sight of the glory that is coming with the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer must understand that the phrase — the just shall live by His faith — is the central theme of the Bible. The cause of life and death is presented here. Trust in God brings life (Gen.15: 6, John 3: 16 and Rom. 6: 23); whereas pride leads to death because it will not accept the grace of God by faith (Rom. 1:17, Gal.3:11 and Heb.10:38).

The Devil is very much aware that faith in God leads to life, while the opposite is death. He, therefore, attacks the faith of believers, so that, He can destroy them. Christians must understand that sicknesses, afflictions of all kinds, poverty, barrenness and other unfortunate situations are the Devil’s strategy to weaken believers’ faith or to pull them away from God. Believers should, therefore, beware of the Devil’s strategy against them.

God is capable of providing more than enough for all those faithfully serving Him; those that truly depend on Him. God’s blessings may be delayed, but they will surely come. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ laid emphasis on persistence in prayers. In Luke 18:1-5 the Bible says: “And he spake a parable unto them to this end that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; 2: Saying, there was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: 3: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, avenge me of mine adversary. 4: And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man; 5: Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ is warning us here to be consistent and persistent with God. When the answers to our requests to God are not coming immediately, it does not mean that the answers will not come, rather we should continue with our prayers on a daily basis, as the answers will surely come. The advice given to the prophet to wait for vision to come in the lead scripture is also applicable to all believers. We should not for any reason think God is not with us or will not defend or fight for us. The Devil is seriously working to derail believers from faithfully serving God. He has engaged different strategies, including using afflictions to make believers lose faith in God. Ephesians 4:26-27 says: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun goes down upon your wrath: 27: Neither give place to the devil.” Anger is allowed, but in the course of that anger do not commit sin. It is when one commits sin that the Devil strikes. He wants Christians to sin against God, so that, they can be in disobedience with God and He will then attack and kill them. Devil wants believers to go to hell with Him and His angels. This must not be our portion, in Jesus’ name. We must not for any reason allow the Devil to come into our lives. Steady daily prayers, studying the word of God and putting God’s instructions into practice will help believers to avoid sin and for the Devil to flee. Do not, therefore, lose your faith, especially as the Devil will keep on fighting, but if you remain faithful to the Lord, you will surely overcome Him and eventually make heaven.

I enjoin you to always be faithful in anything that concerns God because He never fails. Answers to your prayers may be delayed, but waiting patiently for God, they will come to manifestation. At this juncture, I must add that righteousness is a twin brother of faith. For anyone to receive from God, he/she must live a righteous life, because righteousness exalts a nation, while sin is a reproach.

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