How Does Satan Attack Women?

Breaking free from the fear that holds us captive

Photo by J M on Unsplash

Have you ever feared “the last time?” I have. I’m afraid of what once was, and I’m afraid of experiencing “it” again. And once I realized this, I realized that this fear appears in many different ways:

“I’m afraid of a new relationship because I’m afraid it’ll be like last time.”

“I’m afraid of this new job because I’m afraid I’ll be put in a difficult position again.”

“I’m afraid of seeing them again because I’m afraid it’ll be like last time.”

“I’m afraid of moving because I’m afraid of being alone again.”

“I’m afraid of re-becoming who I once was.”

These are statements very much alike the ones my friends and I have said over the past few weeks alone. And as I observe my sex, I realize that the fear of “the last time” runs rampant in our minds. What is it about “last time” that keeps us from experiencing the full freedom God gives us “today?”

“When [Satan] lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44

There’s a reason why Satan’s called the Father of Lies. He’s really good at what he does. As he speaks out of his own character – a character which defies everything that God is – he tries to get us to doubt our Father’s heart. But the lies have to be subtle. Because Jesus thoroughly warns Christians to look out for Satan’s persistent attacks (1 Peter 5:8), Satan has to hide his lies in the “seemingly reasonable.” If ____ happened, then ____ could happen again. I know ____ happened, so what if it happened again? I’d argue that statements and questions such as these, which are reasonable to think through, become completely unreasonable if they do not lead us to remember God’s character.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort, too.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Whether you’re afraid to face your Enemy or afraid to face your God’s judgment, God has one promise for you if you have believed and confessed that Jesus is Lord: He will be your ultimate comfort at all times. Psalm 91 affirms God’s character saying,

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ For He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler¹ and from the deadly pestilence.” Psalm 91:1-3

And yet, though there are many promises of God’s trustworthiness and loving nature recorded all over the Bible, Satan still manages to convince us to trust what we know from “the last time” over what we know about God’s character.

Why?

When our eyes are fixated on the fowler and deadly pestilence, we forget to remember the comfort we find in the shadow of our Lord’s wings.

I think God is so gracious to let us still remember the pain of our past experiences, which is what I believe the psalmist is remembering as he reaffirms to God, “I trust you.” If God didn’t let us remember, how would we be able to rejoice loudly at His salvation, or live confidently under His protection, or share abundantly in His comfort?

God is not an unjust God that allows us to suffer just because He has the power to let us suffer. He justly allows us to experience the pain of living in sin and living in a broken world, and He mercifully allows us to share in the glorious comfort that comes from knowing Christ. And the Bible describes this comfort as abundant. How can God’s comfort be abundant unless we will never know the end of it?

You see, God will always let us see the danger He protects us from: the fowler (our Enemy) and the deadly pestilence (His judgment). He will always let us remember the fear these once gave us, but because of Jesus, He frees us from fearing them again. Because of Jesus, we can face tomorrow. Because of Jesus, we can experience the abundant joy and comfort in living under His protection.

Friends, we don’t have to fear “last time” anymore. And when Satan tries to convince us otherwise, let’s face him by declaring who God was and is and therefore will be (Hebrews 13:8). As Jesus makes us wiser and draws us into deeper spiritual maturity in our sanctification process, He isn’t leading us to be more fearful of what could happen again, but He is leading us to be more excited about the life He is radically transforming and preparing us for.

Let’s break free of the lie at the heart of the question, “What if it’s like the last time?” and let’s run with freedom into the exciting question of, “What if what God has ahead is better than I ever could have imagined?”

1. Fowler: bird hunter