In this life, we face trials and tribulations. Have you ever felt like a big red target is painted on your back? Have you felt as if every possible weapon from hell was launched in your direction?

Today I want you to take a moment to consider why. I also want you to contemplate the possibility that the enemy can see your future.  He can see the destiny that God had in mind for you from the very beginning as you were being formed in your mother’s womb.

Not only do you have great potential to impact the Kingdom of God, but you have the opportunity to influence many other is your life positively to complete their divine destinies as well.

Ponder this question; is it possible that the relentless attacks against you are an effort to terminate your assignment?

In the world of entertainment, we see plots and themes play out before our eyes in movies and TV shows, which are not always realistic, but they are entertaining. One of those topics is time travel.  I remember years ago watching Michael J Fox play a character in the movies “Back to the Future”.  In this movie, he travels back in time to when his parents met.

There was another movie franchise, which also used time travel in its theme, called “The Terminator”. I didn’t actually watch these movies, but I did see some of the episodes when they made a TV show out of it and I know the basic story line.

I looked up the contents of the movie on Wikipedia so I could have the details correct. In this analogy, I want you to consider the young girl’s character, Sarah Conner.  In the first movie, which was released in 1984, she is a young single girl just living her life, when suddenly that reality is interrupted because a seemingly unstoppable cyborg assassin comes back from the year 2029, and is programmed to kill Sarah.  He is called the Terminator, and while he is a powerful machine, he appears to be human.

The reason Sarah is a target is because the child she will eventually give birth to is very important. In the future, there is an artificial intelligence defense network called Skynet who initiates a nuclear holocaust.  Sarah’s future son John is so important, because he is the one who leads the human group called the Resistance, who will eventually stop Skynet and its army of machines.

In the first of the five movies in this franchise, The Resistance sent back through time travel one of its best soldiers to help protect Sarah, which he does, but he loses his own life in the process. ¹

In the second movie in the series, John, Sarah’s son is 10 years old. A second terminator, which is even more advanced and powerful than the original, was sent back from the future to try to kill Sarah’s son John.  A version of the original Terminator cyborg was reprogramed and sent back to protect Sarah and her son since the original human soldier was killed. ²

Without going into any more detail let me just say there are five movies in the franchise that show relentless efforts to destroy Sarah and her son John. Why?  Because these creatures come from the future and in the future, there is a clear understanding of how important these individuals are.

It wasn’t Sarah that saved the world; it was her son. Her son would never have existed without Sarah! He would never have existed had she not fought relentless battles to stay alive and then keep her son alive.

In the other movie series I mentioned earlier, “Back to the Future”, Michael J Fox’s character goes back in time and accidentally interrupts his mom meeting his dad. Which would mean in this new future, he didn’t exist.  He had to go back again and make that first kiss between his parents happen or everything changed.

If in this fictional movie one missed kiss made all the difference, how much more in real life does one missed opportunity cost? What is at stake if you do not complete your assignments?

Don’t tell me you don’t have assignments….we all have assignments. I may not have a Billy Graham or a Smith Wigglesworth assignment, but I do have a Rhonda Barnes assignment and all assignments are important! The question is will we say yes or will we allow our assignments to be terminated?

I want to consider a couple examples from Scripture. Let’s start in the Old Testament with the life of Moses. If you read the story of his life beginning in Exodus chapter 2, you will find that the king of Egypt directed that all Hebrew boys be killed.  Moses’ mother hid him for a few months, but when she knew she could not hide him any longer she put him in a basket in the Nile in hopes that Pharaoh’s daughter would find him and preserve his life.

Moses had a very important destiny to lead God’s children out from slavery and to the Promised Land. We see that his mother had to protect his life just like the fictional character Sarah Conners had to protect John.

Fast forward to the birth of Jesus. We read in Matthew 2:13 that not long after Jesus was born an angel appeared to Joseph and instructed him to flee with the child because Herod was seeking him in order to destroy him.  Do you see a common theme here?

The greater the assignment, the greater the battle!

I have only talked about the battle around their birth, how many attacks and challenges did both Moses and Jesus have to overcome to fulfill their assignments?

I don’t know if it is really like this, but I have seen on TV shows where all the officers gather before their shift and they review the top list of criminals they are looking for. In some cases, there are rewards for the worst of the worst.  They are looking for ways to bring those individuals down to stop the crime they are involved in.

I can just envision a morning meeting in hell similar to that. They target the children of God who have a negative impact on Hell’s agenda!  If we use the analogy of the movie, we are the “Resistance” fighting against “Skynet” whose single goal is to kill steal and destroy!

 Ephesians 6:10-14a NKJV

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles (strategies) of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.   Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand….

When I say that the enemy comes with relentless attacks, those battles can come in many forms. It may be physical, financial, relational or many other examples.  If you are there, I want to encourage you today.  I previously stated, “The greater the assignment, the greater the battle, but you must also realize that the greater the battle the greater the victory!

Realize that these attacks from the enemy are strategic to stop you. You are not alone!  Let these battles make you more determined to find out what it is that the devil is so afraid of!  LIFT UP YOUR HEAD!  IF GOD IS FOR YOU, WHO CAN BE AGAINST YOU?  YOU’VE GOT THIS!!!! 

I hope you find some encouragement if you have had that target on you, to realize that there is a good reason. Hell is fighting you so hard, because you are important and the enemy realizes that!

One last thing I want to leave you with is a reminder of the equipment that is available to you for your battle. You can read about the armor of God in Ephesians 6.  Every piece of the armor is important, but I will only focus on a few at this time.  In a recent post, I shared about the helmet of salvation.  It is an essential piece of equipment to protect our minds….this is CRITICAL because many of the enemy attacks start in the mind.

I also want to point out your breastplate of righteousness. To illustrate the power of this protection I want you to visualize it as a bulletproof vest.  This piece of armor is meant to protect your heart and we put it on as we choose to live a life set apart for God.  Do you know why it is so important to protect your heart?

Obviously, your heartbeat is critical for life, but I want you to also think of it a different way. The things that hurt our heart can be the very things that take us out.  These attacks can come in the form of disappointment from unmet expectations.  They can also come in the form of offense and slander.  At times people say very hurtful things or sometimes our perception of actions can be all wrong but the result still hurts our heart.

That is why it is so important to have your helmet on to protect your mind and your breastplate in place to protect your heart. If while wearing a bulletproof vest, someone were to shoot me point blank, do you know what would happen?  It would knock me down, it would likely knock the breath out of me, it would definitely leave a significant bruise and it might break some ribs, but….I WOULD STILL LIVE!

There are times that the enemy assault might knock you down, knock the breath out of you, leave some bruises, or break your ribs, but HE CANNOT KEEP YOU DOWN IF YOU DO NOT ALLOW HIM TO! 

This is the place where you choose your response. Will you be pitiful, or will you be powerful?  The battle may feel horrible, and I am not making light of anyone’s pain, but you can choose to keep pressing forward regardless of the assault.

The last piece of armor I want to highlight is the shield of faith.

Ephesians 6:14-16 NKJV

Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 

Notice how verse 16 reads in the Amplified Bible.

Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked [one]. 

I want you to view your shield of faith like this image.  More than just a forward shield, but as a covering. Our Shield of Faith is the piece of armor that I think we often struggle with.  We need to ask the Lord to strengthen our faith. This will allow us to have our breastplate on to protect our life, and also our shield in place to quench ALL the fiery darts of the evil one!

 

In closing, I want to leave you with these five statements. I hope you will say these to yourself often.

1. I am important to God and to His kingdom.
2. I have a destiny and I have assignments to complete.
3. When the enemy assaults me relentlessly, I will recognize his strategies are to make me stop, give up, detour, or lose momentum, and I will not allow his tactics to prevail!
4. I will keep my armor in place, which will provide me with everything I need to be successful against the wiles of the devil. NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME WILL PROSPER!
5. I will seek God’s help to strengthen my faith so I can find a place to be shielded from the enemy assaults.

 

 

 

1. The Terminator. 2016, in Wikipedia. Retrieved March 3, 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminator
2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 2016 in Wikipedia. Retrieved March 3, 2016 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminator_2:_Judgment_Day