With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles… – 2 Chronicles 32:8, KJV

It is our faith that unlocks the power of God in our lives, which is why Jesus tells us in Matthew 9:29 that “According to your faith be it unto you.”  Because faith is the key to the Christian life, it is faith that Satan attacks in our lives.

One of the most effective of all battle strategies is to dishearten your enemy before you attack.  When the enemy is disheartened, the enemy has little or no will with which to fight. In 2 Chronicles 32, we find King Hezekiah and the people of Judah challenged by Sennacharib, King of Assyria.  During the confrontation, Sennacherib and his minions attacked with two weapons of discouragement in an attempt to dishearten the people before invading them: a show of force and the seed of doubt.

In verse 7, King Hezekiah admonished his people not to be afraid of the “mulitude” (KJV), or “horde” (AMP), that accompanied Sennacherib.  Sennacherib had sheer numbers on his side, and when faced with an enemy of such great power, it is easy to fear.  In verses 13-19, we find the servants of Sennarcherib planting seeds of doubt in the minds of God’s children.  His servants cleverly pointed out that no other god had been able to save other conquered nations from his clutches, so why should the Judeans think that God would be able to do so?

Satan attacks the faith of God’s children today just like Sennacherib attacked the Judeans’ faith.  Often, Satan will pummel us with stressful circumstance after stressful circumstance until we feel like we’ve been outmanned, outsmarted, and outgunned.  In the midst of such storms Satan will then plant seeds of doubt regarding God’s power.  Just as he asked Eve, “Hath God said?”, causing her to question God’s truthfulness, he will ask us, “Can God rescue?”, causing us to question God’s ability to save us from the storm.

When our very faith is under assualt, we have but one hope – to do what Hezekiah did.  In his confrontation with the king of Assyria, Hezekiah did two things that we should do whenever our faith is under assault: 1) he recognized that no power can match God’s power (2 Chronicles 32:8), and 2) he cried unto God for help when the attack on his faith came (2 Chronicles 32:20). No arm of flesh nor any arm of evil spirit can conquer God.  When we remember that truth, then we will avoid trying to defeat the Enemy in our own strength. We will, instead, cry unto God in our time of need, just as Hezekiah did.  Recognizing God’s power and praying for Him to use it is the very act of faith that Satan tries to discourage us from employing.  Why?  Because he knows that he will be defeated by such an exercise of faith, every time.

The Enemy is cunning, relentless, and merciless.  If he can weaken our faith, he can overcome our lives.  When the attack on your faith comes – and it will – remember to exercise your faith in response to the attack. Wield the very weapon that Satan is trying to snatch from you. To do so is the only hope of victory you have.