How To Frustrate the Enemy Today – 3 Easy Steps
TODAY'S TEACHING
Consider it, wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.
—James 1:2-3
I used to pray for problems to disappear. Quickly. Cleanly. Like God would just reach down, flip a switch, and everything would settle back into place so I could breathe again.
And sometimes He does that. But not always.
There are seasons where things don’t move the way you want, and that’s where it gets uncomfortable. You’re sitting there, staring out a window, rehearsing the same situation in your head, asking God why it’s still happening when you’ve already prayed about it… more than once.
I remember a guy telling me about a stretch where everything seemed to stack against him at once. Business slowing down. Tension at home that didn’t resolve after one conversation. Sleep getting less and less each night. He kept asking God to fix it, to remove it, to just end the pressure already.
Nothing changed right away.
But something started shifting in him, slowly, almost annoyingly slow at first. Instead of collapsing under it, he started asking for strength to handle it, endurance to stay in it, and something like steadiness that didn’t swing every time circumstances did.
That’s when it clicked for me.
The enemy doesn’t just want to bring trouble. He wants you to react to it in a way that pulls you apart. Fear. Panic. Impatience. Those are the things he feeds on.
But when I ask for strength (step 1), endurance (step 2), and steadfastness (step 3)... God answers and fills me up. Those 3 things rise up and that frustrates the devil.
Philippians 1:28 talks about this too. Not being intimidated. Not folding under pressure. That kind of steadiness isn’t just survival, it’s a signal. It says something is different here to the enemy. Something stronger is holding this person up.
I’ve noticed that when I stop asking God to remove everything immediately and start asking Him to build something in me instead, the situation doesn’t always change right away… but I do.
And that matters more than I used to think.
Because when you stay grounded, when you don’t cooperate with fear, when your trust in God doesn’t collapse every time life presses in… the enemy loses leverage every time.
And honestly, I’m still learning that. Still catching myself wanting quick exits instead of deeper strength. Still asking God to steady me when I’d rather be rescued.
But there’s something about a life that refuses to be shaken easily. Something that frustrates what’s coming against it.
Even if the situation hasn’t moved yet.
So if today feels heavier than you expected, don’t rush past it or assume something’s gone wrong. As the Word instructs, be joyful. Stay where God has you, let Him build what lasts, and trust that your steady faith (right here, right now) is already pushing back the enemy more than you can see.
If this resonates with you, here's a short prayer you can say today:
"Dear God, I don’t always handle pressure well, and You know that. My first instinct is to want out, not through. I ask You to build something stronger in me than what I naturally bring to hard moments, because I’m tired of being easily shaken. Stay with me in the middle of it, not just at the end, and help me stand without falling apart every time things don’t go the way I hoped. Thank You in advance. Amen."
God bless you!
Your brother in Christ,
Daniel
Daily Effective Prayer
P.S. - Thank you for allowing me to connect with you through email. If you ever want to UNSUBSCRIBE you can do so at the bottom of any of my emails - no questions asked. God bless you.
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DEVOTIONAL QUESTIONS
1. Why do Christians usually pray for problems to stop instead of asking for strength?
It’s instinct and we all do it. Nobody enjoys pressure, and when something feels uncomfortable or uncertain, we want relief fast. That’s not wrong, it’s human. But sometimes we don’t realize how much we depend on things going smoothly to stay steady. Strength doesn’t grow in easy spaces, and if everything left the moment it got hard, we’d never develop anything that lasts longer than the situation itself.
2. What actually happens when Believers choose endurance instead of escape?
It feels slower. Less satisfying at first. You don’t get that immediate sense of “fixed,” which can be frustrating. But something deeper starts forming under the surface... patience, stability, a kind of groundedness (yes this is a real word) that doesn’t swing as easily when life shifts. And later, when you look back, you realize you didn’t just survive that season… you became someone different in it thanks to God's refining work.
3. How does fear give the enemy more influence in a Christian's life?
Fear moves us. Fast. It pushes us into decisions, reactions, and patterns we wouldn’t normally choose if we were thinking clearly. When fear leads, we stop listening carefully and start reacting quickly, and that’s where things begin to unravel. The enemy doesn’t need everything to fall apart at once, he just needs us to cooperate with the pressure long enough to lose our footing. Just being 1 or 2 degrees out of God's will, eventually, over time, can leave us really far off track thanks to letting fear lead us.
4. What does it really mean to stand firm in a difficult situation?
It’s not pretending everything is fine. It’s not ignoring what’s happening. Standing firm looks more like staying in place emotionally and spiritually when everything around you feels unstable. It’s choosing trust again, sometimes quietly, sometimes tired, sometimes unsure… but still choosing it nonetheless.
5. Why does steadfast trust frustrate the enemy?
Because it doesn’t give him what he’s after. He pushes for panic, and instead finds patience. He applies pressure, and instead of collapse, there’s resistance. When someone refuses to move off their foundation, even imperfectly, it disrupts the whole strategy. It doesn’t mean the battle ends immediately, but it does mean the outcome is already shifting in our favor.
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—1 Timothy 2:5-6
