1 Timothy 6:6-9
Certainly the devil’s first desire is to block a blessing from coming into our lives at all, but if we receive a blessing despite his attempts to stop us, his next desire is to then ruin that blessing so we cannot enjoy it and use it for God’s glory.
So here are 4 signs Satan is trying to spoil a blessing in your life.
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1. Satan Is Trying to Spoil a Blessing in Your Life If You Are Tempted to Be Hyper-Focused on the Few Issues with the Blessing Rather than Enjoying All the Good That Is Still Present Despite the Imperfections
Satan wants us to be very legalistic. A legalistic person sees everything in absolutes. Something is either good or bad, right or wrong, perfect or flawed. Satan especially loves this attack on Christians because there is a part of us that needs to be hyper-committed to truth. As Christians we should be very clear on what we believe to be true and what we believe to be false.
But this way of seeing biblical truth is not meant to be applied to all human situations. The only person who can hold up to a perfect standard and be judged as either all right or all wrong is Jesus himself. If you need someone to be right about everything before you will receive anything from them, then you will be unable to receive anything from anyone.
This principle applies to all blessings we receive on earth besides the gospel-accomplished promises we have in Christ. Through the justification accomplished by Jesus we have been blessed with perfect righteousness before God. But every other blessing that is outside of Christ will be imperfect. Buy a new house, there will be an issue at some point. Get a new car, you will still need a mechanic. Find a great Christian spouse to marry, you will still have hard times in marriage. This is life.
But I don’t say that to despair. I say that so we can accept that nothing is perfect on earth so that we can move past that false hope and to then be free to enjoy the good that is still available. While earth is certainly not heaven, earth is not hell either. The blessings we receive on earth should be enjoyed but also held loosely. As 1 Timothy 6:17-19 states:
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”
This is the balance we must seek. We must receive blessing from God who “richly provides us with everything to enjoy” while also realizing that earthly riches are filled with “uncertainty.” This means they are imperfect and will always fail at some point. Therefore, while we should enjoy what God gives, we should ultimately look ahead to the future when one day everything will be truly perfect through Christ.
2. If You Are Tempted to Receive a Blessing with a Lack of Gratitude to God, This Is a Sign Satan Is Seeking to Spoil this Blessing in Your Life
Gratitude is the key to receiving a blessing from God without turning that gift into an idol. When we receive a gift with thanksgiving, it allows us to glorify God through that gift. When a blessing brings us joy but we then thank God for that joy, this brings glory to God because he gets the credit for the good we are experiencing.
This is what Satan wants us to avoid. When we enjoy a gift from God but do not then have gratitude to God for that gift, we not only lose out on the joy of glorifying God (which is the best part of all this), but we also end up minimizing the joy we could have experienced through this gift as well. By praising the gift itself for the joy it brings us, we are creating an environment for this gift to slowly disappoint us.
In relationships, for example, it is all too common for a new dating couple to be thrilled with each other, but if they begin to lose focus of God and start focusing too much on one another, the joy in that relationship actually starts to dwindle. So not only is their walk with God suffering, which is what Satan wants the most, but the actual relationship between this man and woman will also begin to suffer which is also what Satan wants.
As 1 Timothy 4:4 states, “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving . . . .”
3. If You Are Tempted By the Desire for More and This Is Causing You to Not Enjoy What You Have, This Is a Sign Satan Is Trying to Spoil a Blessing in Your Life
One of the best ways to be unable to enjoy the present is to always be wanting something in the future. The more we look ahead at earthly blessings the less we can experience the good God has granted us right now. As 1 Timothy 6:6-9 teaches us:
But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
When we just want more all the time, it spoils the blessings we can be enjoying right now. If you really want to gain much, you need godliness with contentment.
4. If You Are Allowing Anxiety to Build Because You Want a Blessing So Bad, This Is a Sign Satan Is Seeking to Spoil God’s Blessings in Your Life
Anxiety is like a hole in the bottom of your boat. It lets in all kinds of worries which slowly sinks you deeper and deeper until you are totally unable to stay afloat. When we crave a blessing too much, anxiety forms and all hope for joy is lost, which is how Satan seeks to spoil blessings in our lives.
When we start seeking after secondary blessings as though they are God’s primary blessings, we end up losing our enjoyment of both the secondary and primary blessings from God. Our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is our primary blessing. But this does not mean we should no longer desire other blessings that we want and need while on earth. It just means that we must not grow anxious about them because then we lose out on enjoying both God and his provisions in our lives. In Matthew 6:26-33, Jesus said:
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Jesus doesn’t say that we don’t need anything besides God. God made us to need water, food, clothing, and many other things. In fact, Jesus points out that God is eager to supply us with these blessings. His warning is not about the blessings but rather about our anxiety in regards to receiving the blessings.
So if you want to overcome the temptations of Satan meant to spoil God’s blessings in your life, seek first the kingdom of God, knowing that your Father in heaven will provide for you in love.
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