Is Satan Blocking God’s Blessing from You? (4 Signs)

To start, we need to first define what I am not saying. I am not saying that Satan can thwart God’s plan or stop him from doing what he wants. There is no power struggle between the devil and God. God is supremely more powerful than Satan (Acts 26:18).

The devil can only do what God allows.

With that said, throughout the Scriptures, we have many examples of God allowing Satan to block Christians from receiving good things that they desire from the Lord. For example, 1 Thessalonians 2:18 (NIV) states, “For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.”

Thus, it is biblical to say that Satan can block a blessing you desire from God. So here are 4 signs Satan is blocking a blessing in your life.

1. Satan Is Blocking God’s Blessing in Your Life If God Is Allowing This in Order to Produce Something Even Better for You

Let’s go back to 1 Thessalonians 2:18. Why did God allow Satan to block Paul from visiting the Thessalonians?

Here’s one possible explanation. When you keep reading in Thessalonians, it says that Paul sent Timothy to visit them because he couldn’t go himself but he really wanted to make sure they were still serving the Lord (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5). When Timothy went, he reported back to Paul that the Thessalonians were indeed still serving Jesus (1 Thessalonians 3:6). This was a huge morale booster to Paul (1 Thessalonians 3:7).

Therefore, it’s a fair inference to say that God could have allowed Satan to block Paul from going to visit the Thessalonians because God knew Paul’s time would be better used elsewhere. The Thessalonians were already serving God without Paul. There were other people, however, who needed Paul’s direct assistance more than the Thessalonians. Thus, when Satan blocked the blessing Paul wanted, it actually opened Paul up to receive a better blessing that God wanted to give him – more ministry effectiveness.

God will use Satan in our lives like that as well. What the enemy means for evil, God will turn it for good (Genesis 50:20). We don’t always know how this will happen. But when we remain faithful, God will produce his good will.

2. Satan Is Blocking God’s Blessing if This Trial Is Resulting in Your Empowerment Through God’s Grace

In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul said that a thorn was given him in the flesh, which was a messenger of Satan to harass him. Paul asked for God to remove this, but God didn’t. Instead, God used this thorn in the flesh to make Paul weak so that God could then empower Paul in an even greater way.

This same type of thing can happen when Satan is blocking you from something you want. Through the trial, God will empower you for effective ministry, to have a healthy relationship, or to accomplish some other good thing that you hope the Lord produces in your life.

The results of Satan’s attacks on you depend on how you respond. Some people get attacked by Satan and fall away (Matthew 13:19). Other people get attacked and turn more to Jesus. Notice that when Paul was attacked, he turned to Jesus in prayer (2 Corinthians 12:8).

God’s purpose for allowing Satan’s attacks in your life is so that you receive even more power from God to accomplish his plan for your life. To experience what God wants for you, you have to turn to God even more, not less, when Satan is attacking.

3. Satan Is Blocking God’s Blessing If You Are Giving Into Satan’s Temptations

Again, we have to be careful in how we are speaking. It is true to say that Satan can block something God wants. But it’s not true that Satan has the power to do this through shear force. Rather, Satan blocks what God wants by tempting people into sin. However, human sin is still a human choice. We don’t get to blame Satan for our choices. So Satan is indirectly blocking God’s blessing when we sin. We are the one’s directly blocking these blessings with our own rebellion.

If you want a godly marriage but you are falling for Satan’s sexual temptation before marriage, this will hinder you from receiving God’s blessing of marriage. If you want a promotion at work but you are falling for Satan’s temptation to be lazy, this will hinder you from receiving God’s blessing of a promotion. If you want to be an effective evangelist but you are falling for Satan’s temptation to argue, this will hinder you from receiving God’s blessing of being used as a light.

So I’m not saying every time Satan blocks your blessing by tempting you into sin, it will turn out okay even if we just keep sinning (Galatians 6:7). We have to repent of sin and turn to Jesus. We have to actively submit to God if we want to overcome the devil (James 4:7). We have to obey the Scriptures if we want what God desires for us (James 1:25).

4. Satan Is Blocking God’s Blessing in Your Life If This Closed Door Is Leading You to God’s Open Door

Maybe you thought you met the perfect person that would finally become your godly spouse. But now, because of Satan’s interference, you and that person are no longer talking. In a way, Satan is blocking you from God’s blessing of marriage. However, big picture, this is not actually happening. If God wants you married, he will allow Satan to close this relationship door in your life because this will then lead you to find the open door God does want for you. When you meet the person God actually wants you to marry, God will not allow Satan to ruin that relationship.

That is just one possible example. The big picture here is that in reality, Satan can never block what God wants to give you. God may allow Satan to block it for a while. But in reality, God will use these trials to clear that path to bring you the blessing at the right time. It’s like Daniel 10. An evil spirit blocked the message from Daniel for 21 days until God sent the angel Michael. Satan can do bad things, but God will always accomplish his perfect will still.

So we won’t always know what is or is not happening in the spiritual realm. But we do know that when we follow Jesus, Satan always loses (1 John 3:8).

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