It's in the House: Lessons from a Widow Woman for Everyone

4. Divide and Conquer

The Enemy's job is to make you think, believe, and act as if you are powerless. But the truth is the Enemy resides under your feet; read Luke 10:19. "God has not given us a spirit of fear but He has given us power, love, and a sound mind."(2 Tim 1:7) We have the power of God's Spirit within us. The enemy wants to make you believe that you are powerless over the circumstances of life, that God or no one else loves you and that you are all alone, you are going to lose your mind, or that you are not smart enough to get out of this one. But they are all lies!

One of the Enemy's chief lies is that you are alone. He wants you to believe that you are the only one suffering and that no one cares for you. The Enemy wants you to feel alone and isolated!

I call this the Divide and Conquer Strategy; I believe this is one of the enemy's most successful strategies. Simply because, if he can make you feel and believe that you are unloved, not needed, and alone; you become hopeless! I have a long held belief that the enemy has an arsenal of weapons, strategies, and tactics to deceive and defeat us.

I first learned about the Divide and Conquer strategy in college while taking a Computer Science course. My professor explained to the class how you can use the strategy to break a big problem into smaller parts until you find the solution - in other words you isolate the problem by dividing it into smaller and smaller parts; to the point that you can solve or conquer the problem. If you are not a part of the Enemy's team then he sees you as his problem.

I believe the Enemy uses the Divide and Conquer Strategy masterfully through deception. The deception is that you are alone - isolated. The Enemy particularly uses this strategy when you are going through a really tough period. He wants to you to believe that you are alone and that there is no one to help you, no one who identifies with you, no one who loves you, or cares about your struggle. The Enemy wants you to believe you are helpless and powerless to overcome your problems. If the Enemy is successful in getting you to believe these lies then his next step is to conquer you. The Enemy's overall goal is to steal from you, kill you, and utterly destroy you!

You should declare today and forever more that you have the victory over every negative opposing situation; every ungodly opposing force, over every fear, every torment, every hindrance, every sickness, every untimely setback, and every obstacle, in Jesus name!

Take your attention off the adverse, negative, opposing situation, or event and put your attention on God - all your thoughts, all of your focus. God is your help and He will never leave you or forsake you. Remember, it is the Enemy's goal to make you believe that you are all alone and therefore helpless. But you should look to the Lord; He will give you insight and wisdom. He will reveal the deceptions to you.

Your thoughts are very powerful; they either work for you or against you. Only you can control your thoughts. Only you can change your thoughts. This is why the Enemy battles you in your mind. The enemy tries to plant lies in your mind by manufacturing negative external events that will support his lies and perpetuate the deception. This is why 2 Corinthians 5:7 tells us, "We walk by faith and not by sight." And Hebrews 11:1 states, "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." Remember, the enemy wants you to be hopeless.