There are three stages in every work we do for the Lord that Satan attacks us. The first is the preparation (preemptive) stage. This is when there is prophecy or Christ is communicating the vision for a work you are to do. The evil one gets wind of this when he petitions in heavenly courts, "The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it. Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. Satan replied, Does Job fear God for nothing (no reason)?" Satan replied, "Have you not put a hedge (wall of protection) around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." (Job 1:7-11). Our enemy's first goal is to keep the plan, vision, calling, and particular work of God from ever happening. Now these works can be many from publishing a book, to giving a speech, to painting a masterpiece, auditioning for a play or movie, financing a mission or non-profit, and so forth. Satan's goal at this stage is to discourage the saint, to cause you to give up before the work has even begun. He will send doubt and destruction in your path to hinder any possibility of the plan happening, this the devil did to Jesus, when He tempted him the Wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11).
If a saint prevails and the work of the Lord is underway, the devil will imploy the second stage, which is the main engagement and attack. This will include an onslaught and vollies of the "firey arrows" (Ephesians 6:16) to try and make the work of God stumble or unfold in middle of the work. At this stage a saint is more vunerable than the preemptive stage, because he or she is weary from doing the good work of God. The attacks will come more when you try to sleep or in middle of the work itself from dissension in the ranks of the other weaker believers or from external source like a wicked person or demonic disease (infirmity). The enemy will utilize every opportunity, every weapon in his arsenal to destroy the work of God. It is at this stage a believer must utlize the weapons of warfare, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." (2 Corinthians 10:4). These weapons are the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) which actually are God's own armor and weapons, "He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. He put on righteousness as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak." (Isaiah 59:16-17).
Should the saint prevail through the work and see it completed. The most dangerious and worst stage of Satan's onslaught begins; this stage is called the Aftermath period or the End Game. Now that the devil cannot prevent the Work of God from happening or being completed, his goal is to destroy it by destroying the worker or person who did the work. This stage is where the devil attacks when a believer thinks its time to go on vacation, relax, and is ill prepared to fight. Most beleivers think that because the Work of the Lord is completed they do not need to do spiritual warfare like Jesus did in wilderness, but they are wrong. The devil can reverse the work of God by discrediting the work through destroying the person who did the work. Prime examples are Thomas Kinkade and Mel Gibson. Kinkade was a master artist who in his lifetime became famous, a rare feat and only because of favor of the Lord Jesus Christ. In all of Kinkade's paintings, he put the salvation Bible verse John 3:16, and Nanette, a tribute to his beloved wife. Kinkade before his untimely death had an affair, thus destroying his legacy of Nanette, family, and casting a bad light on "The Painter of Light" and so his works of Light. He had platform no one else had for the Gospel, because secular and godless people loved his work. Now the devil has discredited the work and made him like Rembrandt, who was also an artistic genius who was seduced by a woman and actually never did art again, same pattern happened to Kinkade, except he died immediately. Mel Gibson created a masterpiece that saved probably thousands to millions of people called The Passion of the Christ. In Pre-production of The Passion of the Christ he had prayer teams, I was on them, helping interceding for the work. Then in production he had prayer teams on sight, and incredible supernatural experiences happened, one Arab was struck by lightning twice, and got saved. In post-production Gibson had prayer teams in movie theaters asking for Holy Spirit to draw people to Christ through the film. The film was huge success for the faith and financially. But then some time afterwards, Gibson got drunk a lot which led to him losing his marriage of forty plus years, losing his twelve children, saying antisemtic things to a cop and producers in Hollywood, who were looking to take him and the Passion down; there had already been allegations of anti-Semitism when Passion was in theaters, but the film shows barbaric Romans, wicked Jewish rulers, and even shows a Jew name Simon Cyrene helping Jesus carrying the cross, and Jews who were both religious elite and peasent crying for Jesus' release; thus the anti-Semitic allegations were unfounded. Satan had been attacking Gibson from pre-production to post-production. But Gibson did not stay gentle and guard his heart, "Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus," (Phillippians 4:5-7), and "Above everything else guard your heart, because from it flow the springs of life." (Proverbs 4:23).
And so the enemy swept in because Mel was venerable, was not guarding his heart, and not on point to fight having had the work of Passion completed, he relaxed his prayers at his own peril.
This last stage, the Aftermath or Post-Production is the worst. Most believers fail here. It is why so many Pastors throw in the towel. They stand firm before going to Seminary, in Seminary, and after establishing a Church of the Saints, but slowly they let their guard down. The work or works of God you have to do are being fought over in unseen realm. Our enemy is like a lion, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings." (1 Peter 5:8-9). That proweling comes when the devil hears a prophecy over you, when you are living the calling and doing works for the Lord Jesus, and then after you've completed a great work or two, he strikes when you think he has retreated, but in reality he has done a fient, a fake retreat so you will let your guard down. But do as the apostle Peter says, "Resist him, standing firm in faith, because you know that family of believers throughout the world are undergoing the same sufferings (trials, testing)."
You may ask, well when will we get a break? Answer, when we repose unto the Lord or He returns. This life is going to be a fight, until like St. Paul we say "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:6-7). There is a fight against the devil and demonic powers (Ephensians 6:10-18), out run the devil's snares and chasers, and to keep the faith, and "but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved." (Matthew 24:13). We may have moments of comfort like when "Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus." (Matthew 4:11, NLT) and "An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him." (Luke 22:43). The Holy Spirit is the Comforter (John 14:26, KJV), and He does descend upon us. It is not all doom, gloom, and battle; but we must "maintain our battle" (The Christian in Complete Armor, William Gurnall). Maintain the battle and be prepared for when the devil sends his trap. You may write the next greatest novel to honor Christ or star in great piece of cinema, and 2 weeks or 2 years down the road a man or woman approaches you with the right cocktail of pharimones, complexion, smarts, beauty, money, and even may attend a church; and suddenly you are trapped in adultery and sexual immorality, and it gets out and it leads to disillusionment; people who got saved reading or watching the gospel in your work for God start to doubt and feel betrayed. We ministers in all forms have an obligation to maintain our battle and keep up the good fight. It is better we suffer, and people remain saved, then to risk souls for our own selfish pleasures or seduction. For the Great Judge Jesus Christ will find fault if we chose a momentary lapse of morality over the many saints and souls who look to us as examples of Christ. Just like a big brother or father is an example to their children, all Christian believers like us are a big brother and father leaving an example to young believers: "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God--even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved," (1 Corinthians 10:31-34), and "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall," (1 Corinthians 8:13). So take your example seriously or else be responsible for the downfall of others. This goes double for teachers, "Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly." (James 3:1).
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