When You Are Under Attack

WHEN YOU ARE UNDER ATTACK

Dr. D. K. Olukoya

Isaiah 59: 19 says, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Many people do not understand this Scripture because they do not read it correctly. It is the Spirit of the Lord that shall rise like a flood, not the enemy. People usually say, “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” But the original version says, “When the enemy shall come in, like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall raise up a standard against him.” That is our working verse in this message.

WHY DOES A PERSON COME UNDER ATTACK?

A person comes under attack because the enemy wants to conquer him.

A person comes under attack because the enemy wants to suppress him.

A person comes under attack because the enemy wants to contend with his destiny.

A person comes under attack because his existence is threatening the existence of another person.

A person comes under attack because his destiny is an eagle destiny.

A person comes under attack because he is trying to escape from the hands of a slave master.

A person comes under attack because somewhere somehow some persons, powers or personalities do not want to see him around.

Two years ago, I prayed with a man who was completely down. As he continued to pray, the Lord showed him a vision of himself the day he was born and was taken to a herbalist. Like the practice of many tribes in this country, his parents took him to a herbalist where they enquired about his future and the herbalist said, “This one is the saviour of the family. All of you without exception will benefit from him. You shall bow down to him. He will be your anchor in the family.” Unfortunately when the herbalist was saying this the other seven wives of his father were around. His mother was the last wife. His battle started not because he had offended anybody but because of his divine destiny.

Of all cities in the world, none has been so frequently attacked like Jerusalem. Why is it so? It is because the place has a prophetic destiny. So, as a child of God, in case you are seriously under attack or you are wondering why you are sweating and struggling, it means that there is something in your destiny that the enemy does not want to happen. The enemies dealt with this man; he spent 14 years in the primary school and eight years in the university to get a degree that usually takes four years. They bombarded him right, left and centre. He could hardly feed when he was the angel who was supposed to feed his family. His family was very poor, until God showed him that vision, and he started praying that all the agents of the enemy that were present when his destiny was being proclaimed should lose the information from their memory, in Jesus’ name. Then he began to possess his possessions.

The problem is that at the baby stage, there is nothing a baby can do. People would come and say, “Let me carry the baby, let me put the baby here, let me give the baby food,” and little by little, they would be destroying him. So as this man started praying, God started blessing him. All the attacks he had were not his fault. His destiny was proclaimed in the presence of his enemies.

Beloved, be rest assured that you will be under attack from time to time. Jesus was under attack most of the time. Many Christians make the wrong decision when they are under attack. As Christians, our decisions should be based on some principles when we find that we are under attack.

1. Our decision must be based on what the Holy Spirit is prompting us to do.

2. It must be based on the word of God.

3. It must be based on biblical principles.

Any time a person comes under attack and he does not listen to the Holy Spirit, he would have problems. If you do something outside the word of God, you will have problems. If you do something contrary to biblical principles there would be problems. When people come under attack, they sometimes forget these principles. In Exodus 14, we see a beautiful example of how somebody can be under attack. The Israelites marched out of Egypt. An angel and a pillar of fire went back and forth to lead them. When the pillar wanted them to move, it would move and when it did not want them to move, it would stay. There was also an angel attached to their camp and something happened. The angel and the pillar led them to a place where they could march no further, where there was no door of escape. In front was the Red Sea, by the sides were walls of rock which they could not surmount and at the rear was their deadly foe with a deadly rage, pursuing them. It was a time when all hope should be lost. The attackers were ready to devour. Every true child of God, at one time or the other in life, can find himself in this situation I have just described. For many years the devil had kept the Israelites in Egypt moulding bricks and all of a sudden, their eyes opened and they escaped. But before they knew it, fresh terrors had gathered around them again. What do you do when you are under this kind of attack? The most costly mistake that people make usually occurs during the first few moments of any attack. Once you make that initial mistake, you get into trouble. The enemy uses the weapon of fear.