Ephesians 6:17 - Satan Attacks a Discouraged Mind

An episode of the Pastor Mike Impact Ministries podcast, hosted by Michael L Grooms, titled "Ephesians 6:17 - Satan Attacks a Discouraged Mind" was published on February 14, 2026 and runs 5 minutes.

February 14, 2026 ·5m · Pastor Mike Impact Ministries

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Summary

The helmet also reminds us that we are in a spiritual warwith Satan, and that one of his main strategies is to attack our minds. We mustbe ready to deal with the wiles and fiery darts of the evil one. Now,my friend, yesterday we talked about the assurance of salvation. The devil willdo everything he can to take away that assurance. When he does, it robs you ofyour security—your sense of Christ being with you.Jesustold His disciples, “Go into the world, preach the gospel to every creature,and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Thedevil wants you to doubt that. He wants you to doubt your salvation. I’mconvinced that one reason we sometimes lack assurance is this: First, we mayhave never truly been saved. We need to examine ourselves and make sure we havebeen born again—there has been a new life, a change, and we know the HolySpirit of God lives within us. Second, we may be dealing with unconfessed sin.When we get away from fellowship with the Lord, we lose the assurance ofsalvation and the joy of that salvation. In other words, if we are truly saved,we can keep sinning and enjoy it. We are miserable! Then we are not able to bewhat God wants us to be, and we are not standing against the wiles of the evilone like we should. Nowtoday, we’re talking about how Satan attacks a discouraged mind. One of thegreat stories in the Old Testament is found in 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19.Elijah experienced a great victory against the prophets of Baal. You rememberhow he stood against 450 prophets of Baal. Fire came down from heaven, and allof Israel proclaimed, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” Elijah stoodboldly against demonic forces and false religion. But then, in 1 Kings chapter19, one woman said, “I’m going to get him,” and Elijah fled. He went up intothe mountains, crawled into a cave, and said, “I want to die. I don’t have anyreason to be serving God anymore.” He was greatly discouraged. Andmy friend, Satan often attacks us when we become discouraged. Discouragementcan even come after a great victory—after one of those moments when God uses usin a powerful way. Now, I want to remind you of something I heard years ago. Wehave three “tanks” that give us energy to keep us going. First, we have a spiritualtank—keeping it filled with Jesus, filled with the Word of God, and walking inthe fullness of the Spirit. Second, we have a physical tank—our physicalenergy. And third, we have an emotional tank that can be filled with energy orbecome empty. My friend, thosespiritual, physical, and emotional tanks are very important. You need to lookat the gauges and see how full they are. Because if any one of those tanks getslow, it affects the other two. And when that happens, discouragement can set in. Satanuses discouragement to keep us from serving the Lord like we should. And it’simportant to remember that after a great victory, we must be careful—becausesometimes pride can creep in. Remember, “pride comes before a fall”. We beginto think, “Wow, I won that one,” and the next thing you know, we fall into atemptation of the devil. TheBible says in James 4:7, “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will fleefrom you.” But I remind you, he doesn’t go very far, as he waits foranother opportunity to come back. Remember even when Jesus was tempted in theGospel of Luke—Luke 4:13—that after Jesus faced the temptation and won thevictory, it says Satan “left Him for a season”. Why? Because he looks for amore opportune time to come back. Jesus faced the same temptations we face, yetwithout sin. Hebrews 4 tells us that. So,my friend, be careful—because discouragement can come after a great victory.That’s often when the devil will attack with a temptation designed to take youdown. That is why we must keep on that helmet of salvation and trust in theLord at all times. Godbless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.

Episode Description

Now,my friend, yesterday we talked about the assurance of salvation. The devil willdo everything he can to take away that assurance. When he does, it robs you ofyour security—your sense of Christ being with you.

Jesustold His disciples, “Go into the world, preach the gospel to every creature,and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” Thedevil wants you to doubt that. He wants you to doubt your salvation.

I’mconvinced that one reason we sometimes lack assurance is this: First, we mayhave never truly been saved. We need to examine ourselves and make sure we havebeen born again—there has been a new life, a change, and we know the HolySpirit of God lives within us. Second, we may be dealing with unconfessed sin.When we get away from fellowship with the Lord, we lose the assurance ofsalvation and the joy of that salvation. In other words, if we are truly saved,we can keep sinning and enjoy it. We are miserable! Then we are not able to bewhat God wants us to be, and we are not standing against the wiles of the evilone like we should.

Nowtoday, we’re talking about how Satan attacks a discouraged mind. One of thegreat stories in the Old Testament is found in 1 Kings chapters 18 and 19.Elijah experienced a great victory against the prophets of Baal. You rememberhow he stood against 450 prophets of Baal. Fire came down from heaven, and allof Israel proclaimed, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” Elijah stoodboldly against demonic forces and false religion. But then, in 1 Kings chapter19, one woman said, “I’m going to get him,” and Elijah fled. He went up intothe mountains, crawled into a cave, and said, “I want to die. I don’t have anyreason to be serving God anymore.” He was greatly discouraged.

Andmy friend, Satan often attacks us when we become discouraged. Discouragementcan even come after a great victory—after one of those moments when God uses usin a powerful way. Now, I want to remind you of something I heard years ago. Wehave three “tanks” that give us energy to keep us going. First, we have a spiritualtank—keeping it filled with Jesus, filled with the Word of God, and walking inthe fullness of the Spirit. Second, we have a physical tank—our physicalenergy. And third, we have an emotional tank that can be filled with energy orbecome empty. My friend, thosespiritual, physical, and emotional tanks are very important. You need to lookat the gauges and see how full they are. Because if any one of those tanks getslow, it affects the other two. And when that happens, discouragement can set in.

Satanuses discouragement to keep us from serving the Lord like we should. And it’simportant to remember that after a great victory, we must be careful—becausesometimes pride can creep in. Remember, “pride comes before a fall”. We beginto think, “Wow, I won that one,” and the next thing you know, we fall into atemptation of the devil.

TheBible says in James 4:7, “Submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will fleefrom you.” But I remind you, he doesn’t go very far, as he waits foranother opportunity to come back. Remember even when Jesus was tempted in theGospel of Luke—Luke 4:13—that after Jesus faced the temptation and won thevictory, it says Satan “left Him for a season”. Why? Because he looks for amore opportune time to come back. Jesus faced the same temptations we face, yetwithout sin. Hebrews 4 tells us that.

So,my friend, be careful—because discouragement can come after a great victory.That’s often when the devil will attack with a temptation designed to take youdown. That is why we must keep on that helmet of salvation and trust in theLord at all times.

Godbless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.