“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
-1 Peter 5:8

Last week, we saw Satan’s deception, how he hides beneath the surface and uses spiritual acoustic masking to disguise his presence. The Depth Charge that exposed his deception was the Word of God.

But this week, we face a darker truth:
When Satan cannot deceive you, he will attempt to destroy you.

A submarine is deceptive for one reason and one reason only, to destroy all active or potentially active ships. It will never target a dead or inactive vessel. It hunts what threatens it.

The same is true for the believer.
If you are alive in Christ, you are a target.

When you became a Christian, you were enlisted in battle and you became Satan’s #1 target of destruction.
He doesn’t waste torpedoes on inactive believers.
His goal is to sink the ships that move.

Just ask Job.
In Job 1 and 2, Satan appears before God, seeking permission to attack God’s faithful servant. Job loses his children, his wealth, and finally his health.
Even Job’s wife says, “Curse God and die.”
But Job refuses to sin with his lips.

Job 2:1-10
1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” 3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited Me against him, to destroy him without cause.” 4 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!”10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Satan’s first torpedo is aimed at the body.
Why? Because God uses our physical lives as vessels for His mission.

• Noah’s hands built the ark.
• The disciples’ hands distributed bread and fish.
• Their mouths and tongues preached the Gospel.

God wants to use your body as a vehicle for revealing Him to a lost and dying world.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
- Matthew 5:16

Satan’s goal is to cripple that vessel, to destroy the means by which you serve and disciple others.

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
- 1 Peter 2:9

If he can’t silence your faith, he’ll try to disable your body and discourage your spirit.

When Satan targets the body, his weapon is suffering.
Job 2:7 says,

“So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.”

But remember, Satan can do nothing that God does not allow.

“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.”
-Luke 22:31

1. The Natural Breakdown of the Body
   We age, we ache, we weaken because "all creation groans under sin" (Romans 8:18–23).
   
   
2. Suffering for Discipline
   

   “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord… for whom the Lord loves He chastens.” -Hebrews 12:5–6
   God’s discipline is not punishment; it’s child training.
   The purpose here is not a Judge to a criminal, but a Father to His son.
   It’s not anger, it’s loving care.
   God desires more than anything to build us up, not tear us down.
   Think of a coach who tears into a team after a sloppy game, not to destroy them, but to get their attention, to train them, to make them better.
   
   David understood this kind of loving correction.
   When he tried to cover his sin, Psalm 32 tells us he suffered physically, emotionally, and spiritually. God’s hand was heavy upon him, not to crush him, but to restore him.
   
   Jonah learned the same lesson.
   When he refused to go to Nineveh, he went in the direct opposite direction.
   He found a ship to Tarshish, but God interrupted his rebellion with a storm.
   The sailors threw him overboard, and Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, what he later called a “living death.”
   Only when facing that living death did Jonah finally look up.
   The storm came for the purpose of correcting God’s servant who had been disobedient.
   
   God doesn’t send storms to sink us, He sends them to save us from ourselves.
   
   

3. Suffering for Perfection
   Sometimes, suffering is the fire that matures our faith.
   
   Warren W. Wiersbe explains it well:
   “All the calamities of Job’s life seemed to have natural explanations.”
   
   
   • The Sabeans took his oxen and donkeys.
   • Fire from heaven (lightning) burned up his sheep.
   • The Chaldeans raided and stole his camels.
   • A great wind (a tornado) destroyed his oldest son’s home, killing all inside.

Each event appeared to be a random tragedy, but Satan was allowed to be behind them all.
When God gives permission, Satan can be allowed to use people and even the forces of nature to accomplish God’s greater purpose.

But Christians know the truth, God is in control.
That’s why we cast all our cares upon Him

God allows Satan to light the furnace, but He keeps His hand on the thermostat.


Job didn’t know that God was allowing him to suffer so that Satan might be silenced
and so that both Job and we might see that God controls it all.
There was a spiritual battle unfolding in heavenly places that Job couldn’t see.

Ephesians 6:12
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Satan wanted to use Job’s body to defeat God, but God used Job’s body to defeat Satan.
You cannot control the origin of your suffering, but you can control the outcome, how you walk through it, and Who you trust in the fire.

Satan’s third torpedo is designed to make you impatient, to make you give up before God’s work is finished.

“You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” -James 5:11

Patience is faith under pressure.
When we grow impatient, Satan wins ground in the battle of the mind.

“Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” -James 1:2–4

Biblical Examples of Impatience

• Saul: offered a sacrifice before Samuel arrived, lost his kingdom.
• Moses: struck the rock instead of speaking, lost entry to the Promised Land.
• Jonah: grew angry when Nineveh repented.
• Peter: swung his sword in fear instead of trusting Jesus’ plan.

Impatience can turn victory into defeat.

God will never let the enemy take us through the fire without having a definite reason.

When Satan’s torpedoes come, God responds with a single, unstoppable weapon, His Grace.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
- 2 Corinthians 12:9

Paul’s thorn in the flesh, “a messenger of Satan” became the platform for divine strength.
God allows the suffering, but He also imparts His grace.
We are more than conquerors not because we avoid the battle, but because the victory was secured before it began.

The Riches of His Grace

“That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” -Ephesians 2:7

Grace for serving – 1 Corinthians 15:10
Grace for sacrificing – 2 Corinthians 8:1–9
Grace for singing – Colossians 3:16
Grace for speaking – Colossians 4:6
Grace is not just a word, it’s the weapon that sinks the submarine.


Take the Needed Steps Toward God

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” -Proverbs 3:6

When the battle rages and the waters grow rough, take deliberate steps toward God:

• Submit to God’s authority.
• Spend time in His presence.
• Thank Him even for your trials.

As you do, He will faithfully guide your path.
If you live to please yourself, then Satan wins.
If you live to glorify God, then Satan loses.

The imparted grace of God is the only weapon that can defeat him, and that grace can be found only in what Warren Wiersbe called: “The Grace of all Grace.” 

“Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”
— Romans 5:20

If you live to please yourself, Satan wins.
If you live to glorify God, Satan loses.

So today, launch the Depth Charge of Grace.
Remind Satan that he’s already defeated and remind yourself that your Captain still commands the sea.

Submit to God. Spend time with Him. Thank Him for your trials.
In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.
— Proverbs 3:6