Satan Wants You Alone This Sunday

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Current revision as of 16:35, 26 February 2026

A war is raging in your church. I’m not alluding to drama among the deacons or complaints by a few congregants. I’m talking about a battle that is not “against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Satan wars against our faith, but God promises to hold us fast. And one of the ways he sustains us is through the church’s weekly assembly.

When most of us think of going to church, we don’t consider what is happening behind the scenes. But understand this: Sunday morning is a spiritual-warfare battleground. Satan’s attacks aim at hindering faith (Luke 22:31–32). God’s aim in the assembly is to edify faith (1 Corinthians 14:26; Colossians 3:16). Gathering with the flock is akin to assembling for war. Liturgy is our battle plan given by the Lord of hosts.

Assemble for War

Gathering with the church seems like a simple command to obey (Hebrews 10:24–25). But Satan strives to hinder us from doing it. Why? Because he knows that forsaking the assembly can lead to a failing faith. I’m not implying that if you miss church a time or two, you’re in danger of apostasy. However, small compromises, if unaddressed, always lead to larger ones. Just as David fell prey to Satan when he stayed back instead of going to war (2 Samuel 11:1–2), so we fall prey to his schemes when we stay back from corporate worship.

What follows are four common schemes of which we must not be ignorant (2 Corinthians 2:11).

1. Distraction

The evil one aims to ensnare you in faith-stifling alternatives to assembling with the saints. Some are subtle and potentially permissible, like taking weekends at a lake house. While vacations can be life-giving, substituting church for the ease of sitting on the dock, even while listening to your favorite pastor’s teaching, is spiritually dangerous. Isolation cultivates a self-serving religion: You don’t have to greet other saints or sing songs you don’t prefer. There’s no threat of someone asking sin-exposing questions. And if the sermon seems too long, you can listen to it at 1.5-times speed.

Or maybe you’re distracted by the kids’ sports teams that play games during the church gathering. You grumble about the schedule, but do you make a stand in faith, trusting God to honor your honoring of him? Are you discipling your children to make the assembly central in their lives, or have you fallen prey to the temptations of our age?

You may not be wealthy enough for a lake house or tempted by kids’ sports, but the world has something for everyone, so beware. Jesus’s parable of the soils paints a harrowing picture of seed that does not grow: “As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” (Luke 8:14). Convenience and comfort are often far greater dangers to the soul than threats of persecution and martyrdom.

2. Discouragement

If distraction has slain her thousands, discouragement has slain her ten thousands. Reasons for discouragement abound. The fear that going to church will lead to feeling more alone is a powerful one. Many churches rightly preach about love, community, and meaningful membership — but what are we to make of that when we can spend all morning in a space where no one acknowledges our presence? Satan is quick to whisper assurances that we are unworthy of love. He may even suggest that if we’re unnoticed by people, then how much more by God?

Or maybe compromises with sin have left us riddled with guilt. Maybe we stayed up the night before, drinking too much or consuming questionable content. Or maybe we indulged in pornography or blew past boundaries with a boyfriend or girlfriend. Getting up for church would require spiritual strength, but sin has sapped us into a paralyzed state.

Or maybe you feel a spiritual darkness you can’t explain. Depressive clouds block out the light, and like Elijah, you say in your heart, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life” (1 Kings 19:4). Pushing through the clouds of discouragement feels impossible at times, especially on Sunday morning.

Do not lose heart, discouraged saint. The light of the glory of Christ will lead you to safety.

3. Division

Jesus delights in the church’s unity; Satan devotes himself to undermining it. I recently spoke with a friend who was struggling with another church member. As he shared about the situation, I could see how cleverly Satan had intervened in the strained relationship. He had stoked suspicion and assured my brother that the other person thought ill of him. Comparison had allowed his insecure heart to spiral into deception. But thankfully, after the two spoke, the air was cleared, and the Lord helped them disentangle from the evil one’s snare.

Whether rifts are small or large doesn’t matter to the adversary as long as believers’ affections are cooled for one another. Temptations to post thoughtlessly online or to cultivate twisted assumptions are constant. Satan is an opportunist who seeks open doors for easy access into relationships, which is why we must “give no opportunity to the devil” (Ephesians 4:26–27).

4. Disbelief

From the beginning, Satan has whispered, “Did God actually say?” (Genesis 3:1). His aim is to erode confidence in what God has spoken. He wants us, like the deceived Pilate, to say, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). He accomplishes this attack by distorting Scripture and inserting false doctrine, which leads the immature astray (1 Timothy 4:1). Doctrinal deception is one of Satan’s oldest and most effective weapons.

If Satan cannot dupe us with deceptive teaching, he can do it by dulling our hearts to God’s voice. The author of Hebrews writes of the danger that comes with being “dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11) and warns, “If you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7–8). This hardening happened to the once-faithful Demas, who, “in love with this present world,” turned his back on Christ (2 Timothy 4:10).

Satan labors to foster disbelief in God, but assembling with the saints sets our hearts on the hope of Christ as we pray, sing, celebrate, and worship together.

Protect the Assembly

Gathering with the church is an act of faith that resists the devil and grants us a glimpse of the precious glory of Jesus. But assembling won’t happen without intentional thought and help. So, what steps can we take now (and every week) to assemble on Sunday?

Pursue Jesus daily. Corporate worship is fueled by personal worship, and personal worship is fueled by corporate worship. By pursuing Jesus daily and regularly sitting at his feet, you will have spiritual sobriety and strength to resist the tempter’s snares and approach the battlefield on the Lord’s Day (James 4:7–8).

Plan to assemble. We are commanded to discipline ourselves for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7–8), which includes the way we discipline our schedule. While there may be reasons to occasionally miss a Sunday, vigilantly guard the gathering with God’s people. Make it the event that the rest of your week revolves around. Model this commitment for friends, family, and neighbors. Treasuring Jesus alongside his people requires intentional planning.

Prepare for the assembly. One of the regular practices in our church is for families or roommates to read the upcoming sermon text throughout the week. Doing so gets their hearts and minds wrapped around the word God will have for them on Sunday. We also encourage people to sing the songs that we will sing together on Sunday. These small acts of preparation are like training before the battle.

Partner with assemblers. Surround yourself with people who love you enough to keep you accountable (Hebrews 3:12–14). Share the ways that Satan tempts you, and ask them to help you resist him. We are too weak and too vulnerable to fight this battle alone. God calls the whole church to put on the armor of God and bear one another’s burdens (Ephesians 6:10–18; Galatians 6:2). Seek these relationships, and ask your pastors for help if you don’t know how.

Worship Will Be Worth It

Satan, the world, and our flesh can offer countless reasons not to gather with the church. But the Almighty calls us to believe it will be worth it. In the assembly, we see the preciousness of Jesus again. Every element of the service lifts the eyes of our hearts to behold him and believe in him afresh.

Satan would have us experience anything but that. His aim is our apostasy; neglecting the assembly is one of his most potent schemes. But in the words of the apostle, “Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9). So, keep fighting, family of God, because “the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20).