The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that you may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). John 10:10
Jesus gives us a clear description here of the enemy, he is a thief. His sole motivation is to steal, kill and destroy. He will steal your joy, kill your hope and destroy every good work the Lord has begun in your life. That is what Daunters do, they try to steal from us all that God has given us and done for us.
This chapter in John is talking about Christ as our good shepherd. It talks about what will happen when the wolves come to attack. It is very interesting how wolves hunt. They are very strategic.
When the wolves come.
They have been studying how they hunt bison in Yellowstone Park, and they found that Elk is their preferred prey to bison as they are more vulnerable. Bison are more aggressive and will fight harder when they are attacked, in fact, you will not see a wolf attack a bison alone but rather in packs.
Their main tactic is to surround their prey from various positions or angles, keeping a safe distance but then taking little jabs at the prey to find the weakest victims and then to wear them down until they are too exhausted to run. The main prey for a wolf is deer, elk, etc. which tend to be animals that can run well. Wolves don’t chase they seek the vulnerable and weak members of a herd and corner then.
Have you ever felt like that? A million things hitting you at once, you find yourself isolated and alone. As our good shepherd, Jesus laid down His life for us. He doesn’t run when the wolves show up.
When we allow the Daunter enemy to whisper those lies at us instead of speaking the Truth of Christ to them, that they are deprived of their ability to harm us, we allow the thief to climb over the fence and attack us.
The Good Shepherd
If we don’t know our Shepherd, we won’t know His voice in those dangerous moments when the enemy attacks. It is so important that we make our relationship with Jesus a priority so that we can have the abundant, overflowing life He wants to give us, free of Daunters.
In verse 9 of the same chapter, Jesus says we will find pasture, a metaphor for spiritual security, the green pastures of Psalm 23. If we are going to live the life that He has called us to, the only place we will find it is at His feet. Then let the thief come because He will find the Good Shepherd stands in his way. Let the Daunters lie and try to steal, kill, and destroy because they can’t destroy what is God’s.
Finally, pay attention to the things that steal your time, your peace, your joy, your sanity and take steps to walk away from them and fill You day with Christ. If the news gets you so mad you start getting in fights with people (hanging my head in shame) TURN IT OFF. If you have a friend who is constantly causing you to fall back into sin that you are fighting so hard to be free from, STOP SPENDING TIME WITH THEM. Remember, it’s not flesh-and-blood we fight it is powers and principalities, so ask for wisdom to identity the Daunters that are thieves and then send them packing!