When God Calls, the Enemy Attacks…

Sana Cotten
Jun 9
4 min read

Y’all, let me tell you something about marriage and calling that they don’t put in the wedding vows or the ministry handbooks. When God places a call on your life, especially when it’s a big one, you better believe the enemy is going to show up to the party uninvited, bringing all his drama with him.

Josh and I have been walking this journey together for 18 years now, and if there’s one thing we learned early on, it’s that God didn’t put us together because we’re alike. Honey, in almost every other way, we are complete opposites. I’m talking night and day, oil and water, peanut butter and… well, something that definitely doesn’t go with peanut butter. But our hearts? Our hearts beat the exact same rhythm. We were created, crafted by the Master’s hands, to love and serve others through and through.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that having hearts this big has gotten us into some sticky situations over the years. We don’t know a boundary we won’t cross when it comes to loving on people, serving till we’re empty, and giving till it hurts. And chile, we’re just now learning after nearly two decades that loving people to your own detriment isn’t actually love at all, it’s dysfunction dressed up in good intentions. The average person looks at what we do and thinks we’ve lost our ever-loving minds. And you know what? Maybe we have. But God always carries us through, because as I’ve said before and I’ll say again: love carries.

This year has thrown us for a loop that would make a roller coaster jealous. And June, Lord have mercy, June has become our family’s personal testing ground for the last four years running. It’s like the enemy circled it on his calendar in red ink, reminding himself, “Don’t forget to mess with the Cotten's extra hard this month.”

This past weekend, the nonprofit I founded, Unashamed Inc, hosted our very first Men Deserve to Heal retreat. Twenty beautiful men of color packed up and headed to a mansion for the weekend to dig deep into their healing journey, focusing on mental health in a space where they could be vulnerable and real. We poured our hearts, our resources, and our prayers into this moment.

And wouldn’t you know it, because the enemy has absolutely no chill, the very day our retreat began, our family got hit with the ultimate test of men’s mental health. The irony was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I looked at my husband, saw the weight in his eyes, and knew exactly what the enemy was trying to do. He wanted to throw us off our assignment so these men wouldn’t experience what God had prepared for them.

I looked Josh dead in the eyes and said, “Baby, you go. I’ll handle what needs to be handled here. You and our son go get your breakthrough.”

Let me pause right here and drop some wisdom on you about why it matters, and I mean REALLY matters, who you marry.

When you’re in covenant with someone who truly knows their assignment, when the attacks come (and they will come), everybody knows their position. There’s no confusion, no second-guessing, no power struggles. You move like a well-oiled machine because you both understand that the mission is bigger than your comfort, bigger than your fear, and definitely bigger than your feelings in that moment.

Thank God for family, close friends, and our MD2H core team who covered us like a blanket, stood beside us like warriors, and made sure everything went off without a hitch while keeping our home safe. But the enemy wasn’t done, because apparently, he doesn’t know when to quit. The very next day, he came for us again.

Here’s what I need you to understand: When God has placed a big call on your life, there tend to be big attacks that accompany it. It’s not coincidence, it’s warfare.

This is exactly why it’s so crucial to be prayed up, to know that you know that you KNOW what God has called you to do, and to do it without fear.

The assignment must be completed, period. No negotiations, no postponements, no backing down.

This type of spiritual warfare isn’t unfamiliar territory for me. I’ve learned to dance in the storm because I’ve had to. I planned and executed my very last Queen’s Court event while my son was in a coma for 43 days. I planned and executed Unashamed’s first DCF contract during that same season. These attacks have become second nature because every single time, God prepares and equips me for what’s coming. It’s never easy, don’t let me lie to you and say it is, but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is in control.

And can I tell you why it’s been so important for me to learn not to be a control girl?

Because the enemy had me locked up in control-freak status for years, and I didn’t even realize it was one of his weapons against me. If things weren’t in my control, I couldn’t function. And if I couldn’t function, I couldn’t complete the assignment. God had to deal with me deeply on that issue, breaking those chains link by link until I learned to surrender to Him quickly instead of wrestling for control.

Listen, if you find yourself being attacked by the enemy on a regular basis, understand this: there’s oil on your life. There’s something about your assignment, your calling, your very existence that threatens the kingdom of darkness, and that’s why he keeps coming for you. But in this season more than ever, we must stay at the feet of Jesus, in prayer, in vigilance, in His Word, so we’re suited up and ready for whatever the enemy tries to throw our way.

The attacks don’t stop the assignment. They just confirm how important it is.

So whatever God has called you to do, whatever mountain He’s told you to move, whatever healing He’s asked you to facilitate, do it afraid, do it tired, do it while the enemy is throwing his tantrum. Do it anyway.