For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
"The devil is in the details." Ever heard this said? Why do we say that? What does it mean? It's meaning stems from the idea that in order for a project to be successful, every last detail needs to be perfect. And when the devil is present, or when something goes wrong, things don't go as planned.
It's true, you know. The devil is there. Waiting. Watching. Prowling like a lion. Waiting for you to open the door just a crack and let him in.
In my opinion, we as Christians do a poor job of telling people about Satan and his stealth. We seem to not want to bring him up. If we don't talk about him, he's not there. If we ignore Satan and his minions they'll just disappear. We are doing a huge disservice to people when we do this. The devil is there! It's not like when we were little children playing hide and seek. We can't stand in plain view, cover our eyes, and expect to not be found. We need to talk about Satan. We need to talk about him and how to protect ourselves against his attacks.
Preaching the good news is so very important! Telling people about how much God loves them should be a cornerstone in our Great Commission to witness to people. But, we have to talk about the other side too. We have to let people know that once they open their hearts and their minds to Christ, once they start believing and praying and seeking His promises, the door is opened and we are involved in a battle. A classic battle of good versus evil. By not talking about it, we are not preparing people to put on God's armor and be ready.
I have been under attack for a while. They know which of my buttons to push. They know exactly what to whisper into my ear. They know what to play at to take my breath away and make the anxiety pound inside. No one talked to me about Satan and what he could do. I attended parochial school. I've been a member of a church since I was in Kindergarten. And unless I was daydreaming during all those religion lessons and Sunday sermons, I don't remember hearing about how crafty Satan is. How persuasive he is. How persistent he is. And so, rather than knowing I was involved in spiritual warfare, I thought I was crazy. I thought I needed to be committed or medicated. I thought something was wrong with me. I was ready to declare myself mentally unstable, when in reality, I needed to put on the armor of God.
Satan is ruthless. He is terrible. He knows what is most important to you and he uses all of that against you. He uses my weight. My assault. The suicide of my husband. He uses my parents and my children. He uses my friends. He uses my own thoughts and my own feelings. He uses my insecurities. And, back before I knew what was happening, I was sliding into a pit of despair and confusion and heartache. It wasn't until people who knew more about this than I did explained to me what was going on that I started to realize what was happening. And that, by the grace of God, I had the authority to take control and take charge of my faith journey and my life. And now that I know, I feel like it is somehow part of my mission, part of my calling, to let others know too.
The weird things that happen that leave you unsettled but are unexplained? You're being attacked. The dark, destructive thoughts you have at times. You're being attacked. The crippling anxiety and depression? You're being attacked. The nightmares and night terrors and things that interrupt your sleep? You're being attacked. The thoughts that you are crazy or that you suck as a mom or that you're too fat or that you can't do your job right? You're being attacked.
Satan uses a wide range of tactics to try and wear you down and get you to tap out. He is more powerful than churches give him credit for. BUT, the news that the church does get right? Our God is more powerful! Our God can wrap His arms around you and pull you out of the muck and mire that threatens to pull you under. Our God can wrestle those demons, wrestle those evils, tear down those that want to tear us down. He is omniscient and omnipotent. He is the Almighty! He is the one that has given you HIS very own armor to cover you and protect you and save you from the wicked one.
So, yes, the devil is down in Georgia. And Washington. And all over the world. He is in your cities and is in your homes. He may even, at times, be in your heart. But, in Father God, you have all the tools and all the love and all the peace you need to defeat Satan. Do not be afraid! Do not despair! Do not sink down and believe the lies that he whispers into your ear! And if you feel like you are being dragged to the point of no return, reach out! Ask questions! Be brave and ask for help.
Along the lines of our family motto of be kind, this also spreads in this message. Knowing what I know now about Satan and his capacity to destroy people makes me take pause and look at our societies. Our communities. That dirty, smelly man begging for money on the corner? Chances are he's under attack. The women who talks to herself and hears voices? Chances are she's under attack. The people who are mean-spirited and rude and angry? Chances are they are under attack. And the more we talk about this, the more we spread prayer and compassion throughout our communities, the faster our churches, our communities, our country can heal!
Satan thinks he is winning! Satan thinks that we are on the downhill slope to destruction. Well,I hold out faith that he is WRONG! As a core, we are good people. God resides in this world, and He is the one that is in control. We just need to be brave enough to let go, and let God. We need to see the evil and racism and divisiveness and mental health issues that we are experiencing as attacks. Start with a little prayer. Add in some compassion and understanding. Be kind to all you meet and the battles they may be fighting. And our world has a chance to heal.
I am still under attack. Daily I fight to remember to lean into my Lord and put on my whole armor. Daily I choose to walk through life leaning on Him. Am I perfect with this? Not at all! I need reminders all the time. Luckily God has graced me with the best prayer partner ever to grab my hands, place my Bible in them, fold them in prayer, and reach out to my God for help. The road isn't easy. It isn't all good. I have been through a lot. Satan has done his best to take me out. But I have faith in my Heavenly Father to carry me through. And I have been blessed, so very blessed, on this journey I have been on and will continue to be on. We are all works in progress. We are all amazing creations. We just need to make sure we are leaning on the right Creator.
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