Have you ever had those days that seem like everytime you turn around, it’s a fight? A fight with yourself, your kids, your spouse, your boss, your horse, your cattle, your dog, the customer service person on the phone? One day after another it piles up and you just feel like you’re stuck under a mound of 💩?
What about those days where you feel like you’re on the receiving end? The ones where you are trying to come up for air, to see the light, to smell the roses, but every effort is met with another scoop shovel of 💩?
Everyone is frustrated and you don’t know why?
Let me tell you why… the devil has entered your domain!
That sneaky, knifing, ruthless rat is trespassing on your mind and those around you. He’s planting land mines and booby traps everywhere. He’s lurking in the dark shadows. Just when you think you’re in the clear, there he is! Attacking you or someone in your circle and causing another problem.
How do you overcome this? You look up to the heavens, you throw on your armor of God, and yell, NOT TODAY DEVIL! Okay, you don’t actually have to yell, but it is a good tactic if you’re trying to get everyone’s attention!
You see, he will show up when you least expect it. When you’re excited about something, even things are going well, when you’re about to have that breakthrough in life or a relationship with someone you love. The Devil hates to see us win, but God is lining us up for it everyday.
Now that we know who is behind this 💩, we can start to identify his patterns and habits. The devil doesn’t change. He might use new tools, but the feelings, anger and separation he tries to create is the same.
So next time your blood🩸 is about to boil ♨️over and you feel the walls start caving in, push the pause button for everyone. Ask them, “Look around. Do you hear that? Do you feel it? It’s the devil telling you lies again!”
Sometimes it’s on the other side of the fight that we look back and see what was going on. That’s okay! That fight just prepared you and gave another tool in your toolbox. Talk about it with your people, and help them see, learn and understand how the devil tries to wreak havoc on us. Then they will be more prepared in the future as well.
In time, you will all be able to recognize the patterns, habits, verbiage and energy shifting. You’ll be able to pull out those tools you stashed away as soon as you smell the stink on the devil coming around. It won’t always be easy, but when we know we have a big God and we turn to him, one at a time, as we trust him, the Lord will start shining his bright light on that devil in every corner and shadow he’s lurking in. He’ll disarm every mine and take down every trap.
Today’s prayer:
Lord, we love you and we thank you for your love. Help us today to see, hear and smell that dirty, nasty devil lurking in the shadows of our own lives and the lives of those we love. Shower those areas he hides with your light, reveal them so we can see them and help us learn from them so we keep an eye on them in the future.
We know the devil is sneaky. We know he’s in this world trying to scare us with fear, doubt, worries and lies. Let that knowledge become our power to fight against it when it overcomes us. Let us turn to you and your truths about us in those moments. Let us proclaim to rebuke the devil from our domains. Let us shout NOT TODAY DEVIL! Every time we feel him coming in.
Thank you for the armor you’ve given us in Ephesians 6:10-18.
Thank you Lord,
Amen!
-----
COMMENT: This has been so real in our home this week. I really believe that the devil is trying to steal our joy and find ways to put wedges in our relationships before we welcome our child into this world in the coming weeks. I didn’t even realize it until today, just how long he’s been taking up space in my mind.
The devil hates strong families. He hates community. He hates values and morals. He hates support systems that put you back on track. He hates friend groups and families that pray for each other. He hates happy and joyful people. He hates anything and everything that brings us together, makes us stronger and points us towards the light instead of the darkness.
So he attacks it. Starting with the smallest thought then building on it. Creating a web of lies in your mind. He feeds and feeds it until you feel mad, alone, less than, sad, frustrated, angry, self pity. He turns it all against us then he takes his stupid web and sticks it to people in our lives that we can point our finger at and unload it on.
I SEE IT NOW!
I see it and all I have to say is, NOT TODAY DEVIL!
Comments