You won't hear me say this very often, so listen good: Satan doesn't get enough credit. He's a much bigger menace than we give him credit for. When there is a major tragedy or natural disaster, we give him lots and lots of credit. On your average day, however, I don't think we give the devil his due.
We seem to view the devil as an annoyance. He causes the baseball game to be rained out. He puts bumper-to-bumper traffic in front of us when we are in a hurry to get somewhere. He gets your Taco Bell order all messed up. We blame him for defiant little children, burgers that get burned, and phone calls we ran out of time trying to make. He's a great big do-do head trying to put a damper on our day. He's the kid who just ran through your newly planted garden.
He's Dennis the Menace.
And if you can attest to everything I just said, he is also - to quote Charlie Sheen - winning! Satan doesn't just want you to have a bad day, he wants you to believe that's his only mission. When people don't credit the devil with evil, that's exactly what he wants. He's pretty good at covert ops.
He wants you to see him as an impotent do-do head who can do nothing more than annoy you on a daily basis. He wants to take all the daily frustrations and disappointments he puts in your way and snowball them into:
-hopelessness
-helplessness
-depression
-zero confidence
-anger
-self-pity
-frustration with God
The enemy wants you to view the little nasty things he does as evidence that God has no power. He wants you to feel sorry for yourself, lose your cool, and trip over your faith.
Lately, the little things have been piling up here. For the past week, absolutely nothing has gone my way. I knew the enemy wanted to get in my way, but only today did I realize the enormity of the missile he was trying to lob at me. I found myself questioning all the things I was so sure I had heard from God, and debating whether or not I had the will to continue on in certain pursuits. Do-Do Head was probably laughing and mixing himself a cocktail as I quietly contemplated the direction of my life from the passenger's side of my car.
My advice to you is simple: if something doesn't go your way, you should completely freak out knowing that Satan is coming for you! Just kidding. That's not my advice.
My advice is... stay 'prayed up.' Stay in the Word. Fill your head with God's Truth so that you can easily filter out the devil's lies. He wants to bring you down. This ain't Dennis the Menace. The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. It's not a big deal that your grill didn't light when you went to make dinner tonight. It becomes a big deal if you aren't on solid spiritual ground and those things start adding up. Satan wants to grill your will like a flank steak, baby.
So keep your eyes open and fill your brains with the goodness of God.
I promise you, when you're faced with trouble, it will be the deciding factor in how you see your circumstances, and how you navigate through them.
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