Satan Waits Again

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering." 1 Peter 5:8-9.

Satan is very sneaky in his vices. He tried to permanently blind me to the power of God in my storm. He took advantage of what I didn't know about my brothers and tempted me to react against the worst possible scenarios, as if these scenes were in fact going to happen. What a liar Satan is.

It would have worked had God (through his word) not been alive! As I cried out to God yesterday, he answered. Jesus stood and said, "Calm! Be still!" Then Satan fled. He waits for the next time.

-----

I just made an observation about what precedes the passage I quoted above. 1 Peter 5:6-7 reads, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

I was letting my fear/anxiety run through my own reason, my own head, my own emotions. I didn't initially cast my anxiety on God. How foolish! That is what Satan was looking for in me. When I didn't give God my fear, Satan came running for the kill. He can use my fear when it is still with me. Once it is God's, Satan can't do anything.

Let us not act out of fear! Let us cast all our anxiety on God alone. Resist the urges of Satan.

Heart Issues

Yesterday while going to a funeral in Houston, my mom called to tell me that my grandfather had a mild heart attack. This while climbing steps to send me a birthday card in the mail! Wonderful! Being the day after the third anniversary of my grandmother's passing, I have not been able to articulate some of my thoughts. Here it goes.

Moments like these remind me of the frailty of life. We think we will live forever, but that is vaporized in a moment. Close calls in the car...praise God that we are still breathing! Family members collapse and recover...praise God that he gave them (and us) more time to point others to Him! Life can vanish in a few minutes, a few seconds. What else can we do once we realize this if it is not praise God for life we have RIGHT NOW?

I can't truly live how God wants me to if I let my frailty and fear consume me. If I refuse to ride in cars because I might have a fatal accident, I have not yet let God be praised for the life he has given me! My peace is not in preventing death. My peace is in experiencing life fully while praising God and pointing people to him.

I pray that God comforts my family as we remember that our life on earth will end. Our hearts hurt, but we are growing to understand our need for God more and more. Keep the eyes of our hearts open to how you transform us through our life experiences.