The Devil on my Shoulder

It's a familiar image: an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other, each trying to influence a person toward good or evil. And it's a familiar feeling, too, that of being pulled in two different directions at the same time. Sometimes it's just plain hard to know what to do.



Obviously, we don't really have angels and demons sitting on our shoulders, vying for our attention. Yet, God's Holy Spirit lives within each of the people who have accepted his gracious gift of a Savior. And, we can't deny that the Evil One tries constantly to derail our attempts to do God's bidding.

Sometimes, that sneaky devil does his best to deceive me, just as he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, saying "Did God really say that?" (Genesis 3:1)

 Recently, I've been hearing a lot of the devil's taunts:

  • "You're wasting your time writing that book! No one will want to read it. You'll never be able to find a publisher. Writers are a dime a dozen."
  • "Your adopted kids are too damaged. They will never amount to anything."
  • "No one wants to hear you sing the songs you've written."
  • "You have no way of knowing what God wants you to do. Besides, why would God want to use you? You're imagining things!"
  • "You're too old! Your health isn't good enough! You're delusional! You don't have time for this!"

In times like these, I'm so glad when the Holy Spirit reminds me of the Bible verse that says "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1 John 4:4b)  Because, the Holy Spirit truly is much greater than that old devil. And he responds, silently but surely, to the devil's jibes, reminding me that he is not finished with me yet. He makes sure that I understand these things:

  • Because God has been leading me to write a book, he will also provide readers and a publisher.
  • God is the one who has given us our children. He loves them more than I ever can. He knows exactly what they need, and he is able to do more for them than I can ever imagine.
  • Since God is the one who has inspired me to write Christian songs, he will use them for his purpose, at the right time, and in the best possible way.
  • God speaks to his people through his Word, the Bible, and through the people around us. He has been leading his people for thousands of years. He hears my prayers. I can trust him to lead me where he wants me to go.
  • When I'm too old or sick to serve God, he'll take me to be with him in heaven. In the meantime, he has things for me to do. And, whatever he wants me to do, I can be sure that the Evil One will do everything he can to prevent me from doing it.  

I know I'm not alone in this fight against the devil. I know far too many people who seem to be under attack right now. So let's pray together and encourage one another. 

And, remember: We don't need to be too concerned about the devil's schemes. God wins!





Comments

  1. KateDecember 8, 2016 at 10:19 PM

    Bless your heart, you and your husband are an inspiration to me.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Weddings and Too Many Funerals

Image
It's been fifteen years since my middle daughter, Meagan, married Andy. Fifteen years of living and working in and around Gering, and five, almost six, children later, everyone they know would say that they are happily married. Their wedding was big and formal, and held in our church, like many weddings were then, at least here in Gering, with a sit-down dinner and dance afterward at the Civic Center. They both grew up here, and were well-known in the community, so many local people attended their wedding. In addition, they each had large extended families who were willing to travel quite a distance to be present for their big day. It was a memorable day, for sure. Fifteen years ago, our family was quite small. They both settled in to teaching, living in an old house on Andy's family's farm before building a house at the same location about ten years ago. Now, Andy continues to teach at Gering High School, while Meagan has been focusing her teaching skills on her own childr
Read more

Introducing Anna

Image
Anna Elizabeth Tyler was born almost three weeks before her due date, at 10:53 a.m. on Monday, October 30th, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio. She weighed 5.45 pounds, and was 17.25 inches long. Her entrance into this world was more dramatic than we had hoped, since she had to spend eleven days in the NICU to monitor her breathing. But, after the initial scare, she is nursing well and growing appropriately at home. Anna at just a few days old Anna is the only one of our eight grandchildren who has spent any time in NICU. At one month of age, she is still small, but she is finally outgrowing her preemie clothes and moving on to newborn sizes. It's hard to be more than 1200 miles away from family when they need help, but contemporary forms of communication make that much easier than it used to be. Nevertheless, Bill and I were glad to join our daughter, Erin, her husband, Reed, our grandson, Will, and baby Anna, for Thanksgiving. We got to see for ourselves how their whole family is thriving.
Read more

A Little Covid

Image
Like so many of you, I am tired of hearing about Covid-19. As I look back to 2020 and the intervening years since then, I can't help but think that our government, along with many others throughout the world, may have overreacted, insisting on too many, perhaps unnecessary, restrictions. However, the fact remains that I am currently quarantined at home because, for the first time, I officially have Covid. I would never have known I have Covid except that it morphed into a sinus infection. So, I dutifully made my way to Urgent Care because I knew I would need an antibiotic to get over it. And, of course, I had to have a test to rule out Covid and Influenza A. Except, even though my vaccinations are up-to-date, the test was positive for Covid. My Covid symptoms have been minimal, probably because I’ve been vaccinated: some fatigue, some sneezing, and a headache that won't quit. Initially, I passed off those symptoms as my normal allergy symptoms, aggravated by the windy condition
Read more