Don't give the devil too much credit...

"The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry,  "Abba,  Father." (Romans 8:15)

Lately I have been writing about the devil and how we fight him and the evil forces he uses to try to bring us down. Last night I was talking about this with some very smart and spiritual people. One friend said something that has made me really think...while the devil is real and does try to mess up our lives, we need not to give him too much credit. While some people deny there are evil powers at work in our world, there are also those who blame the devil for everything and don't take responsibility for anything. "The Devil made me do it."

We need to be aware of the dangers of ignoring the devil while also not using the devil as an excuse for bad behavior and bad thoughts.

So....what is the best way to do this? Ask your Father. Cry out to Him...Abba! This is like crying out "Daddy!" God doesn't want us to be afraid of the devil. When we cry out for his help and protection, God will give us the power to fight. 

My parents raised me with the saying "You can do anything you put your mind to." I heard that so much, I finally paid attention, listened to what they were saying and I believed it. While I haven't always lived up to those words, that belief has helped me achieve many things in my life. That was a gift from my loving and supportive parents. Our Heavenly Father does the same thing for us...if we pay attention and listen. 

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." (Ephesians 6:10 NIV)

The world we live in is a scary place. It's a frustrating place. It's a place filled with other humans who don't know the power of God and will never realize the loving, supporting relationship they can have with their Heavenly Father. It's a place that makes it hard for even those of us who do know God to remember the power we have in Him and we become afraid. It's also a place where the Devil and his evil forces take advantage of that fact and uses our own fears against us. But...the fact that this world is scary, frustrating and dangerous should not cause us to give up! It should cause us to rejoice! 

A friend who is going through a tough situation told me something amazing last night. When I told her I couldn't imagine how hard this was on her heart, she said that she felt it causing her faith to become stronger. Her pain, her struggle was causing her faith in a loving and supportive God to grow stronger!!! Take that Satan! She's not giving you ANY credit! 

My wish for you today my friends is THAT kind of faith! Be strong in the Lord and his mighty power, whatever your situation may be!