I once happened upon a
situation where a person was extremely angry with their dogs. They yelled, hollered, and chased after them in a threatening manner. They tried to get the animals to move from one area to
another. The dogs were terrified and had
scattered in different directions, desperately trying to flee from the bully’s
path.
One of the frightened
creatures, spotting me, ran to my side and huddled against my leg. Having seen where their owner wanted them to go, I spoke quietly to the little canine and walked toward
the designated area. The pup followed. As
I approached the assigned area, I called the other dogs over to me as well,
speaking in a positive voice. All the
dogs responded and were soon safely out of the bully’s way.
Fear kept these dogs
from hearing their owner’s loud and angry voice. Dogs respond to tone and
attitude more than words. When I introduced the
right tone and attitude, they listened and obeyed.
Just as this person’s dogs scattered and ran in fear, our enemy, known in the Word as Satan or the devil, also seeks to put us on the run by bullying us with fear tactics. He wants us to doubt God and his truth. He wants us to rebel against God, just as he did. Our enemy seeks to sow doubt in our lives regarding our faith, often when we are most vulnerable.
When
sickness, sorrow, economic crisis, natural disasters, relational difficulties, and the like assault us, the enemy of our souls roars in with his lies, seeking to
steal the truth from our hearts. He desires to crush our view of God,
bombarding us with doubts and fears concerning our situation. Amidst his
rampage and our resultant fear, it becomes hard for us to hear our Lord’s calm voice. But God seeks to remind us of his ability to use all things for our
good and grant us strength and wisdom to endure.
Let us therefore learn to recognize our enemy and his tactics by studying the Word and committing it to heart. Then, on the day of attack, amidst the lion’s roaring, we can tune our ears to God’s still quiet voice of assurance and hope. He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
Father God, when the enemy roars into our lives, teach us to stand firm and listen to Your still, quiet voice of hope, wisdom, and safety. In Christ’s name, amen.
Lynne Phipps and her family live on a small hobby farm in the heart of Alberta, Canada’s farming country. She has been writing devotions for forty years and never tires of the spiritual correlation the Holy Spirit blesses her with. He uses normal everyday events and the behaviors of the multitude of glorious creatures He has brought across her path to point her to the truths of God. Lynne is a devotion writer for VineWords: Devotions and More.
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