Laugh at the devil

Random little things happen to me… a cupboard door that opens faster than expected and hits me in the head, writing words like this on my phone and all of a sudden the screen going blank, losing what I wrote, little annoyances, little jabs that feel straight from hell.

When these things happen, the immediate feeling is irritation, but that feeling is extremely short-lived.

It lasts for seconds before I smile, and often laugh to myself.

Smile?
Laugh?
Yes.

Why?
This is war.

People are floating through life, and there is an unseen war happening.

The devil is trying to destroy as many people as possible, and trying to keep people from Christ.

And anyone who opposes his goals is his opposition.

If you live a life that glorifies God, you are pissing the devil off, and he’s going to make efforts to rattle you.

Rattling you, getting you mad, getting you distracted, getting you to question God in anyway are tactics he uses to damage your relationship with God.

Anything he can do to damage your relationship with God, and damage anything you do that impacts other people in a positive way for God’s glory, is his mission to stop.

So if you’re striving to live Christ-like, if you’re striving to live a life that glorifies God, if you’re striving to spread the gospel in any way… you are his opponent, and you can expect to be jabbed.

He wants you annoyed.
He wants you complaining.
He wants you filled with negativity.

Because all of that eats at you.
It tears you down.
It makes you sulk.
It creates a downward spiral.

It’s exactly what he wants.
He wants you defeated.

And the best way to defeat you is to get your mind to defeat yourself.

He just wants to start the process and then step back and let you beat yourself up.

When some sort of jab comes your way, take what was meant to irritate you, and recognize that it is just that.

Keep that thought in mind, that greater perspective, and watch how little you get upset when those jabs come your way. Watch yourself just let it go. Watch yourself smile because you know exactly what’s happening.

Instead of getting immediately emotionally wrapped up in a thing that happens (that not only puts you in a bad mood, but probably pulls down the people around you because they have to deal with your bad mood)… instead, you’ll be fully aware that it’s a ploy to get you worked up… an attempt to nudge you in a direction that can trigger all kinds of negative ripple effects (revenge, temper, all sorts of nasty things that in turn have more nasty effects).

Think about it. If you knew someone was trying to make you mad, it makes it a lot harder for that person to actually get you mad.

Let’s say, I come up to you one morning and say, “Hey, I’m going to make you mad today,” and then I walk off; then later that day you get cut off in traffic, you might immediately have some feelings of anger, but if you saw it was me in the car, those feels would likely fall away.

Why?
Because you’d realize a greater context that this is just that guy who’s trying to ruin my day.

Once you have that greater picture in your mind, what would have otherwise made you angry and upset, turns instead into something that has little to no impact on you.

You’d probably laugh and think, “Who does this guy think he is?”

Yes, laugh!

Laugh at the devil!

Laugh when his tactics come your way because you know what’s going on, and you will not fall victim!

Your emotions will not be controlled by a jab from the devil!

Shake it off and move on.

You’re a fighter!
You’re a champion!

And a champion dusts jabs off and moves on!

A champion realizes he/she is going to take some hits. A champion also realizes he/she is going to dish out some punches, and ultimately knock their opponent out!

You punch the devil in the face when you stand strong on the Word of God!

You punch the devil in the face when you stay faithful and you don’t let him put doubt into your mind!

You punch the devil in the face when you live a life that glorifies God!

Stay strong!
Be confident!

You stand with Christ, who conquers all!

-Steinar


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