Satan Hates Your Guts!

Today at church, I heard again the story of a construction accident which resulted in death, injury, and, for a lucky few, a short time (which likely seemed longer) contemplating life, love, and the horrible fall that would result with one false move. Those who survived were rescued from the precarious position of holding on to a ledge one inch thick with their fingers while standing on another beam some few inches wide. The accident occurred when the scaffolding fell from a bridge these men were painting. The question was asked as to why the workers did not have safety gear. It turns out that they did... but were not wearing it at the time. The speaker today went on to talk about the fact that he uses his seat-belt only because the stinking beeping that happens if he doesn't. These stories led of course to a talk on the need to focus on doing those things that will keep us protected from the powers of Satan. These are little things like prayer and scripture study and whatever other way you build up protective forces in your life in order to withstand the pressures and power of the one who would make you unhappy.

I've also had recent epiphanies as to how Satan attacks and WOW! He is good at what he does! A talk given during the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in October spoke of how sneaky Satan is. The talk started with a lesson on fly fishing. The speaker spoke of good fly fishermen studying and knowing about what the trout in the area were used to eating, within their season, and then making their flies to match so perfectly or be such a perfect fake that the trout would be fooled. Well... I finally recognize where I am being fooled! There are some things that just seem to me to be obvious wrong choices in life and so Satan is not trying to get me to make those choices. Being a proverbial trout, he is not trying to lure me with a neon butterfly when he knows I'm eating grasshoppers this time of year. He is so good at twisting the truth and making the fake seem so like the real. In my case, the truth is that I have things to work on and get better at... I'm human. Shucks! Good truth. The twist he adds is that having things to work on makes me a failure, and not just for the present, but indefinitely. I will never get better. This is not true.

So, I've seen where our comparisons to safety gear and seat belts break down. It is tempting not to wear safety equipment because it is only there in case of an accident. Our thoughts are that, accidents don't often happen and likely won't happen to us. So, forgetting a helmet just once or not wearing the belt because it will wrinkle the dress seem not to be big issues. This is what we need to understand: when it comes to Satan's plan for good people, we are under attack every day. Satan hates your guts! He is not conveniently taking a break on the same day you didn't take time to pray and study. He won't be, "Back in 5," at the exact moment you have a frustrating interaction with a loved one and are not spiritually prepared to handle it appropriately. Satan hates your guts! He hates them! So buckle up... there will be an accident today! There will be one tomorrow too so you should just plan on saying your prayers again tomorrow. Your God is not stronger because you've spent time with him. You are stronger and, hold onto your socks, you better believe you need to be!