Okay. Not that type of ownership. Yes, we would all love to turn in our hunk of junk or the car that isn’t running right. We’ve come across that in recent days. Our car is aging and approaching the 100K mark, and the vehicle that used to get Carolyn and Audrey from point A to point B with ease is suddenly is losing its luster. We’re still trying to figure out what the issue is. The truth is, it may be something simple, but with each piece we replace, the next one fails. It releases a domino effect that we’re not sure where it will end. But I didn’t write this to talk about our car woes.
Buckets and Balloons
This last week I was thinking about how much credit we give the devil, rather, how much power we give him with our words. True, he does have power, but we give him strength by the things we say and do. Think of it this way. You have an empty bucket. The bucket by itself isn’t that heavy. But you start to fill it with dirt, rocks, or water, then that bucket is going to get heavy. Or a balloon, the more air you put into it, the bigger it gets. That’s how Satan is. The more we put into him, the stronger and bigger he becomes. But, you see, we have the power. We allow the dirt into the bucket and the air to fill the balloon.
You know that I’m not talking about literal dirt and air. And no, it doesn’t always have to be sin either. Yes, it does involve sin, but not in the way you think it might. We give the devil way too much credit for our evil desires. I’ve written before about us ‘blaming the devil.’ Satan isn’t the one who is filling up those buckets. We are. We allow the things of life to seep in shovel full by shovel full until the next thing you know, we cannot carry our bucket anymore. Or our balloon is buffeted about and wants to fly away with the winds of life.
The Devil Made Me Do It
Then, little by little, sin creeps up. Suddenly the big temptations come out of nowhere. We are enticed, and we fall into sin. I’ve been there, and I’m sure you’ve been there as well. When that sin is exposed, we lash out. “The devil made me do it.” “It’s not my fault.” “The woman you gave me.” “The serpent tempted me, and I ate.” It’s everyone’s fault but the person who sinned. (That’s me and you by the way) We’re giving the devil way too much power. All he did was speak, then, no pun intended, all hell broke loose.
We’re in the same boat here. We hear lies every day. The devil is the father of lies. But we are giving way too much credit for our evil desires. He doesn’t make us do anything. All he does is plant a seed of doubt, just like with Eve. That doubt could even be a happy feeling, or worse, confidence that what we are about to do is right. To counter that, we need to run from the father of lies to the Father of Life. Closeness to God helps us to know the difference.
Also, when we remain close to God, doubts don’t tend to stick. Will we have doubts? Sure. It’s part of human nature. I have them, I’m sure you will too. But that’s when we dig deeper into prayer and His Word and get closer to Him to overcome those doubts. Doubts are nothing more than the devil shouting at you to stop believing. All you have to do is shout back with what you’ve learned of the Lord. When you do, Satan has no choice but to run away.
The Keys Please
Take ownership of who you are in Christ. He has given you the keys to something amazing. It is better than the Mercedes in the garage—it’s the power over sin through His son Jesus Christ. Accepting Him as your Savior. Giving Satan control is no longer needed. Stop listening to his whispers. They will only cause heartache. Most of all, don’t allow him to get you to fill your buckets and balloons with the subtle day-to-day lies. But if you do, don’t burden yourself with them in life; carry them to the cross and leave them there.
Photo by Roland Denes on Unsplash
Moments for the Heart 