Just A Little Thunder…

My middle daughter does not like thunderstorms. She begins to shiver at the first rumble, and no matter how many times we try to tell her that nothing is going to happen, she’s not convinced. Sure, they’re loud, they’re menacing, and they can sound pretty scary, but ultimately, as long as you’re inside, they can’t really do anything to you. They might make the lights go out, but they can’t actually hurt you directly. 

While I might chuckle at my daughter’s reaction to thunderstorms, I realize that there are times I’m not that different. Cue the devil:

~You know, you’re not really appreciated around here… look how your husband takes you for granted… you deserve better…… you’re actually a terrible mom, and your kids are going to hate you, you may as well give up trying… you really think that sad little prayer is getting you anywhere?… you really have nothing to look forward to, you may as well eat that whole container of ice cream, it’ll make you feel better…

No, it really doesn’t… I don’t know about you, but Satan can be loud sometimes, and he can be menacing, and I can find myself believing him. Believing in the lies that I’m nothing or worthless, or, which can be worse, that I deserve far better than what I have. But Satan can do nothing more than try to get into my head and play with my mind. He can’t actually DO anything to me. 

Much like thunder, the devil can scare me and try to make me shiver or quake, but ultimately, I’m inside Christ, and that means I’m safe. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He was telling his disciples the he was going to be taken and put to death, and that they would be scattered and troubled, but in the end, they would find peace in him, because he has overcome the world. 

And do you know who is in and of the world? You guessed it, Satan- the old adversary. He would like nothing more than to steal the peace that I have in Christ. And he attempts to do it with his mind games and lies, which can at times be very convincing. But there’s nothing he can do to separate me “from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:39), because Christ has overcome him. And the greatest arsenal that I have to fight back against the devil’s lies is the very Word of God. The only way to fight lies is with truth, and the place to find truth is in the Bible. 

So the next time the Devil comes sneaking around with his lies, “You would be so much happier if your children were better behaved, and if your husband would just do things your way, and if your kitchen was updated…”, I can be prepared: “Oh yeah Satan? Well the Bible says ‘in every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning [me]’, so buzz off!” He and his menacing lies can just move along, much like a thunderstorm inevitably does, slowly dissipating off into the distance.