Yesterday, I posted just a meme on my facebook feed without additional words or explanation. I meant for it to be simple and stand on its own, but when someone took a little jab at not being sure what my very serious post means, I decided to add some context even though I told them to just scroll on!
Here’s the visual 🙂
This was the headline for May 18 in Bob Goff’s devotional book called Live in Grace, Walk in Love. He used an example of David and Goliath and made the [paraphrased] statement the devil was out to squash any plans for good.
Boom. There it is. Truth.
The devil wants to destroy any good plans and all progress you make on those plans. Why? Cause he’s the devil and that’s what he does. He comes to steal, kill and destroy.
And he doesn’t play fair. Here’s how;
He uses shame to get you thinking your heart isn’t worth wanting. He’ll go as far back as needs to drag out that thing you did you’ve always been ashamed of, even though it’s long since forgiven.
He uses guilt to try to make you believe your heart is too tainted. That time you felt terrible over how you treated a friend (or partner). . . yes, he’ll drag that out too and remind you how dark your heart is.
He gets you thinking about every bad thing in your past that keeps you from feeling proud of who you are right now.
He plays on every insecurity you have to keep you feeling like you’re not enough, knowing it could keep your heart on his very dark side.
He’s over there just sending fiery dart after fiery dart to keep you distracted while he destroys. Steal, kill, destroy, right? It’s. What. He. Does.
And listen up, he can distract with a lot of things. He’s so crafty in getting you thinking ‘oh, I’m managing alright. The only distraction I use is a healthy one’. Whatever ‘thing’ he is using to keep a grip on your heart, is not legitimate.
Maybe it’s alcohol. It could be smoking. It might be porn or gambling. Those all sound like bad things to steal your heart, right? Careful. Because it can also be shopping, food, exercise or just plain perfectionism. Too many people believe their addictions are healthy, because they’re not illegal or intoxicating.
A local Nashville therapist, Kat Defatta, has this podcast called ‘You Need Therapy’.
Appropriate, right? BECAUSE WE ALL DO! And if you think we all don’t, you may need it most!
She recently did an episode about exercise as a tool to battle mental health, but warns about taking it to an addiction, as she did. The hours that she spent running and the life she missed out on planning runs, felt healthy in ways but became a very unhealthy obsession.
Not all who exercise are healthy. Not all who drink alcohol are unhealthy. It’s the condition of your heart that counts.
For a very long time, I’ve said there’s a God-shaped hole in every one of us. We’re all caught in this battle for our hearts.
What we try to fill that hole with will make or break the battle. The devil don’t play fair, so you are going to have to pull out the big guns too. Instead of retail therapy, fancy cars or trips, drinking or drugs ~ you know you need to start filling that heart with forgiveness, kindness, mercy, grace and compassion.
When you don’t want to give someone grace, do it anyway. When you don’t want to be compassionate, try it anyway. When you don’t feel like being merciful to someone, do your dead level best to recall a time someone has been merciful to you and pay that forward.
It is absolutely not a fair fight, yet I still believe in fighting fair.
Better Health, Naturally 
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