The Devil didn't make me do it, but he sure tried to stop me

Yesterday, our Student Ministry made an epic journey to St. Simon's Island for our annual summer beach retreat. I say epic because it was quite a journey. They had a bus break down and ended up w/ no A/C and had to tie the electric doors w/ shoe-string to keep it closed. It was quite an ordeal. But they made it. That was the MAJOR problem. Of course, on another bus, a mirror came loose and on another the windshield wipers stopped working. Those were the MINOR problems. The good news is that they made it there safely.


I joked to our student pastor that "God must have something big in store for the retreat because the devil was trying everything he could to try and stop it." It's kind of one of those things that you hear preachers say a lot, but there is some truth to it.


Let me be the first to say that I'm not exactly sure how the devil works. I don't know what he gets to control. I don't think the devil gets to make people sick or cause catastrophes. I do think the devil gets to tempt us. I think the devil gets to get under our skin and get on our nerves. And I do think the devil is fully capable of putting bugs in engines and projectors and electric guitars and A/C units. Because I do know what the Bible says about the devil, and that's really all I can go on: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8).


There is an enemy at work and he wants to thart us from good and from God's blessing. He wants to turn our attention away from what it should be on. He wants to take our eyes off the path, and I think he'll do anything within his power to do it.


The great news is that we serve a God who has overcome the enemy. That doesn't mean that you won't face a few broken down A/C's a long the way. Life is full of adversity, but we serve a God that has overcome adversity. The key is to keep our eyes focused on Christ. The enemy will try to get our eyes on all the secondary stuff, all the side-bars. You don't have to worry about that stuff. God wants good for you. He's working for good for you. Know that there are going to be some distractions. But stay focused on Jesus.