Don’t Blame the Devil

Sometimes rotten things happen to us; but God is sovereign and He knows what we face. He’s here to comfort, to encourage and to help us overcome our obstacles .

When you put these these two ideas together: that God is sovereign and that rotten things can happen, that suggests that God allows rotten things to happen to us, right?

Theology can be argued in so many ways. But if you believe as I do, that God is God – all powerful and all knowing – that implies that He knows when we suffer. So, if He knows, why does He let it go on anyway?

In the past I’ve written that “without opposition, we don’t become strong.” I believe that to be true. Further, while God doesn’t orchestrate rotten things happening, sometimes He allows it, because that is the only/best way to ensure we learn and grow from where we are now, toward who He has created us to be.

When we pursue the Call of God, there will be challenges we must face. I think it’s very important that we don’t get tricked into thinking these obstacles must only be endured or fought. Rather, if we reckon they are for our good, they won’t seem so large, we get a head start on overcoming, and we use the opposition to hurl us forward. When we accept God is in all things, we are spurred on; when we embrace opposition, we discover what God has for us and grow.

Holiness is an old word and a new aim when we are seeking to live a surrendered life which will bring fulfilment, satisfaction in our life’s work, and internal peace – the peace that passes all understanding. As we live a life surrendered to God, we will encounter opposition. We can “do Spiritual Warfare”. But it’s important to note, I think, that before we battle the heavenly realms, we also recognise the LORD is trying to teach us something. If we only look at opposition as something to be fought, rather than something to learn from, we miss God’s reason for allowing the trouble in the first place. If we miss the point, we miss the lesson, and that is a pity. Further, like school, if we miss the lesson, we probably have to face it again, so that ultimately we can overcome.

I believe it is through overcoming, that we draw closer to fulfilling God’s Call in our lives.

Tags character development, overcoming adversity, Sovereignty of God, spiritual attack, spiritual growth, spiritual warfare

By Dr Sarah Tun

Dr Sarah Tun began her professional career as a teacher. Years later she became a performing artist and administrator to property development. She felt the Call to write full time in 2004. Dr Sarah has traveled extensively, and lived in New York City (for a year), London England (for a long time) and Hong Kong (briefly) before returning to her home in Ontario, Canada, then to Spain and finally now, has re-settled in her adoptive home of England. She graduated with degrees in Drama, Education and diplomas in Acting and Theology. Most recently she was awarded Honorary Doctor of Ministry and became ordained. Her favourite experience to date has been following her Creator and Lord. She doesn't think Life can get any better! Dr Sarah Tun is author, singer, preacher, writing coach and all-round enthusiast, celebrating and seeking to inspire all of us to quench our thirst for deeper intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit.

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11 replies on “Don’t Blame the Devil”

The devil or “deceiver” is our own heart trying to reshape truth to suit our selfish desires. The Bible is loaded with stories of conflict between the people of God, many of them heroes our children sing songs about, who chose wrongly to suit their lusts and desires because they deceived themselves into making wrong choices. How thankful we are that God offers us mercy and compassion because he knows our hearts. Thanks Sarah. God bless.

Thanks Mike, Your insight is a welcome contribution. It’s so important to be sure, when we are listening for the LORD, to be certain it is the LORD and not our wishful thinking… The Word of GOD is the help we need to ensure we are on the right track. Blessings to you.

Well written. I agree. There are a lot of moment by moment character decisions.

Indeed. Thank you for sharing, Owen. So often we think we’re fighting the devil when actually the opposition is opportunity for growth.

I’ll say amen to that!

Thank you Ronnie, for reading and for commenting. Where two or more are gathered in agreement, there is the LORD. Blessings to you.

This is a ‘Selah’ moment for me. I’m literally going to reflect on this for a while. A good read Sarah thank you 🙂

Bless you, Dot. And may you have tremendous insight as you meditate on God’s Word for you.

Thanks Sarah for your “Pearls of Wisdom”… Just an observation and a quote from a certain film… “One of the greatest tricks the Devil ever pulled off was to convince the world that he didn’t exist”… The Internet is the fountain of all knowledge but like the Devil it’s also the fountain of all deception… Just saying…

Abundant Blessings

Henryk

Absolutely. Well said!

BTW… The film was “The Usual Suspects”… A Dark Genre film about a mysterious Hungarian gangster called Keyser Söze…