I had a forty-pound bag of seed for our birdfeeder in the garage and then a gray squirrel discovered it. Obviously the many layers of paper were not enough to keep him out so I closed it in a large plastic garbage can. I know what you are thinking and you are right. He chewed right through the plastic and continued to help himself to the seed.
This squirrel is like Satan, the opportunist, who squirrels his way past and through our best defenses. Satan is probably the second best psychologist. For thousands of years he has studied human nature and knows how to press our buttons to get his desired result. He preys upon our appetites and fears. He feeds upon our insecurities and watches with delight as we develop prejudices and hatred toward groups that are different than we. He watches for us to make promises to do better and specifically tempts us in those areas for he knows when we fail we will often give up trying as we resign ourselves to our inabilities.
Our defenses are no match for him. However, there is a psychologist far superior to him. Jesus, our Creator, knows our thoughts and weaknesses and promises to fill us with real power, the power that spoke worlds into being. With this help, which is always available upon our request, we can make Satan look exactly like the second rate power he is. In John 14 Jesus urges us to ask for power and He promises we will receive all we need. Never will He allow us to be forced to do wrong.
Written by Roger Bothwell on July 23, 2008.
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574