Sneaky?!?!?!

Sneaky!?!? Maybe not so much....IF you know what to look for:

1 Peter 5:7-9 (NIV) 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 

It seems that it would be more than likely that if we saw or heard a roaring lion prowling around that we would pay attention. However, usually before the lion roars....he has been prowling around waiting for an opportune time to pounce.

I am finding in my own life that I blame an awful lot of stuff on myself, depression, family members and their attitudes and just life in general.  

How many of our daily battles are actually spiritual? If even Jesus could be tempted in the wilderness by the devil, why would we think that it would be any different for us mere mortals? It seems that as we try to move closer to God the more the devil stirs things up. We have been trying to make more efforts at family time and making sure we get to church. At the same time, we have had more rental problems than ever.

Have you ever got in an argument over something (in hindsight) that is really dumb? However, no matter how much you want to you just don't give in. People joke around about the "devil made me do it". That may not be the reason WHY we do it. Sometimes, though, doesn't it seem that circumstances will try and hold you back the more you try to move forward and follow through on what God is trying to get our attention for?

James 4:7-8 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.

Resist has a couple of different meanings, but in this case I like this:  to withstand the force or effect of

The devil may be sneaky and can have some effect on us....or at least the circumstances. It is up to us to recognize the tricks for what they are and remember that ultimately God is in control, even when we feel like we're in control the least.