I have always believed in God. I have not always believed in the devil. Flip Wilson used to tell us "The devil made me do it!" It was a joke. The devil was a joke. A one dimensional figure that I really didn't believe existed. Over the last several years I have come to believe he not only exists, but is alive and well! If I believe in a loving God, and I do, then I have to believe in the devil. Nothing else explains why terrible things happen to good people, why people betray one another, brutalize one another. It is easy to be overwhelmed by all of the pain and sadness in this world. In the book The Will Of God. Leslie D. Weatherhead writes that this is not Gods will, but Satan trying to separate us from God. It is Gods will that we react to evil in a positive, creative way to wrest good out of evil circumstances.
Unfortunately the Devil not only is at work on the big life and death matters, he is also at work in each of our lives. Do you ever have a mean, nasty thought pop into your head? I do, and I'll look up and say to myself, "Where did that come from?" It came from the devil sewing his seeds of anger, greed, and selfishness.. I have a good friend who has a bit of a temper. Often when he is in the middle of a snit his wife will look at him and ask him if the devils on his back. The devil is on all of our backs at times, and we all need someone to ask us that question. We need to ask God how He wants us to handle the bad situations-both big and small. We need to keep the devil off our backs because as the song goes,you can't dance with the devil on your back!
Margaret Williams
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