As some of you
know, yesterday we lost our cat Sunny.
He’s an indoor cat and must have hopped
the gate and jumped off the deck. My
husband & I searched for hours! About 6 hours straight! We put up flyers,
talked to neighbors, and searched the woods over & over again constantly
calling his name. Soon it got dark outside…it was pitch black & we were
outside with flashlights still searching. I ended up making personal letters
& we put one on each doorstep of each house on our block. As we were finishing up, I came up to this
one house and was about to put the letter on the doorstep when I saw Sunny! He
was just laying there & he meowed/growled a little. His face was a little
weird looking but that was probably because of all the stress he was under for the
past few hours. My heart leaped for joy & I grabbed him and we ran back to our house & I
put him down inside. He just stood there and looked back at us & it was
then that I realized that the cat I had just brought into our house, was not our
cat. He had exactly the same color pattern as Sunny…the tiger stripe legs, the
dark gray on his back..everything! But his facial features were slightly off.
My heart sunk deeper than it had been all night and we let the cat out who
eventually found his way back home. (TRUE STORY!) I mean, what are the chances of a cat like that...a cat that looked almost identical to Sunny...being on that porch while I was looking for my cat who looked just like him?? (mind you we've been living here 2 years & have never seen that cat before).
At this moment,
I truly felt that the devil was toying with me. He knew I was vulnerable & in his own way, he was laughing at me. I got angry. I was angry
at the devil, and at myself for being so deceived to think that it was my cat. Even after I had originally saw that his face
was a little different, I still picked him up and took him home, probably
because I wanted to BELIEVE that it was Sunny. That cat wasn't on that porch by "coincidence" nor did I take him home by "coincidence". When you believe in God & His full control than you cancel out any room to believe in coincidences.
A couple hours
later, on my last search of the night, and after much prayer, God brought Sunny
out of the woods & directly into my line of sight & God allowed me to
grab him & take him home. Yes, a
happy ending to my story, but it got me thinking.
How often do we allow the devil to deceive us
in our everyday lives?? He is very slick
in his ways, & if our guard is down, even a little, he strikes right
away. The devil is smart…he knows our
weaknesses & he attacks when we are most vulnerable. He is also the king of
deception. The same devil that deceived Eve in the garden of Eden is the same
devil unleashed today that deceives us in our minds & hearts every day. The
sad thing is, we don’t even realize when he is doing it. And sometimes when we do realize it, it's already too late.
I ignored the warning of the
different facial features when I took that cat home…I allowed myself to be
deceived because of my wants and my emotions. How often do we
tell ourselves…”Oh one more sip..or one more drink won’t hurt”, or “I’m not a
gossiper but it’s ok if I talk about people once in awhile”, Or “I deserve this
vacation, or “I deserve to spoil myself so it’s okay if I splurge or waste
money this one time”, or “just 10 more bucks..and if I lose than I’ll stop
betting”…”Just this one more time”…
We
rationalize our behavior to make it fit what we want to do & what we think
we need in order to temporarily satisfy our emotions. Well let me tell you,
that has the devil’s name written all over it. Say what you want but the Bible
even says to “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1
Peter 5:8).
There
is only one way to be successful in standing up against the devil & being
able to protect yourself from his attacks & that is through the Armor of
God. We are told to “Put on the full armor of God, so that you
can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Eph 6:10).
The more spiritually prepared
you are in your every day life, the more difficult it will become for the devil
to bring you down. He goes after the weak…don’t allow yourself to be one of the
“weak” ones. Spending time reading the Bible & praying every day & establishing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ will help
you build up the defense you need.
Don’t be like me. Don’t let the
“wrong cat” into your life. Even more importantly, don’t take him home, and DO
NOT invite him into your house.
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