Have you ever noticed that satan often attacks you in areas that you're not expecting it?
As a fairly seasoned Christian, I've learned what most of my weak spots are. Not all, mind you; but most. I could write a diatribe right now on my "red button" issues that can easily lead me down the dark road to sin if I'm not careful. I try to remain on "high alert" in these areas, and when even so much as a thought comes my way, I immediately begin praying that God will refocus my mind and grant me strength to endure and overcome. I know from scripture that God always provides us strength and a way out of every temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13), so often I am able to avert walking down that path simply by recognizing it. What amazes me, however, is how often satan can do a frontal assault in one of these areas that you never see coming! I was drawn to think about this today as I sat in Starbucks and tried to get a little bit of work done.
*Before I continue, I know that many of you who read this blog will be women - so I beg your understanding and non-judgemental attitudes as you read...but men need to hear this, and women need to be aware of it. So, after a fierce internal debate, I'm writing it down...
It was a beautiful day, so I chose to sit outside and work on my laptop. A nice breeze and mild temperatures made it so wonderful. (I love feeling the wind wisp through my toes when I wear flip-flops.) I did my morning Bible study and then moved into answering email, starting a blog, etc. I'd been there for about an hour when I realized how often I was taking my attention off of my computer to notice attractive women walk past me. The warm temperatures that I was enjoying also encouraged these women to wear a little less clothing that they probably should have, and the breeze that I enjoyed circulating through my toes also made their skirts wisp and reveal a little too much of their legs. Now, I honestly noticed everyone who walked past me and into the store, but it took me a while to realize that I was noticing the attractive women just a little longer than I did everyone else.
As a pastor, I know how sexual sin destroys, and I know how important men's eyes are in that process; so, I dutifully practice Steven Arterburn's process of "bouncing the eyes" that he talks about in "Every Man's Battle." Of course, if you know my wife, then you know that she is very beautiful and my eyes have no lack feminine beauty to gaze upon. So normally I can be around beautiful women and not think twice about it. When I see an attractive woman, I discipline myself to keep my eyes locked onto her face and I typically have few problems keeping my mind or my eyes from going where they don't need to go. I recognize that area is a weak point for any man, so I'm always on guard for it. For some reason, though, with my brain's attention drawn to my work I honestly didn't realize how long it was taking me to bounce away. As I think about it now, it was probably a full second or two - at least twice as long as the normal glance I gave everyone else. While I was distracted by work, and without my knowing it, satan was filling my eyes/brain with images I don't need.
As I think about it, I frequent this Starbucks (my Starbucks Gold Card and I are recognized by most of the employees), and I don't recall seeing that many attractive women come to Starbucks in that short an amount of time ever before. Perhaps today's episode was something arranged by the evil one specifically for me, or perhaps it was something that I've just not noticed before today. I don't know...either way, I have Arterburn's "mental rolodex" in my mind right now and I could describe to you every one of those women...again, these are women that I really didn't notice that I was noticing, and I saw each of them for maybe two seconds. Men, that's how powerful our eyes are.
At this moment, I'm sitting here evaluating this morning's attack - because again, I didn't realize what was going on at first. It took a while for my mind to make the connection, and now I think I've figured out what he was after. It's been a very stressful few weeks for Andrea, and we've been very busy. Let's just say that time and energy for intimacy have been scarce, and with school ending today, I been eagerly anticipating tonight. :) So of course, satan chooses today to bombard me with this sort of imagery; BUT, his delivery was so subtle that I didn't even notice it! That's what troubles me so much! He hit me with such an obvious stumbling block, but in such a way that I didn't know he was doing it.
And this type of thing is not just limited to sex. It can happen in any area of our lives. For instance, a few years ago I was doing a 40 day fast with the other pastors of our church. During those first few days of the fast, I noticed that I was seeing A LOT of food commercials on TV (count them one day...you'll be SHOCKED at the frequency of commercials advertising food). About midway through the fast, I began to have a strong desire to eat...not because I was hungry, but because I wanted to eat. As I prayed and took stock of my feelings, I realized that I had been watching a lot of TV. Satan was hitting me with a known temptation, but in a subversive way that I was not paying attention to. As I became aware of the food commercials again, the desire to eat subsided.
So, my question/encouragement to you today is to stop for a moment and evaluate. Think about your life. Are there ways that satan is attacking you without you knowing it's happening? And not just through sexual or romantic imagery...perhaps through your temper? Your job? Family relations? Food? Materialism? If so, pray for eyes to see the evil one's schemes, and for God's strength to avert them.
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