Is it the devil? When people face trials, troubles and difficulties in their life you often hear them say they are facing an attack from the devil. Is it? Of course we know the evil one can cause harm to us and in our lives. Read the book of Job in the Bible and that fact is confirmed. However in many instances the troubled times we face, can be a direct consequence of our own actions or lack thereof. How so?

At the first sign of a problem do we turn inward or reach out to God? Do we use depression and feeling sorry for ourself as an excuse to quit on God and turn away from Him or do we put our trust in The Lord and pray about it and seek God in the situation? Do we seek answers in God’s word or do we post our frustrations on Facebook? Do we wallow in despair or do we believe in God’s power and His promise that all things are possible through Jesus Christ who strengthens us?

We all have our moments where we hit the bottom and even have a little pity party for ourselves. The key here for us as a Christian is to reach out, perhaps cry out and Jesus will come… if you know Him. If you don’t know Him and you feel that tug on your heart then maybe God is telling you to cry out to Him, repent of your sin and ask Him to forgive you and to come into your heart as your Lord and Savior. Then take His hand and allow His embrace to lift you up from where you are. Read the words of Jesus Himself on the matter in Matthew 16:24-25. Read the words in these scriptures about how God has come to others who cried out for Him. He is the same loving God today that He was then. Psalms 18:6; Psalms 50:15; Psalms 142:1-7. Then we should trust in Him and follow where He leads. Psalms 25:4-11; Proverbs 20:24. If you ask a true Christian they will tell you that accepting Jesus as their Savior was the one most important and greatest decision of their life. 

When we find ourselves in a dark place we can’t just dwell there all alone. We all need help and there is no better help than Jesus. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to put our trust in The Lord and to lean on Him, submit to Him in all ways. The key though is that after a person accepts Jesus as their Lord, they then must follow Him and seek Him in their life from that moment forward. Ephesians 2:8-10 emphasizes that salvation is a gift and our good works that should follow is a result of our new life in Christ. If you are a Christian then you already know what is said here is true. Somehow we may have got off track. Life realities may have really hit us hard. Instead of deciding to pass it off as the devil causing it all, we need to take personal responsibility and do something about it. James 1:14; Ezekiel 18:19-20. Even if the devil does have his hand in this and I’m sure he does in some way because he loves to keep a person down as long as we will let him. We need to pick ourself up, dust ourself off and do what is right. Romans 14:12. What is right for us and right with The Lord. If we don’t know what that is, then spending time on our knees in prayer and time in God’s word is where we need to go. The Bible and prayer is the best way to get direction as to the path to follow, advice on how to avoid snares and sound advice on how to live a life that brings glory and honor to God.

We’ve got people around us willing to be there and help us according to God’s plan. There are good people willing to be there for us and give us advice on moving forward toward God’s way. Galatians 6:2. So often we ignore those people and instead seek time with those who will pat us on the back and allow us to wallow in our despair. We seek to spend time with people that don’t care if we do the right thing or not. We sometimes seek to wrap ourselves in pity. We need to go to a pastor or a Christian friend. Proverbs 12:15. They will be the ones who are most likely to guide us towards the right path. Other people even some that may have good intentions, if they are not giving sound Christian counsel then they will most likely keep you where you are or take you down a path of destruction.

When seeking counsel, it is important to consider the character of the person. You should look for advice from people who knows and loves God, who seeks God’s will and will be faithful to the truth of God’s word when giving you guidance and advice. If they’re not Christian then they don’t know the right direction themselves. When we have a beautiful car on the outside but the motor is not running on all cylinders we don’t tow it to a car show for people to have an awe moment looking at it. We tow it to a mechanic that can repair the motor and get it back on the road to continue its purpose. Seek the help that will show you in God’s word how the chief mechanic for all things, the one who created all things, Jesus Christ can turn your life around.