10: Satanic Attacks

 Have you ever experienced a satanic attack? Movies present grandiose ways that satan comes after Christian and non-Christian people. Whether it's The Exorcist or The Conjuring, they depict terrifying, lethal ways satan interacts with humans. But the reality is much more subtle in ways you might never truly imagine. All you have to do is go back to the first time satan attacked a human, and you'll see why.

Adam and Eve experienced the first satanic attack in Genesis Chapter 3.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

"You will not certainly die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Genesis 3:1-5 source: Bible Gateway

I imagine satan looking more like the snake in the pic on this post than some terrifying monster-like presence. This creature had to be somewhat alluring that Eve would even listen. Of course, you know how the rest of the story goes after talking to this creature. Eve tempts Adam, and Adam and Eve partake of the fruit. Then, they are cast out due to their disobedience. 

But it started with something so subtle. Eve thought maybe satan was right.

Another line from a movie that comes to mind is when Darth Vader says, "Your thoughts betray you."

I like to tell my students not to change answers when preparing for an exam. One of the biggest issues students have, myself included, is changing answers on tests. Most of the time, your first instinct is correct, so go with it. But I take it one step further. I tell the students don't even change the answer in your head. The reason is that your thoughts can betray you. Because our thoughts are where both satan and God reside.

Both will tug at you in subtle ways and then slap you in the face at other times with it. But satan really takes it a step further. He loves to just sit in your mind and twist, manipulate, and coerce every thought you've ever had. God doesn't operate like that. God lets you make choices but expects you to live with them.

That's what I was faced with the night of July 13 into the morning of July 14 before I was discharged from Orangeburg. My thoughts were betraying me. The reason was because satan was attacking.

You might think COVID was the satanic attack occurring when you first started reading, but COVID is just COVID. It's just like the apple. All the fuss with the serpent was about a simple apple. COVID is pretty simple, too. It's just a virus. Either you get it, or you don't. Unfortunately, I got COVID, which has sometimes been implicated in causing Atrial Fibrillation in patients. The previous year, I had heart concerns arise before the first time I ever had COVID, so I had a history of potential concerns. Perhaps something was there that was unseen in 2022 but came to be once COVID factored in.

But no matter the circumstances, none warranted the mindset I developed that evening on July 13. That was the point when satan attacked.

"I lies to her, it tells her things only a child could understand."-Poltergeist

Satan took my thoughts and twisted them. In the previous post, I outlined all the negativity going through my mind that evening and what I said to my mother. I was beginning to think, maybe that is right.

But it wasn't.

I wasn't thinking about everything else that had gotten me to this point. It's easy to look back on the last 2 years and think that if I had taken better care of myself, maybe I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in now.

But how do you know? Perhaps something worse might have happened had I taken care of myself better. Perhaps something that might have cost me my life.

God doesn't want us to die. He wants us to live in Him. That's a huge difference between satan and God, with his embodiment in Christ. Christ died so we could live and cherish every moment because it will never come again.

That's something a colleague of mine reminded me of a few weeks ago when talking to them about the Afib concerns. If you do all you can and something still happens, you must give that to God. 

That day in the hospital, I suppose the only things that were "off" were the Afib and COVID. All of my other bloodwork and tests were basically expected ranges. Now was a time for healing and follow-up once I got back home.

But the self-loathing did extend a bit into the next day. I was saddened by the fact my family and I couldn't do the beach trip we had planned. I wasn't going to be able to present at the conference I had planned on attending. But at the same time, health concerns were more important to look at for me and my family. Obviously, we couldn't just go on vacation with COVID. However, additional heart concerns warranted coming home.

On the way home, I still had thoughts creep in. Doubts. I thought about all that had happened the last 2 years, and maybe if I had taken better care of myself in the past, I wouldn't be where I am now. See how that nasty thought creeps back in sometimes. Satan's ploy. It's not right. It's just a thought.

For the last 2 years, I've worked diligently to change my habits and correct the A1c of 10. During that time, those efforts also helped me understand things better and change aspects of my life for the better. Again, what if those things hadn't occurred. Would I be alive today to worry about Afib? There are worse things that could happen to a person.

"For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison." 2 Corinthians 4:17

Also translated, "This too shall pass."

At that time, I didn't completely understand what was happening to me, but I knew it had to be for a reason. Time would bring it to light and help me to understand so that I can incorporate what is needed into my life to help myself and others. That's the real point, in the end, serving others. So, whenever those thoughts creep in, satan's ploys to trick you into something you know you shouldn't do, don't let it. It's easy to believe that no one else will know. But someone will. You will. And Christ will. That's what satan hopes you will do: ignore those two individuals and listen to it. But eventually, the time will come when a reckoning is made, and that's when you'll hear the one true voice of Christ telling you what is next.

Tune in next time for 10: It's Time.