Saturday, July 19, 2014

What a difference a week makes

Wow! What a difference a week makes. Last week was awful and I felt like I had a glimpse of the power of Satan. Who he is and what he does is very real. Last week at church I was able to talk to my girls a little about how they can tell the difference between the Savior and Satan. And for the first time, I felt could really tell and explain the difference. Each of us has the light of Christ in us, a little piece of Him. We are His. When He wants us to change He works from the inside out, and this is the part Satan could never replicate, He changes us with hope and love, even if we are being reproved. And it really starts on the inside. Satan is really good at trying to manipulate us with emotions. But if you stop and pay attention to what is happening, you can tell it is coming from an outside source. He is a master of manipulation. He knows emotion and he and his followers have figured out a way to radiate these emotions onto us, happiness, sadness, anger, etc. Have you ever had an experience where for no reason at all you just felt angry all of a sudden? This is what they do. They project emotions onto us. Or if you have ever done something you shouldn't and felt like it was a good thing. You felt alive even though your conscience pricked at you? Emotional manipulation. Each of us has a unique power to overcome these situations. As powerful as Satan is or thinks he is, he will never have the power our Father in Heaven or Savior have. If you ever are in a deep dark place or struggle with the powers of the destroyer, call on the power of Him who created you. Only He has the power to save, only His light can chase away the darkness and fear. He will not leave us. You are His and He loves you. He will never abandon you, just like He didn't abandon me. When I could take the pressures no more, I prayed very specifically for God to send His angels to surround me because I needed a break. And from that very hour He did. He really loves us. He will not take away our trials but He will help us through them anyway He can. But there are certain things each of us has to go through, each of us has to experience. I am thankful for my trials, not because they are fun, but because I learn so much and they allow me to grow. The hardest times in my life have really been the most special and some of the most sacred. And I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on any of them because they may have been too hard, they are meant to be hard, for our good.