Adulteresses! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the world’s friend becomes God’s enemy. Or do you not think it’s without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit who lives in us yearns jealousy? James 4:4-5 HCSB
The devil wants us to fit in with the rest of the world. He wants us to harbor anger and bitterness. He wants us to have chaos and confusion in our lives. In the beginning he tries to convince us that this is good, we are showing others that we are not to be trifled with, but it weighs us down. It causes trouble in our lives. This is why I want you to consider something today, are you making the devil happy with the way you live, the way you speak, the way you treat others?
We are told in 1 Peter 5:8 that we should be alert and be careful because the devil is roaming around like a roaring lion seeking anyone he can devour. We are told in John 10:10 that the thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. You see, no good can come from our aligning ourselves with the devil. So, why would we want to make him happy? But still we do. We bring him great joy when we fail to seek the Lord with our whole hearts. We bring him great joy when we fail to love others. He loves it when we stir strife. He loves to see us fighting with one another. Oh and if he can stir a family into fighting, even better. And nothing makes his Sunday more than seeing a family that stays away from church.
You make the devil happy when you harbor unforgiveness in your heart. The devil has won you over to his side when you mistreat those around you and justify it by saying you are only getting even (Romans 12:10). He loves it when you fight evil with evil (Romans 12:17). When you seek vengeance against those who have hurt you, I’m sure it makes his little cold black heart go pitter patter (Romans 12:19). One of his personal favorites is when you figure you know better than God and decide to do it all your way, he loves that (Romans 12:16). He also loves to see a self-proclaimed Christian showing hatred to their enemy. The bible tells us that we are to love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48). We are told in Romans 12:14 that we should bless those that persecute us; bless and do not curse.
The devil is ready to pounce. You may have heard it said that the devil takes advantage of us when we are hungry, angry, lonely and tired. The acronym for this is HALT. If you are hungry, angry, lonely or tired and find yourself about to do something that the bible tells you not to do or that you know will make the devil happy, I beg of you to stop. Think about what you are doing. Are you going to make the devil happy if you do this? My friend, if you are, know it’s just not worth it.
Know we need to strive to make God happy. We need to trust Him and obey Him. This leads us to a life of peace and joy. It leads us to an eternal life in glory spent with God the Father.
When we make the devil happy it only leads to death and destruction. No good can come from it.
So, what’s it going to be? Will you continue to make the devil happy or will you turn to God. Will you confess your sin to God? Will you ask God to remove any barriers that may prohibit you from having peace and joy in your life? Will you trust in God and strive to imitate Christ?
When we make God happy, He brings us true peace and joy. It’s win-win.
Have a great day!