... or refine us and prepare us in whatever way He deems fit in
His all-wise, all-loving mind (Judg. 3:4; James 1:2–3). But God
(by contrast to the enemy) wants us to know He will use any
measure to help us and grow us, even if it calls for the
temporary pain of those measures. He wants us to know we can
trust Him even with difficulty and discipline, or with the
unavoidable happenings of life on a fallen planet because He
promises to work “all things” together for our good and His
purposes (Rom. 8:28).
The devil’s deeds, however, are so unlike this. They’re
almost always accompanied by darkness and deception. Cloak
and dagger. Smoke and mirrors. He “disguises himself as an
angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14). Success, to him, means stirring up
discord in your home, your church, your workplace, your
neighborhood, and doing it in such a way that no one’s even
aware he’s been in the building. He knows our natural, physical
response is to start coming after each other instead of him—
attacking, counterattacking, pointing fingers, assigning blame
—while he sits out in the driveway monitoring the clamor
inside, fiendishly rubbing his hands together, admiring just
how adept he is... and what easy targets we are.