Saturday in the Word | Satan Attacks Us Where We Shine

Yesterday, I had the privilege of leading our devotional time at work. Every morning, at every Samaritan’s Purse ministry center around the country, we gather for a time of devotion and prayer.

Since my time on staff at Trinity Bible Church, leading morning devos seems to be a hallmark of my ministry wherever I work. It’s actually how my blog, The Devotional Guy™ came to be.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Matthew 5:15-16 NLT

Satan Attacks Us Where We Shine

I’m a people person.

It took me a long time to embrace that as part of who God created me to be.

Truthfully, being a people person comes with some unexpected baggage. People sometimes confuse it with an unhealthy desire to please people or mistake it for superficiality.

I’ve been told that I radiate joy. That I shine. That my enthusiasm for Jesus and the Gospel is contagious.

And guess what?

That’s exactly where the enemy likes to attack. The Devil doesn’t just hit us in our weakness, but he also seeks to diminish our strengths.

Satan throws inferiority and belittlement my way on the daily. He tells me that I’m too much or not enough. He tries to convince me that my personality is annoying and that people hate me for being the way I am. Maybe I should tone it down, step back, or maybe just disappear into the background?

Why?

Satan wants to kill my joy.

The Devil is, after all, the ultimate killjoy.

But, Jesus tells us not to hide our light under a basket. We’re supposed to let it shine.

Naturally, one of the enemy’s strategies is to convince us to hide precisely what God intends to use for His glory. I desperately want to draw people to Jesus. Advancing the Gospel is something Terri and I are both passionate about.

If God has given you joy, the Devil will try to steal it.
If God has given you courage, Satan will try to make you afraid.
If God has given you a voice, the Devil will tell you nobody wants to hear it
Satan will tell you caring makes you weak.

And if God has made you someone who brings light into a room, Satan will try to convince you that you’re better off sitting in the dark.

I’m learning not to fall for it. Albeit, it’s taken me a long time to recognize that being a people person isn’t something I need to apologize for.

My people-bilites are a gift from God and like any gift they’re meant to be used.

Paul writes in Romans 12:6, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them” (ESV).

While we are called to be humble, we are not called to be less than who God created us to be.

Self-doubt and unworthiness quickly become tools of the Enemy working to diminish our testimony. There’s no need to extinguish us; silencing us will do.

Don’t make yourself smaller because someone else doesn’t share your enthusiasm

My joy isn’t something I need to hide and my light isn’t mine to extinguish.

It belongs to Jesus.

I’m going to keep shining.

But because Jesus is the Light and He has chosen to shine through ordinary people like me.

And, apparently, that makes Satan a little cranky.

Good.

Let him be cranky.

I’ve got joy to share.