In the beginning, God designed us to have good desires so that He could satisfy those desires as we sought His presence and worshipped Him. But also in the beginning, the enemy sought to exploit our God-given desires for his own evil intentions: to glorify himself above the Almighty and corrupt those made in the image of God (Isaiah 14:13). But if God created us with good desires, why are we susceptible to corruption and desiring things that are not of God?
In the beginning, Satan inherited a large land full of darkness and fire pits. No one wants to own a land full of darkness and fire pits. So for the last few thousand years, Satan has been doing what any insane person would do when they acquire a land full of darkness and fire pits: deceive someone else into buying it from him. That’s right. Satan is a professional real estate agent, trying to get rid of property in a place called Hell. But Hell is horrifying and Satan is hideous. How’s a hideous archangel supposed to sell this land of horrors? Here’s an idea: millions of men and women on earth know nothing of God or are not satisfied with their lives. All Satan has to do is convince them that he has a better life for them, conveniently leaving out some details about Hell fire and what not, and then watch them as they eat out of his hand.
To answer the question from the first paragraph: evil in its true form is unappealing to everyone, whether saved or unsaved, but when craftily disguised, evil will lure away the undiscerning. The enemy is always trying to disguise evil behind the things we deeply desire and need—true love and affection, freedom, abundance, food, clothing, etc.—without these disguises evil quickly becomes appalling. When Jesus was being tempted by Satan, He had the discernment to clearly see evil for what it was, and had no appetite for anything Satan offered. We need the Holy Spirit to sharpen the lines between good and evil, which are only blurred by the enemy’s deception, and sharpen our wisdom from the Word of God and our discernment from the Holy Spirit. “Forsake not [Wisdom], and she will keep, defend, and protect you; love her, and she will guard you.” – Proverbs 4:6.
Confession for today: “Holy Spirit, sharpen my eyes so I can clearly see the distinction between good and evil, not just for me but for those around me, so that evil can be exposed everywhere I go. And, Lord, I thank you for satisfying every single one of my desires with good things so that my youth is constantly renewed.”
Pursue your purpose in Him,
Anthony B.
