We had been stuck for nearly an hour behind a broken down tram in De Hanne, Belgium (See The Stumbling Block: The Tram to De Panne, En Panne! Fearless Victory Series, Part 4), but thanks to the persistence of our tram driver, we were back on the rail again. The only problem was, we were on the wrong one! We were on the left, heading west on the rail designated for eastbound trams!

They must have temporarily stopped the eastbound trams, because our track was clear as far as the eye could see, and all would have been fine, as only we could have continued driving on a four-lane road! But it wasn’t to be. The street narrowed down to two lanes, and we were stuck once again. But this time, instead of being stuck behind a tram to De Panne that was “en panne” – broken down – we were stuck on the left side of the road, facing an unending line of eastbound cars who all wanted to occupy the lane that we were now blocking!

There was no way we could push on, on the wrong side of the road, against that line of eastbound cars! The only choice would be to go back. Back to being stuck behind the broken down tram! No matter what we did, we were stuck! Which meant, of course, that we were REALLY STUCK! Maybe it would be best to just give up!

But the tram driver didn’t give up. He was busy on the radio again and after just a few minutes, we were met by a police officer on his motorbike. He told our driver to follow him, and all would be well.

The police officer drove ahead of us, waving all of the upcoming traffic to the other side of the road-to their left, and in moments, we were moving along, British-style, without a hitch. It wasn’t far to the next connection between the two tracks, and before long, we were on the right-hand track once again.

Despite the fact that we had been on the wrong side of the road, we were able to get through. All we had to do was rely on the police. All of those discouraging thoughts were nothing more than blatant lies.

Notice that though the devil constantly lies to us (See John 8:44), his lies always carry a ring of truth. After all, isn’t the best counterfeit one that is as close to the genuine as possible? The devil can also be very subtle in making us believe these are our very own thoughts. Is it any wonder we are told to: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” (Eph 6:11 NIV)?

The devil’s suggestions are always founded on lies, and a snare lies at their root. Oh how he loves it when we try to debate with him. He always succeeds to confound us with his “ifs” and “buts”, but in all reality, there are never any “ifs” and “buts” with God!

The tools in his tool box are many, but three of his most powerful ones are:

– Division: How can we stand when we are divided? Friendships are broken, which results in people becoming discouraged from doing good! And the main weapon he uses to attain this goal is accusation: “The accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night…” (Rev 12:10 NIV) Why do we even hang around such a harmful influence?

– Doubt: If he succeeds to get us to doubt, especially in relation to God’s love and forgiveness towards us, then the devil can be successful in bringing us under his power. He often frames his doubt-tipped arrows with questions that begin with: “Does God really…” The one thing we need to remember is that if we don’t feel close to God, it is not because God left us. It’s because we turned away from God! And if the devil succeeds in getting us to doubt our salvation, he knows that we will never be able to trust God in overcoming temptation! We are left weak and vulnerable, completely crippled as witnesses!

– Deception: Some examples of the devil’s most powerful deceptions are: “If they can do it, why can’t you?” “You don’t have time for that!” “Go on! You really DO want to!” And “Why worry about tomorrow? Just have fun today!” The results are devastating: Destroyed relationships, addictions, loss of jobs, destruction of self-worth, and loss of inner peace, to name a few. If we were able to see the outcome of our sinful path, we would never engage in them in the first place!

Remember, the devil is a subtle liar! For some reason his original lie, “You will not surely die” (Gen 3:4), was not clear enough for us! Do we realize, even now, after having dabbled for so long in his domain, that his snares are venomous? “For the wages of sin is death…” (Rom 6:23 NIV)

We may be stuck on the wrong side of the road, just as our tram driver was, but we don’t have to stay stuck! We can use our “radio” – prayer – and call for help from higher up! We don’t have to stay stuck in these snares from the liar!

“Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing – nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” (Rom 8:35-39 The Message)

But what about all that upcoming traffic?

Trust in God and experience Him fully! He will take care of that upcoming traffic! He is the One who will lead you into eternity!

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “Fearless Victory!” devotional series, please click here.)