Why Satan Knows How to Break Us!

I know, I know...the title is a little intense. But I wanted to get your attention. I had this light bulb moment the other day - again at Church and then my reading. It started off about how to stay strong against Satan. And then about how it is scary how well he knows our weaknesses and exactly how and where in our lives to work on us.

(Before I give you my personal thought on this I think I need to clear something up of those not of the LDS faith-- we believe when we were in Heaven that Heavenly Father heard two plans for this mortality. One from Satan - then Lucifer and one from Jesus. We believe before Satan was evil and the Devil as we know him today, we has one of our brothers in heaven. Satan's plan was that we come here with no free agency - all choosing the right all the time - no need for a Savior - but all the glory from the people would go to him. Jesus presented a plan that said we all come here - have free agency, make mistakes and learn from them but because we would not be perfect - there would be a need for a Savior to take away our sins so we could live in the presence of God again. And the glory would be the Father's not Jesus'. ---- this is a very quick overview of it.)

So, I started thinking about families - trying to keep them strong and then about how to protect it from Satan, and how is it he knows us so well? And this thought came to me --- He was our brother in Heaven before he became evil. Our minds have forgotten what we were all like before we came to this earth---but he has not. Just like a sibling, he knows what buttons to push. I watched my kids in the car the other day, and was amazed how the younger ones knew just what to say and how to say it to get the older two all worked up. Now my kids are not evil of course, but the way they know each other - the weakness of the other, the things that make them mad or sad --- brought to mind the way Satan knows exactly how to get to each of us. As a sibling would.

My areas of weakness are not the same as my husbands. Satan can hit me over the head in one area and not have it effect me at all, but he can just slightly start picking in another area that I am weak in - and sooner or later I have allowed him to make a crack in my defenses if I am not careful and mindful of what he is trying to do.

This may not be a thought any of you agree with --- but for me it was a moment to help me understand WHY Satan is so good at what he does.

It just made me realize that as a mother I need to teach my kids even more how to watch out for that sneaky way Satan has --- and as a Daughter of God I need to realize that Satan is going to work 10 times harder on those trying to live good lives and who are trying to draw closer to God. We all know of at least one person we have watched make choices that have lead them in a direction that ends end sorrow. And a lot of times they are people we never would have guessed that would happen to. It is sad and makes the mother in me want to grab my family and go hide out in a cabin far far away from it all. But then reality hits and I realize that if those of us who felt that way did that - then Satan really does win.