Run like the devil.....

James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Pretty much everyone who knows us knows that Tim was laid off last week. We have not been worried. We know that God will take care of us and we refuse to let our hearts be troubled. I kind of feel like I've been walking around with a stupid grin on my face because I know that my hope is in the Lord.

We have been amazingly blessed by our sisters and brothers in the Lord. Their prayers and their concerns have amazed us. God has shown His love abundantly through them.

So then WHY is this verse suddenly so relevant to me?

Because for about one minute (maybe two) I felt a pang of jealousy. Someone I know has had a very difficult year and because of this, God's people are reaching out to them. As quickly as I let my guard down, Satan jumped in. He took that moment to make sure I knew how much more stuff they had and how they couldn't possibly appreciate it as much as I do.

I am so ashamed to even admit that.
Go ahead. Hurl those rotten vegetables. I deserve it.

Luckily, God wasn't about to put up with my "spoiled brat" attitude. He kept me awake that night for a couple hours and we had quite the conversation. He told me, "You have ME, Kim. You KNOW Me. You tell Me that you trust Me, so why do you pout and stomp your foot like one who has never heard My Name? Where would you rather have your riches- here, now? Or in eternity with Me? For those that do not know Me, the riches of the earth may be used by man to show them My love. Why do you want what they get, when you already have what they don't?"

Talk about spiritual flick on the forehead!!!

The joy I had been feeling has now been tainted. It's still there, but I don't know if it can ever be as perfect as it was before I let Satan dig his dirty, grimy, sinful foot in the door.
But I cast him away. The devil is not welcome here.
He flees. And boy, is he ticked.