Is the Devil in the Details of My Life?

The source of the phrase, “The devil is in the details” is a bit unsure. It is thought to be a derivation of the phrase “God is in the detail,” thought to be from an old German proverb sometime in the 1800’s. Whatever the origin, both phrases are profoundly true. As we begin a new year, we often look to get things in order, so that we can improve our quality of life. For a Christian, this is a great practice but is also one that should be approached with a measure of caution. Why? Because the devil CAN be in the details! Just because we decide we want our lives to be better does not mean we will automatically go about it in a God-honoring way! So, what do we watch out for? How can we be sure to have the details of our desires be more appropriate, have godliness written all over them and no trace of the devil? What do we know about the devil? The devil is a spiritual being not of this earth. But through several prophecies, the Bible tells us a fair amount about his heavenly position and responsibilities. These prophecies reveal he was called a “morning star.” This was a very high rank among all of God’s created beings. They also tell us how he was given a measure of oversight over the earthly creation. All of this adds up to Satan being in a natural position of powerful and influence over humanity. This became obvious when he deceived Eve in the Garden, and she followed his direction rather than God’s specific instruction. How is the devil in our details? The nature of Satan’s rebellion against God is prophetically revealed in Isaiah 14:12-14. These verses describe not only his mindset, but his objectives as he sought to be like God. When we couple the prophetic history of Satan with his blatant rebellion against God, we end up with an alarming influence over humanity that is evil. The unfortunate conclusion from all of this is that the devil is not only in the details of our lives, he is naturally in those details. This means his rebellious characteristics of arrogance, deception and subtlety have an indelible effect on the human race. We as humans often look to make decisions to improve our lives and focus our ambition, especially at the beginning of a new year. Knowing what we know now, we need to proceed with wisdom, as we want to have God in the details of our lives and not Satan. Check out our January 03, 2022 podcast, “Is the Devil in the Details of My Life?” for more. We look at four specific aspects of Satan’s desires. We compare his desires with our typical human attempts to make our lives better. What we find is reason for caution and hope. Caution, because it is painfully easy to give in to the devil’s way of doing things by always putting ME first. Hope because these things are recognizable and changeable! God belongs in the details of our lives. Let’s make sure He is there!