Of course, we all know it’s gonna be hot during a Texas summer. It’s no surprise. Texas summers have been hot as long as we have a history of people being in Texas to report on how hot it is! Thankfully, people have learned to adapt and be prepared for the inevitable heat. Most importantly, we have air conditioning so we can keep our homes and vehicles comfortable throughout the sweltering days. We’ve also learned the importance of staying inside as much as possible. For those who can’t close up indoors, we’ve learned the value of making sure we have shade, plenty of fluids, and are taking breaks fairly often. We know it’s gonna be hot, so in some form or fashion, we’ve prepared ourselves for it.
As sure as it’s gonna be hot in Texas during the summer, we can know the Adversary will be laying traps to deceive us. That’s who he is. That’s what he does. But why do we so often act surprised when a temptation is placed before us? Why do we act so helpless as though he caught us off guard? It’s because we haven’t adequately prepared ourselves for the inevitable acts of deception he’s going to present to us.
We’ll be looking today and over the next several weeks at some of the deceptions that Satan uses in our lives to trick us into sin and pain. When we learn to expect it and recognize what he’s doing, we’ll be much more prepared to avoid his pitfalls. There’s no reason to be caught unprepared!