Have you ever laughed at the devil? Now, before you start to think I’m nuts, here me out.

I spent some time with the Lord this morning unloading some of my mental and emotional clutter. I, like you, fill many roles in this life, and sometimes the mess of it leaves me feeling disheveled. There are too many things that I can’t fix or control. This led me to have a chat with Jesus about it all. I made a few requests in the process.

A few hours later…

BOOM.

You know what the boom is. You don’t know my specific boom, but you know the boom. It’s that thing that tries to knock you off course. It’s that thing that leaves you feeling disoriented, unsteady, flustered. The boom came, but I recovered.

Then, BAM. 

Bam is the round two that piles on top of the remnants of emotions from round one. It’s usually a completely unrelated matter, but impactful all the same. Round two had me grumbling down deep. Ugh.

Then I laughed. It wasn’t immediate, but I laughed. Why? Because I remembered part of my chat with Jesus this morning. I remembered my request.

“Oh my God of hope, the one who loves me, and holds me and sees me, please fill me with all joy and peace as I trust in you. I ask you to fill me with all joy and peace so that I may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” 

I laughed because I remembered my prayer.

I laughed because the devil tried it today, but the Lord allowed me to see the scheme (Ephesians 6:11).

I laughed because I remembered that I must resist him (James 4:7).  I laughed because I remembered that I am a moving target, and he is seeking to devour me (I Peter 5:8). I laughed because God is good (Psalm 107:1) and I have victory in Jesus (I Corinthians 15:57). 

Did all of my feelings poof away? Nope. BUT (the but is capitalized to make sure that you hear me 😉) God is with me, he is for me and he let me see the situation for what it was. Because of that glimpse, I laughed.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.   Romans 15:13 NIV