My mom has been giving me some groundbreaking advice ever since the intensity of this trial started.
She said, "Don't forget to give the devil credit."
We know the devil is very clever. Maybe the second most clever of all of God's children. And when it comes to those who are striving to be righteous, there are only so many ways he can get a handle on them.
One of the ways I believe he does this the most with the "righteous" is to twist truth. He disguises things, twists things, and we're trapped before we even know he was involved.
So many times I was tempted to say, "I feel this way cause of the depression." "I have to do that because of the OCD." I can't escape. I'm trapped.
And while I have major depression and clinical OCD, and that in fact is true in many cases, how true is it? Is it 50% true that we are trapped and can't escape some of the hold these illnesses have on our mind? Is it 100% true? Is it 10% true?
Perhaps, for example, it is 50% true that I can't escape a tendency or mood I am having. But perhaps the devil exacerbates the problem and lies to me. Perhaps Satan tells me it is 100% true.
If I can't escape, don't have a choice, am trapped, then I will likely give up. Giving up means a life of zero progress. No productivity. No joy. Only pain. No fulfillment. No giving of love. No service. No personal revelation. No progress. And that is what he wants.
So my mom will say, "Don't forget, we sometimes don't give the devil enough credit."
Doesn't it make sense that the devil will play on our weaknesses. He will play on our vulnerabilities. And when we are mentally ill, we are super weak. We are the most vulnerable of all time.
If he can lie to us when we're down and tell us we are trapped, then he wins.
So I've tried to see the line of what is the illness responsible for, what is my agency responsible for (like am I trying with all the might I have), and what of this frustration and situation is the devil responsible for. I believe it helps. A lot.
Thanks Mom. She is probably the wisest person I know on this earth.
And that's not a lie.
