Sermon Central
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If Satan Is Trying That Hard...
Contributed by Austin W. Duncan on Apr 18, 2026 (message contributor)
I don't recommend that you go home and make a list of the major things that have gone wrong in your life since COVID. But I did. So here it is.
Cassy's dog Cooper had surgery for an aggressive form of cancer. Then his cancer returned. My first dog Kida was bleeding internally, and I was told at the emergency vet that had I not gotten her there when I did she would have passed away within about half an hour. The next day I'm in a staff meeting and my mom calls. And calls. And calls. I step out to call her back and find out my dad is in a coma in the hospital and the doctors don't know why. They said he was about thirty minutes from death when they got him there. Because of the scans they were running to figure out what was wrong, he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Then Cassy's grandpa passed away, pretty much without warning. Then Cassy was in a hit and run, and they never found the other driver. Then we found out we had bad pex piping in our house, leading to a massive slab leak where our entire kitchen and downstairs flooring had to be replaced. Then my Jeep's engine blew a head gasket cracking the engine block that had to be rebuilt. Then Cooper passed away from the cancer that returned. Then a car changed lanes into Cassy's car while she was driving, nearly flipping it. Then a deer clipped my car cracking the front grill. Then an AC pipe in the wall of our master bedroom started leaking. Then Cassy's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer again. Because of that Cassy had to get tested for the BRCA gene, and we found out she has it, increasing her chance for breast cancer by about 80%. Then while driving my rebuilt Jeep, the fuel pump blew and a rocker arm came loose. Then our husky ate a bottle of Aleve and nearly died. Then a deer ran across the road and slammed into my car, taking out almost every panel on the left side.
Nineteen things. In just a couple of years.
And you know what I've decided about that list? If Satan is throwing all of that our way, I'm chalking it up to joy. Because what an encouragement that we're right where God wants us, if the enemy is trying that hard to make us stumble. Jude tells us to build ourselves up in our most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, and keep ourselves in the love of God. That's not generic advice for easy seasons. That's a survival strategy for the hard ones. And it works. Not because the list stops growing, but because what we're anchored to is bigger than the list.
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