The Devil Doesn't Like To Lose...

This I have learned well in my life. For years I was his footstool. I am no longer. For years after I was his occasional tool. Those occasions are getting less and less. Every time I make an internal, spiritual achievement, every time I take one long step closer to my Lord, I can see the devil doing all he can to punish me for it. People he uses to oppress me, and thoughts and images. This requires no magical thinking. It is not a supernatural also-ran. It is in the social fabric of our world. People hate to see people who are doing better than them: morally or aesthetically, in terms of attitude or material success. Envy is the law of satan, and it runs through much of the world. So when I feel myself a step closer, grabbing that offered rope and with God's mighty help pulling myself just one step closer, I feel all the powers of evil aligning against me. It is a massive assault, a cosmic assault. On my own, I know that this should destroy me, or cause me to fall back. But the grace of God is a powerful thing, even in the hands of a loser like myself. I may stumble, but I will not fall. I may be crushed down, but I can never be destroyed. Truth once seen is just too grand to give up.