“Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.”
—JAMES 1:14–15

Is Satan always to blame when things go wrong in our lives?

Or are we sometimes responsible? On one hand, the Bible makes it clear that Satan is real and that he is ultimately behind all the evil that goes on in the world. Before he rebelled against God (long before the human race was created), the world was perfect; sin and evil didn’t exist. But now we live in a fallen, twisted, sin-infested world—and Satan is the reason.

But on the other hand, Satan is not all-powerful, nor does he directly cause every bad thing that happens to us. Sometimes we don’t know the cause—but often we alone are responsible, because we have turned our backs on God and deliberately followed our own sinful desires instead of His will. When we do, we pay the consequences; as the Bible warns,

“God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

But remember: by His death and resurrection, Jesus triumphed over all the forces of evil—those in our heart and those in the world. Turn to Him for the strength you need to resist temptation and follow Him. Prayer… You are well acquainted with Satan’s tempting ways, Lord. You are familiar with the false promises he makes and have seen him twist Scripture for his own purposes. Strengthen us so that we resist the devil and cause him to flee. Amen