Tripped By Satan (#EverydayJesus Link-up)

Welcome to another week of our Everyday Jesus link-up. Be sure to link-up below this post, comment on your neighbor’s blog and share with your friends… Because Jesus is everywhere, every day!

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I have mentioned him on here before.

He is a big, ugly, sneaky jerkface.

And no, I am not talking about the guy who cut me off in traffic earlier today on the way to the Sea-Tac Airport. (Name calling real people is not nice. But saying “SERIOUSLY, DUDE?!?!” is totally permitted. I digress.)

No, this big, ugly sneaky jerkface is the enemy. Satan. The devil. Lucifer. The fallen angel of doom.

Whatever you want to call him, he is not nice and is out to wreak havoc in all of our lives, no holds barred, ready to take us down using whatever methods he can.

Now I don’t want to talk about Satan too much– after all, he only deserves so much of our time. But unfortunately, he is present in our everyday (or at least his minions are– and they are NOT like the cute funny ones from Despicable Me.)

I could give you a ton of examples of my personal struggles, but I really want to share with you one that has stuck in my mind/heart for weeks.

As part of my walk with Christ, God is using this year to shape me to do things I have never, ever done before. All of these God-sized dreams require an immense amount of faith.

And yes, you guessed it– one of those dreams is to become a runner. (Totally His idea, not mine.) Apparently 2014 is the “Year of the Runner.” At least in the Knobloch household. Um, yikes.

But guess what? I am making pretty cool progress. And I give all the glory to God. (Seriously, it is BLOWING my mind.)

9 miles. By myself. On a Saturday. In horizontal rain. Take that, Satan!

One of the first God-sized goals for this year was to run a 10K. That is 6.2 miles. Without walking. This is kind of a big deal for a gal who, for her entire adult life, has never not been “obese” or “overweight.” A few years ago, I literally could not run a quarter-mile to save my life. Even at the beginning of this year, a mile took almost everything I had.

But if God calls us to it, He will help us through it, right? Right.

Several weeks ago, the moment of truth had come. My 10K race was rapidly approaching and I had been training hard for a couple of months. So I knew it was time to hit the open road, sans baby, stroller and dog and see what I could really do.

I dropped Charis off at daycare and was trying to psych myself up for the 6.2 miles that stretched out before me. (At least that was my goal.) In my heart of hearts, I really wanted to know that I COULD run this distance before I showed up on race day.

I was feeling good, albeit nervous as I could feel Satan whispering in the back of my head that this was impossible for me, but I told him to shut his face. I had some serious ground to cover. I started my GPS watch and took off, making to sure to pace myself.

It went great. For a whole minute and sixteen seconds.

Then, for the first time in my running career, I fell. Tripped. Ate asphalt. Hard. A guy was driving by as I biffed it and the shocked look on his face must have indicated the spectacular-ness of the whole scene. (But he kept driving. Don’t worry, bro. I was fine.)

I stumbled to my feet, stopped my watch (hey, I didn’t want to mess up my time) looked at my bloody hands and knees, then literally yelled toward the sky:

“REALLY, GOD, REALLY!?!? I COULD USE A LITTLE HELP HERE!”

I stood there on the sidewalk for a minute contemplating what to do next. The car was literally less than a block away. I could quit. Call it a day. Limp to the vehicle, pick up the baby and be done.

But God said no. He showed me that yes, I am a clumsy person but also told me that I could persevere. I couldn’t help but think Satan was totally behind my fall. (Just like Adam and Eve’s fall. #SeeWhatIDidThere?)

So I prayed, took a breath, resumed the time on my watch and kept running.

For 6.2 miles. Without walking. With throbbing, bloody hands and knees, praying every step of the way.

And you know? I did it. Actually, GOD did it.

See friends, although Satan is present in our everyday, looking for any opportunity to trip, tempt or pull us away, God is right there, ready to pick us up when we fall. Satan will try to keep us focused on our weak spots or how far we have to go… God will show us where HE is strong and how far we have come.

Where do you struggle with Satan tripping you up? Feel free to leave a comment. (I would love to encourage you!)

Remember, dear readers… The next time you are “tripped by Satan,” ask God directly for help. Dust yourself off. Tell the big jerkface Satan to BACK OFF.

And keep on running.

Carried by Christ,