Satan Does His Best Work in the Dark!

“Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.”

1 Thessalonians 5:5

It’s 3:00 am and you are wide awake staring at the ceiling. You know that you need to get some sleep in order to be rested the next day but yet the more you think about it, the wider awake you become. You begin to go through all of the old adages like counting sheep etc. You even try to picture a blank piece of paper and start repeating to yourself, blank piece of paper, blank piece of paper, blank piece of paper and then if you are like I am, begin to write a “To Do” list on the blank

piece of paper. Do you ever have nights like this? I used to every now and then. Particularly when there was a lot going on in my life or a big event was coming up.

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:”

Ephesians 5:8

Many people, I’m sure, have had the same issue. I am always surprised (and yes sometimes embarrassed) the next morning as to why I was so concerned about some of the things that kept me awake. It almost seems ridiculous. Things always seem so much more serious in the dark of night than they do in the light of day.

“For thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.”

Psalm 18:28

Why is that? Because Satan always does his best work in the dark. Why do you think it is that he likes to keep us distracted and concerned in the middle of the night? He doesn’t want us to get a good night’s rest. He wants to get us all upset and overact to things that really aren’t all that serious as it seems in the middle of the night in the dark. He wants us to worry about not being able to get everything accomplished that we need to in the next day. (Do we ever really get it all done?)

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.”

Isaiah 42:16

Some people have full-blown panic attacks at night. It’s easy to see how that could happen. Do you know that statistics tell us that a whopping 85% of things that we worry about never happen? 30% of our worries concern the past, 12% of our worries are needless worries about our health, and 10% of our worries are insignificant or petty (things that will really not make much of a difference in our

lives one way or another). So for the15% that did happen, statistics tell us that 79% of the people discovered either they could handle the difficulty better than they expected, or the difficulty taught them a lesson worth learning. That’s a lot of lost sleep for nothing.

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,”

Acts 26:18

So what is keeping you up and awake at night? It has been proven that worry produces stress and stress causes some serious problems. This is a quote from the medical professionals. “The stress hormones that worry dumps into your brain have been linked to shrinking brain mass, lowering your IQ, being prone to heart disease, cancer and premature aging, predicting marital problems, family

dysfunction and clinical depression, and making seniors more likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s.” Wow! Pretty serious, isn’t it?

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

John 1:5

So what do we do? First, rebuke Satan. Tell him (out loud if necessary and it doesn’t wake everyone else in the house) that you will not allow him to enter your mind and fill it with negativity. Instead begin to sing or quote scripture (again quietly to yourself ☺). When the light of God’s Word is spoken or rehearsed, darkness has to flee. AMEN! Don’t allow the darkness of night be used by Satan to discourage you and rob you of not only your rest but also your joy!

“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”

Romans 13:12