The Devil’s Playground

Psalms 141:9

“Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins of the workers of iniquity.”

Everyone at some point in their life loved to go to a playground. Especially if the playground had many types of play equipment. However, I have been to some playgrounds that were run down and not very well maintained and, well, just dangerous. So it is with the “devil’s playground.” I’m sure you have heard the phrase “an idle mind is the devil’s playground.” After all isn’t the mind where everything we do and think begins? So we need to be very careful to guard our minds from the devil’s attacks. So let’s look at a few traps or equipment that you will find in the devil’s playground.

Psalms 31:4

“Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.”

Let’s start with everyone’s favorite or most popular ride on the playground, the swing. Swings will take you to it’s highest point but then will quickly take you to its lowest point. You may think that you have achieved the highest thrill of your life only to be plummeted to the lowest in just seconds. The devil knows how to set you up for disappointment and despair. There is never an even and steady ride. You are always faced with alternating feelings.

Psalms 124:7

“Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.”

The same could be said for the seesaw. Your emotions continually go up and down. You never feel emotionally level. You are either really up or really down. Your emotions control your “joy” and not your trust in the Lord. You don’t rely on the Lord to have control of your life and give it the steadfast and constant peace that only He can give.

2 Timothy 2:26

“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

How about the merry-go-round? I think this is probably Satan’s most popular and favorite ride. The devil loves to replay the sins of your past over and over again. Just going round and round and not getting anywhere. Just getting sicker and more depressed as he spins this ride faster and faster. Sometimes it seems impossible to get off.

Psalms 25:15

“Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net.”

Then there are the dangerous monkey bars. Many people struggle, connive, and focus to climb to the top only to find that you can’t go any further. There is no place to go at the top and you find yourself all alone. You have spent so much of your time and energy and burned through many precious relationships to get there and now there is nothing and no one. You are all alone and what you once thought was the ultimate goal has lost all of its glitter and appeal.

Psalms 91:3

“Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.”

We must all be aware of the “devil’s playground,” his tricks and dangerous rides. Don’t trust him. Yes, they may be fun for a while but the end of his rides is never good and will always bring heartbreak, trials, and despair. Jump off these rides right now. Tell the devil that you do not want to play on his

playground anymore. Ask for the Lord’s forgiveness for playing on the devil’s playground. Then run to the Lord and ask Him to give you the peace, comfort, and joy that only He can give!

1 Peter 5:8

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”