Half So Much


"I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him." Teresa of Avila

The first time I read that quote I was rather taken aback and had to throw it in the pot with everything else on the back burner of my mind.  As it has stewed, I've come to understand that when you are focused on Satan you are focused on avoiding suffering.  Suffering is a natural part of life, ask any mother, and it cannot be avoided.  You are trapped in fear.  No one shrugs fear off easily and very few can overcome it entirely, but I have found I do much better when I am focused on Christ and his work in the world.  
With my eyes on Christ I remember that suffering is redemptive, sometimes in ways I cannot see, but I can always trust.  His cross illuminates my path and gives it meaning.  He lifts me above my experience and into his presence.  In the life of saint after saint, there is a time of fear and then the breakthrough when they are not only changed, but they change the world around them.
That's what I think Satan is afraid of.

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