On Tuesday, June 27 at 11:30 a.m. in the BYU-Idaho Center, Ben Haacke, BYU-Idaho’s mentoring director, delivered his devotional talk. He centered his message on the necessity of having increasingly strong faith in Christ and the benefits that come from doing so.
He began his talk by explaining how to trap a fox. According to him, foxes are sly, quick and can be difficult to trap. If they feel threatened, they will turn and run until they no longer feel endangered. This is why a fox must feel safe and comfortable before the trap is triggered. This can be done by using rotting meat or other bait. Haacke explained that Satan tries to trap God’s children using the same concepts hunters use to trap foxes.
“Satan desires to trap us,” Haacke said. “Like trapping a fox, Satan knows it’s not easy to trap children of God. Sin is the trap, such as pride, greed, lust, envy, anger or laziness and Satan’s path leads to it. Sin is a trap because it controls us and becomes our master.”
Haacke continued talking about Satan’s deception by mentioning that his promises are empty and false. He lectured that Satan succeeds in doing this by making it seem like his traps of sin contain no rules of any kind, setting up an illusion of freedom. He then explained that individuals can defend themselves from Satan’s deceitful plans by focusing on God’s path and honest promises.
“God’s path is clear, there is no intent to deceive, no camouflage, no smoke and mirrors,” Haacke said. “No guile. For bait he uses love. It is the path of expansion, progress and growth.”
In closing, Haacke invited students to hold tight to their faith in Christ and to trust in Him when falling victim to Satan’s traps. He promised that all those who would do so would have fuller joy, increased blessings and expanded vision.
“Yesterday is gone, today is the day to choose God’s covenant path of increasing freedom, capacity and opportunity through faith in Jesus Christ,” Haacke said. “It makes all the difference. ‘Every day you choose faith in Christ is a day you’ll expand, progress and grow’ into the person God knows you can and will become.”
The next and final devotional of the semester will come from Janiel Nelson, a home and family professor, on July 11.
