Dear Father, I’m pondering the progressive nature of trials. In tempting, the devil often begins with something natural and seemingly harmless, something that appeals to our desires but progresses into something far more destructive. The plan was never a harmless trial, or one that would require only a small measure of mercy; it was always a progressive trial. So, in “just eating fruit,” Eve exposed humanity not only to an identity crisis, but also to relational risk (our connection with You) and also to eternal consequences. In “just having sex,” David killed Uriah; adultery progressed into murder. And in “just satisfying a financial need,” Judas lost his place in the Kingdom. The devil has not changed his strategy; we just need to be more discerning and intentional in recognizing the progressive nature of trials in our own lives. In the scripture James speaks on this: “Desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.” The fact remains that through negligence, we underestimate the enemy’s intelligence. I do not say this to give him credit, but to state the obvious: there is no trial he devises whose path does not lead to destruction. Father, I only wish Christians were as intentional in this walk as the enemy is intentional in trying to cause us to deviate from it. But sadly, our energy often seems mismatched. #LettertoGod