When God Potty Trains the Devil

Did you know that God potty trains the devil? David understood something about this and in the midst of life-threatening situations had the presence of mind to be utterly thankful for His faithfulness. What is the character of your conversation with God when you are under maximum pressure? David was in flight from the wrath of Saul when he penned the following words:

Psalms 31:23 O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not quite so eloquent when the heat is on in my life, and problems are crowding in. Usually, my prayer life consists of one word in those moments:

HEEEEEELLLLLPPPP!!!!

David understood something about God that gave him the inner composure not just to look at but look through his situation and see God at work. What he observed during these times not only strengthened him but surprised him so much with God’s goodness that he wanted to draw the attention of others saying, “Oh, love the Lord all his saints!” As though to say, “do you see how good God is – even in the most difficult times?”

David was hunted like a dog, but his attention was on the faithfulness of God. He in effect was saying “Yes, I’m going through something, but I know two things about my Father:”

1. He preserves the faithful

2. He plentifully rewards the proud doer.

The word “preserve” in this verse is the Hebrew word “nasar,” and it means “to conceal, to keep, to guard, to hide, to keep close and safe from danger.” What an encouragement. In v. 20 of the same Psalm, he states that God keeps us safe from the strife of tongues. There’s much strife in the earth today. Everywhere we look, we see contention, debate, and ongoing controversy. Don’t be discouraged. God will hide you from the strife of tongues. God is preserving you and keeping you safe even when trouble is all around.

So, what does this have to do with potty training the devil? The other statement David focused on in battle was that God would plentifully reward the proud doer. David was perhaps meditating on the blessing of God to Abraham:

[Gen 12:3 KJV] 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

God will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you. What does that mean? The word curse in this passage is “execrate,” which is where the term “excrement” comes from. A transliteration of this verse reads, “I will execrate from your life those that even trifle with you…” What do we do with excrement in our lives? We execrate it and be done with it (flush!). God will execrate from your life those who even toy (trifle) with you, let alone those who are persecuting you in earnest. I don’t know what it looks like to be “execrated” by God, but I’m sure it stinks!

So be encouraged today. You may feel like David – on the run – reeling from one problem to the next, living in crisis, with your hand poised over the panic button every day. Fear not. Don’t just look at your problems, look through them, and like David – see the faithfulness of God. Understand that when the enemy comes against you God will give him a potty training lesson!