1 Peter 5:8-9
Sometimes Satan gains a foothold into our lives when we believe the statement, “It’s not that simple.” Sometimes it really is that simple. Sometimes the situation appears complicated, but it’s actually not.
God brings order. Satan wants to bring chaos. When it comes to relationship, this same pattern is true. Therefore, here are 5 signs the devil is tempting you to overcomplicate a relationship situation that God wants to simplify for you.
1. If Someone Showed You Their Character in Words and Deeds, But You Still Don’t Believe Them, the Devil Might Be Tempting You to Overcomplicate This
Believing is always a choice. This is why some people will choose to believe a lie even if you show them mounds and mounds of evidence against their belief.
When we choose to believe something that contradicts the evidence, this is a sign there is a heart issue involved. Perhaps we are projecting past pains onto current situations. Perhaps we are so worried about an unwanted future possibility that we desperately want to avoid, this fear is shaping the way we see all the evidence.
If they said and did hurtful things to you, they are showing you their character. Believe them. If they said and did loving things to you, they are showing you their character. Believe them. When God shows you someone’s character, whether it be good or bad, through this person’s words and deeds witnessed over a consistent period of time, you have to choose to believe them (Titus 1:15-16).
2. If Someone Gave a Clear Yes or No When You Brought Them to a Point of Decision, the Devil Might Be Tempting You to Overcomplicate This If You Still Have Questions
The best way to know the truth about a relationship is to bring someone to a point of decision. You don’t want to do this too fast, but eventually we all need a clear yes or no. A point of decision will always be the fork in the road you can look back to so you know how you got to where you are.
For example, if you really liked someone but when you brought them to a point of decision, they said no to you, this is all the evidence you need. To try to explain this clear answer away or to make it mean something other than a firm no is to overcomplicate the situation.
The truth is, when people love you, they choose to be in a relationship with you. Yes, there are variables that complicate things. But in the end, that truth remains: When they love you, they choose to be with you. It is that simple.
1 Corinthians 13:7-8, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
3. If You Felt You Heard God Say Something that Didn’t Come True, the Devil Might Be Tempting You to Overcomplicate This
Some people hear something they feel is from God, but then when it doesn’t happen, instead of concluding they simply misheard God, they go down the rabbit trail and spend years trying to figure out why God said something that didn’t come true.
The simplest answer when you feel God said something but then it doesn’t come true is that God didn’t actually say that. It’s okay if you misheard God. It happens to us all. None of us our perfect. In pride, however, if we cling to that word that God never spoke, we are falling for Satan’s temptation to overcomplicate this situation.
When God speaks, it always happens. If it doesn’t happen, God didn’t say it (Deuteronomy 18:22, Titus 1:2, Isaiah 55:11). It really is that simple. Don’t let Satan convince you otherwise.
4. If You Know What God Is Saying but You Are Reading Into Minute Things Because You Want Him to Say Something Different, the Devil Might Be Tempting You to Overcomplicate This
When I use the word “signs” I’m talking about “evidence for what God wants you to do.” God is always giving us evidence for what he wants us to do, thus he is always sending us signs (Psalm 32:8).
However, we are often being tempted to overcomplicate things when we attach our own meaning to unrelated events. For example, seeing a shooting star doesn’t mean anything about a relationship. You would have to attach your own meaning to that event. Getting a text from someone at the exact moment you thought of that person doesn’t mean anything regarding their character or biblical readiness to date.
If God has given you strong evidence through someone’s words, their actions, the Bible, and other clear means, don’t fall for Satan’s temptation to overcomplicate this by reading into unrelated events and then attaching your own meaning to those events.
5. If the Fruit Is Clearly Good or Bad, the Devil Might Be Tempting You to Overcomplicate This
Besides things that are clearly forbidden in Scripture, we can really only determine if something is good or bad based upon the effects they have. Bad things produce bad results and good things produce good results. As Matthew 7:18-20 explains:
A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”
If a relationship is producing bad fruit, the relationship is bad. If the relationship is producing good fruit, it is good. Don’t let Satan overcomplicate the principle of “You shall know them by their fruit.”
