Last night, as Robert and I were sitting in our living room playing with our newest edition, Duffy, we were startled (to say the VERY least) by a very loud noise…which turned out to be a rather large robin that flew smack-dab into our window. It definitely got my heart rate up, and proceeded to creep me out as it lay seemingly paralyzed on our sidewalk.

But the incident made me think: I sure am glad the windows weren’t opened! I can’t imagine having the windows opened and a large bird flying inside our house! Imagine the havoc that would be wreaked upon our home! SO much, right? And so, in that moment, if I were doing those Facebook status thankful things, I would have said Day 5: thankful for closed windows.

Now, you may not know this about me, but I am mildly afraid of birds…if not altogether terrified most of the time. If nothing else, they definitely keep me on edge with all their flapping about. And so, in the traumatizing event that was said window incident, I continued reflecting as the night went on about just how thankful I was that the windows weren’t opened.

Then my mind flipped.

There is something much scarier than a bird flying at us (and our hearts in particular). Ephesians 6:16 tells us that Satan is throwing fiery darts at us. On a scale of one to ten–one being how scary birds are–I’m gonna put fiery darts at the other end of the spectrum! If someone were hurling them at me, I would be terrified! Especially if that person were exceptionally powerful and precise.

The devil is both of those things, though. He is powerful (Acts 26:18) and he knows exactly what our personal weaknesses are (James 1:14). And, he is armed with fiery darts. The question is: are your windows opened?

You see, the bird was flying at my window with power. And, for whatever reason, it was zoned in on getting into our house. Fortunately for me, the windows were closed, and our living room was spared! In the same way, Satan is lurking about, seeking whom (me) he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8), and has his sights aimed on me…especially since I am a Christian. He wants to get into my heart, because he knows once he’s in, he can wreak all kinds of havoc on my Christian walk. But, if the windows of my heart are closed to him, he can’t hurt me. So how do I keep my windows closed?

Philippians 4:6-7 (our #noworrynovember passage!) tells us to pray, and the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. So, in order to keep our windows closed and satan’s fiery darts out, we need to be vigilant in our prayers, asking for strength and protection, and trusting that God will supply us with the armor we need to be protected (Matt.7:7, James 1:5).

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45