There was once a wise elder.
One day, a student who had been studying religious knowledge came to him. After spending some time learning, the student was about to return to his hometown. The elder said to him, "Young man, before you go, I have a question for you."
The student replied, "Ask me anything, I am ready to answer."
The elder asked, "Tell me, do you have Satan where you live?"
The student answered, "Satan is everywhere, sir. He is present in all places."
The elder then said, "Alright. If you try to get closer to God and Satan tries to mislead you, what will you do?"
The student confidently replied, "I will fight Satan."
The elder said, "Let’s say you fight him and he runs away, but then again, when you try to get closer to God, he stops you. What will you do then?"
The student replied, "I will fight him again."
The elder continued, "Let’s assume you fight him off a second time, but what if, for the third time, Satan attacks you again and prevents you from getting closer to God? What will you do then?"
The student, a bit puzzled, said, "What choice do I have but to keep fighting him?"
The elder said, "If you spend your entire life fighting Satan, when will you have time to reach God?"
The student was left speechless.
The elder then said, "Let me ask you something else. Suppose you go to meet a friend, and he has a dog guarding his house. As you approach the door, the dog grabs at your heel. What will you do?"
The student replied, "I’ll hit the dog to get it off."
The elder said, "Okay. But what if the dog comes back and grabs you again as you try to approach your friend?"
The student replied, "I’ll hit it again."
The elder asked, "And if the dog attacks you a third time, what will you do then?"
The student thought for a moment and said, "If the dog doesn’t stop, I’ll call my friend and ask him to come out and control his dog, because it’s stopping me from meeting him."
The elder smiled and said, "That’s exactly what you should do with Satan. When you can’t fight him anymore, call out to God and ask Him to help you. Ask Him to stop Satan and allow you to get closer to Him."
The elder concluded by saying, "There is no price for God’s love. Keep trying to come closer to Him, and God willing, He will bless you with His closeness."