(Thanks to Larry and Jane for
inspiration on this one.)
Satan seeks to thwart
God’s purposes, and in the short term, the Lord allows him to be successful.
“Wherefore we would have
come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us” (I Thessalonians
2:18).
God’s ultimate
intentions cannot be thwarted. “The
Lord shall reign forever and ever…” God will “gather together in one all things
in Christ”… “When He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as
He is” (Exodus 15:18; Ephesians 1:10; I John 3:2). Hosts of other Divine purposes beyond
possibility of failure fill the pages of Scripture, assuring our hearts that all
is well in the long term.
Again, however, the
short term presents a very different reality. Our Heavenly Father often lengthens the
leash of our enemies, granting them permission (as in the case of Job) to foist
upon us great and grave challenges.
How we respond determines our experience in such times. As we trust and submit unto God in times
of devilish and fleshly attack, our hearts can remain at peace even as we feel
the discomfort, uncertainty and pain our enemies foist upon us. As a dear friend once testified after a
hurricane severely damaged his house and property: “The outer courts are a
shambles, but inner courts are at peace.”
My friend and his wife walked with the Lord through their trial,
resulting in a testimony today of God’s faithfulness in the midst and aftermath
of stormy trials.
The Apostle Paul did not
whimper or cower because Satan hindered him from coming to the
Thessalonians. He rather used the
circumstance to write two epistles of the New Testament that would likely not
have existed had the devil not been allowed to thwart Paul’s honorable
intentions. For those who trust and
submit unto God, His enemies always fall into the traps they form for the
faithful (Psalm 9:15). The cross of
the Lord Jesus shines most brightly in this regard, as the devil motivated
religious and political leaders to construct a gallows for Christ that would
ultimately lead to glorious resurrection for both the Savior and the saved. “Having spoiled principalities and
powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians
2:15).
Every believer faces
devilish hindrance. We may or may
not be aware of the specific nature of the challenge. We therefore do well to seek our
Heavenly Father’s guidance when challenge confronts us, seeking either
deliverance from Satan’s attacks, or deliverance in those attacks. Either way, the trusting believer
overcomes enemies by the shield of faith that sees fiery darts as opportunity
rather than oppression. How will
the Lord Jesus be revealed as King of kings and Lord of Lords in this
conflict? This is the question for
all who live from His victory won on a cross that served as prelude for the
resurrection, both His and ours…
“This is the victory that
overcometh the world, even our faith.”
(I John 5:4)
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