The longer I walk with the Lord, the more I realize that nothing happens as coincidence, as bad or good luck, as fate, happenstance, or any other cultural mindset to preclude the existence and intervention of an omnipotent, omniscient, and sovereign God.

If you look closely at world patterns, at religion and belief systems, ideologies, you begin to see the way that the enemy has infiltrated our thought patterns, behaviors, and social norms. His undermining of God’s authority has come by the interweaving of a double sided coin intended to spread lies and suppress truth. The enemy would have us believe that we have more control in the outcome of our circumstances than God. We may not consciously think this, but how often do we plan out our day without consulting Him? How often do we seek His kingdom over our own? How often do we sacrifice comfort for the labor of taking up our own cross to follow him? How often do we die to self in order to obey?

God is either sovereign over all or He is sovereign over nothing. His word is either infallible or it isn’t. There is no middle ground by which we’re able to accept the pieces that make sense and dismiss, modernize, or ignore the pieces that we don’t understand. We don’t have to understand it to accept it. In fact, without the Holy Spirit, the Helper, teaching and revealing truth to us we won’t understand a bit of it. God has chosen to reveal Himself to His people through His word, but it is the Holy Spirit who opens our spiritual eyes, who removes the veil so that we may see the truth of God’s word, and as we journey in our walk with Him, the revelation of God will come during the process of our individual sanctification.

To ignore the intervention and action of the enemy would be short sighted. It would dismiss fundamental truths taught in scripture. It would ignore the experience and example of Jesus’ life and ministry. From the very first book of the Bible, Genesis chapter 3, at the very beginning of scripture, the enemy heard the prophecy concerning a coming Messiah who would crush him. He knew that this foretold Messiah would defeat him. From this point forward, Satan has sought to destroy God’s plan. He has gone to extreme lengths, including the genocide of Jewish boys beginning in the book of Exodus, the second book of the Bible. Pharroh realized that the Jews had grown mighty in number as slaves under his command. He ordered the murder of thousands of Jewish male children. In this story a baby named Moses was delivered by God through the hand of his mother in the Nile. Later, God would use Moses as a picture of redemption when he would raise Moses up as deliverer to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, out of their bondage and slavery.

Satan tried again when Herod heard, through wise men traveling to Bethlehem, that a king for the Israelites had been born. Again, this wicked king sought to destroy the male toddlers and babies born in that region during this time, and he succeeded to kill many. But, Jesus was delivered to Egypt through a dream sent to Joseph, the husband of Jesus’ mother Mary, warning him that the family was in danger.

Satan has sought to destroy the Israelite people since the beginning of scripture in order to prevent the foretold Messiah from accomplishing the will of God to bring redemption for mankind and reconcile us to the Father. He thought that he had succeeded when Jesus drew his final breath on the cross.

At the point of Jesus’ death, Satan knew that Jesus was the foretold Messiah. God announced the ministry of Jesus, Himself, as Jesus obeyed in a public declaration of faith by being baptized by John in the Jordan. Immediately after Jesus was proclaimed as Messiah, Satan began his attempt to destroy him. You can read about this in the book of Matthew chapter 4. He followed Jesus into the desert and sought to entrap Him into sin, which would have invalidated His ability to offer Himself as the sinless savior. But, Jesus was able to resist Him by refuting His lies with truth. In our engagement with the enemy, the Bible doesn’t tell us to declare war, take up arms, and seek to do God’s job. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. As far as we’re told, we are to resist the devil, and he will flee” (James 4:7).

Satan must have sighed in relief as Jesus’ body was laid in the tomb but, oh, how he must have trembled when that stone rolled aside. Satan knows that God’s people are key to the second coming of Christ, so he has continued His attempt to defy God and stop God’s plan by the destruction of God’s people, and His church during this time. However, the books of Isaiah, Revelation, the Gospels, all reveal that Jesus has already defeated Satan. He is simply working within his God ordained time until the day when Jesus crushes him once and for all. The Bible says that the enemy will ramp up the attack as he feels the last days coming.

God is either sovereign over all or He is sovereign over nothing. We know how the story ends. Those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, who have had truth revealed to them by the power of the Holy Spirit, know what’s coming. If you don’t know how the story ends, seek the Lord today.

Today is the day of salvation. The plan includes defeating Satan once and for all and establishing a new heaven and new earth where he will no longer have any reign or control. Don’t ignore the spiritual attacks the enemy will wage against you to keep you blind and consider the truth of the gospel. The Bible says, “for the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

God bless.