Some folks don’t believe in spiritual warfare. Indeed they chalk up event after event as “coincidence”. The Bible is not ambiguous when it comes to this subject and it makes it crystal clear that we will be attacked by demonic forces and I believe that the more that we do for the Lord the more we are attacked. 1 Peter 5:8 tells us to: Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.
We have all seen or read of the accounts of Christians being tortured and slaughtered by radical Islamic jihadists day after day. Christian women have been raped and sold into sex slavery; men and boys have been beheaded, whipped, burned alive, crucified and buried alive. Innocent people including children have been randomly shot, and so forth.
Does this sound “ferocious”?
Yes of course it does. This is pure evil being released on the world.
Satanic warfare is not just being waged in distant countries; it is also being waged against us right here and now in our own country. My wife Teresa was diagnosed with breast cancer yesterday. I had major back surgery a couple of weeks ago, my best friend is being operated on in two weeks for cancer.
I could go on, but you get the drift. Is this all coincidence?
I don’t think so. Because of what has transpired I will likely have to cancel two very important trips that could give The Jesus Alliance global recognition. Satan does not want me at those meetings.
So what is up with this? God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. That means he has unlimited knowledge and there is nothing He doesn’t know. It means that God is everywhere and nothing escapes his roving eyes. And it means He is all powerful and nothing is too hard for Him to do.
I’ve said many times in various WFTD posts that it is senseless to ask “why” questions. Why did He allow my wife who wouldn’t harm a fly to get breast cancer? Why are little children tortured and put to death while their parents are forced to watch and then they too are put to death in horrific fashion?
As CEO of a fairly large company I had access to more information than anyone in the entire company. I often did things (based on my unique knowledge of situations and overall plans) that made no sense whatsoever to employees way down at the bottom of the organizational chart; however if they knew what I knew as to why I made those decisions then my actions would have been perfectly clear and made more sense.
The Bible teaches that the Lord is not like us. Isaiah 55:9 states: “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts”. Bill Bright used to compare mankind to a mite on the back of a flea on a dog’s back living in its master’s house. We are incapable of knowing many things because we were not created with an intellect that high.
So God can see around the corner, and He knows all, and has a plan for each of our lives. Jeremiah 29:11 states: For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
If that doesn’t resonate with you consider that He sent His own Son to the earth that He created to die a horrific death in order that we might live regardless of the fact that we do not deserve it due to the sins we have perpetuated in our lives. If He didn’t love us why would an all-powerful God allow such terrible things to happen to His own Son? He did it because He loves us.
We must accept this on faith even though on the surface with our limited knowledge we only see and feel the sorrow and pain, we must trust in our Father. The disciples were so astonished at a seemingly impossible task that they asked the Lord how something like that could even be possible. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
God has a plan for all of us and it is a good plan. We must maintain faith. Faith comes from hearing the word of God. You can read it, or get a version that you can listen to like a tape recorder, hear it in Sunday school, church, or simply with a friend. Prayer is important too. God hears every prayer and He tells us to pray.
Prayer and faith, without them things would look gloomy this morning, but with them we can go forth with courage, perseverance, and optimism.
Believe!
Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.
February 26, 2015 – Click here to listen