Published 2/27/20
Read Job 1:12
"And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.' So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord."
Reflect
How does the Holy Spirit help you resist temptation?
We have hope in spite of our tendency to sin. And while the enemy is striving to veil our eyes, he is nothing more than an annoying mosquito compared to God's power. The Bible gives us some clues about Satan's limited power: As Job 1:12 reveals, the devil operates on a leash that God holds.
Hebrews 2:14 assures us that the fear Satan held over humanity was rendered powerless by Christ: "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil."
As a created being, Satan is not a sovereign, all-powerful being, and he is certainly not equal to God. What's more, Christianity is not a dualistic religion, a faith in which two opposing but equal powers struggle for control. Even so, many Christ-followers live as though Satan were as powerful as God. Nothing could be further from the truth! Because God is sovereign Satan does not stand a chance.
Through Jesus, the veil can be pulled back, and we can know truth. C.S. Lewis explained our hope this way: "Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know that they have anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need forgiveness. It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind that law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power--it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk."[1]
Pray
Lord, thank You for giving me hope. Thank You for empowering me to live for You. Amen.
[1]C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, © 1952, C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.), 32.
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