When something bad happens – whether it be a personal loss or a national tragedy – some of the first comments you hear from believers and non-believers alike are, “How could God allow this?” Or “How could your God do this?”
From the mouths of believers, these statements are often attributed to a broken heart, raw emotions, or confusion. But the truth is they stem from lack of faith. As I pondered this considering the tragedy at the Christian school in Nashville, I felt God saying, “A lack of faith is often the result of a lack of acceptance that the enemy is real.” An enemy who delights when people question God. When people blame God. When people forget that the devil is as real as our God. The enemy wraps himself in this unbelief; cloaked in darkness, plotting, manipulating, and destroying.
The enemy was created. He is not equal to God. When satan led a rebellion against God, he lost (Rev. 12:7-9). “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
You may be wondering, why would I choose to write about the devil the week of Easter? First, because God told me too. And second, because Good Friday and Easter are as much about satan as they are about Jesus.
The devil and his demons are alive and well in the spiritual realm pulling the strings of humans to do their work on the earth. To cloud the minds of children about who God created them to be. To sanction the murder of innocents in the womb. To manipulate those in power to put pride and self-preservation before honor and integrity. To twist the constitution of the nation God created to deliver it to a world ruled by evil and perversion.
The Bible refers to these host of demons as “the world forces of this darkness” and “the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). The weapons of satan are lies, accusations, and deception. Jesus tells us that satan “was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand with the truth because there is no truth in him.” He also says satan is “the father of lies” (Jn. 8:44).
Throughout Scripture, we see examples of Satan using lies and deception in the hopes of nullifying the effects of the Word of God in the lives of people (Matt. 13:19). He tricked Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). He tempted Jesus in the wilderness by misrepresenting Scripture’s words about the Messiah (Matt. 4:1–11).
Matt 4:3-4: The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Satan failed to steal Jesus from God that day in the wilderness. He had hoped to stop Jesus’ ministry before it started. And when he couldn’t destroy Jesus with his own limited power, he resorted to his powers of manipulation and lies. Using fear and arrogance to turn religious leaders against Jesus. Using pride to drown out the Truth. Manipulating humans to succeed where he had failed. But God. But Jesus.
The efforts of the enemy led Jesus to the cross. God allowed it so that what the devil had destroyed in the Garden of Eden through Adam and Eve, could be undone. The first Adam led us into sin. The second Adam – Jesus – led us to redemption. In one painful, brutal act on the cross, Jesus defeated satan. God provided a way for us to live in salvation and eternity with the Holy Trinity. However, we must choose to walk with Him. We must choose to give our life to Him. If we don’t, we have chosen the enemy and his punishment becomes ours.
In our salvation, we are not unaffected by the evil in this world. It is the free will of those under the influence of the enemy that brings confusion, lies, and destruction. And sometimes, it is simply the fragile state of our human selves. I can’t tell you why God allows some people to suffer from disease. I can’t tell you why He doesn’t save everyone as I know He could. I am not God. I will never understand, in my human frailness, His great Plan. But I trust it. I must. Because the alternative goes against everything I know about my God. Everything my Bible tells me about my loving, faithful, generous, merciful God. My God who lay down His son so that one day I will dance with my loved ones and praise God with choirs of angels.
Jesus rose on Easter Sunday defeating the enemy by providing a way to live in relationship with our Father. But until Jesus’ triumphant return, we battle a real enemy. As real as our Jesus. He will not give up easily. We only need to look at the state of our world to see the desperation of an enemy who knows he is losing, and his time is limited. In that desperation, I see hope.
I see the hope of a savior whose light is exposing darkness. The hope of a God who remains faithful, opening His arms to any who wish to call him daddy. The hope of a world, though facing darkness and evil, is guaranteed to be bathed in the healing light of Heaven.
The hope of an Easter morning. An empty tomb. A risen savior. A defeated enemy.