OCTOBER 10 "WHAT? PAUL STOPPED BY SATAN?"


   "Satan prevented us from seeing you" these are not words, we often read from the great Apostle Paul. It reminds me of Daniel, who is told by the mighty Archangel, that the "prince of Persia" withstood him". The reality is, we don't always get what we want, simply by "name it and claim it" theology. It is mentioned in the Gospels when Jesus was crucified, "this is the hour when darkness reigns".  Satan and the principalities that work against us, do have their seasons, "their hour" and sometimes do get to put a "check mark" next to the heading of "victory" on their chart, if they keep one. How can we deny that Sept 11, 2001 was not a great victory for the Kingdom of Darkness, Osama Bin Laden and the Muslim Terrorist, it surely was "the hour where darkness reigned". Paul is a mature enough Christian to admit, "Satan stopped us" and Paul doesn't allow this loss to set him into some theological dilemma, ie: "if God is really omnipotent why were we stopped? Is God all powerful or not?"  Paul doesn't get caught up in this, he simply acknowledges the defeat and moves on, not questioning God or His authority.  There's nothing wrong with theology and studying God's word, it is encouraged by scripture and anyone with any sense, but that doesn't mean that we don't allow room for "mystery".  Scripture tells us, "the secret things belong to the Lord our God". We will never be able to put God in a box and dissect him like a laboratory project.  Why would God allow Satan to stop Paul from visiting the Thessalonians, is a question we all want the answer too, but that none of us are going to get. Tragedy happens everyday in our world; every suicide is a great victory for the Kingdom of Darkness, but yet it happens, rape, murder..... Some time back what made the headline news was the burglary break-in into a Pastor's home, the Pastor was not home, but his wife was and she was sexually assaulted and murdered. How do you fit that into your theology? If you are not careful, such demonic victories, can cause you to turn on God or lose faith in God, that He actually is omnipotent and sovereign. Paul was mature enough to accept a defeat, by Satan himself and yet still going to become one of the most effective Christians that ever lived and we must be able to do the same.

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