Healthy Fear, well placed Confidence
If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say—
if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
the flood would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us,
the raging waters
would have swept us away.
Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare has been broken,
and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
-Psalm 124
Our church has been considering the book of Revelation for quite some time now. I have to say it’s a bit overwhelming. In the past few weeks, even Pastor Joel, a seminary-trained minister of the Word, has expressed his anxiety about completing this study and moving on to biblical subjects with a bit more clarity. I can’t imagine sitting down to write a sermon on the woman and the dragon or the scroll with seven seals versus the story of the prodigal son or the comforts of Psalm 23.
For me, the anxiety comes with the constant reminder of the presence of the kingdom of Satan. There they are, appearing every week in more and different terrifying ways. If this wasn’t enough, Shelly and I have been attending Pastor Sikkema’s Sunday School class on “Mystery Babylon”. As Christians, we are constantly engaged in spiritual warfare. Military experts and coaching specialists agree the clearest path to victory is to know as much as possible about your opponent, and I Peter 5:8 assures us that Satan is our adversary. I suppose that justifies the sermon study and the Sunday School class, but it is still very disconcerting.
To me, the three aspects about Satan that cause the most angst are that he is a spirit, that his success is based upon deceit, and that in this work he is very bold.
If I can see, hear, and touch my enemy, it would seem the playing field is somewhat level. As humans, it’s difficult to believe we can have power over, or at least resist, a spirit. Attacks against the soul are something altogether different than attacks against the body.
The most consistent theme running through scriptures when referring to Satan is that deception is his calling card. Genesis 3 calls him crafty. 2 Corinthians 11 tells us he “disguises himself as an angel of light”. In the 8th chapter of John, the apostle speaks of Satan as having “no truth in him”, and that lying is his very character. Revelation 12:9 calls him the “deceiver of the whole world”. The fear is always “Will I know when I’m being deceived?”
Finally, Satan is bold. It doesn’t get any bolder than bartering with the King of Creation over Job, His most loyal follower, or trying to tempt the Son of God himself to give up His rightful place as the Savior of the world. If he’s willing to go to these lengths in his pursuit of his own glory, mere humans such as us, without help from our Father in Heaven, don’t stand a chance. And that’s where Psalm 124 gives us comfort.
The Christian church of the New Testament is God’s chosen people, the new Israel, reflecting back on the original Israel of the Old Testament. Just as the first Israel seemed to constantly be in battle against political/geographical enemies, the new Israel is in constant battle against sin and temptation brought on by our spiritual enemy. But in Psalm 124 warrior King David places deliverance from these enemies at the feet of our Creator God.
Notice how he repeats the first admonition for extra emphasis. He reminds his countrymen that they are on the right side of the war, because it’s the side God has chosen. We today could be swallowed up by Satan through our sin if we don’t put all our trust in Jesus. The visual of our sin flooding over us, engulfing us, should prompt us to heed Paul’s words in Ephesians 6 to put on the whole armor of God. Yes, in our battles against our enemy the devil, we have been given tools to resist and overcome his advances. These tools include “truth”, “righteousness”, “peace”, and “faith”. Also aiding us is our knowledge of salvation, the Spirit residing in us, and of course, the Word of God.
Paul tells us to “give no opportunity to the devil” in chapter 4 of the same letter. And in 1 Peter 5, we’re told to be sober-minded and watchful because the devil is constantly on the prowl, looking for a chink in all of this armor.
Near the end of David’s psalm, he gives us a visual of our being caught up in our sin like birds caught up in a snare. God has broken this snare and released us through His gift of salvation brought by the death and resurrection of His Son. How are we to respond to this deliverance from our enemy Satan and the sin that ensnares? We focus on God and give him the glory, confidently acknowledging that our hope comes only from His promises.
“Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”