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WHAT IF SATAN SUCCEEDS?
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
1 Thessalonians 3:5

1 Peter 5:6-9

 

“…the tempter have tempted you,

and our labour be in vain.”

 

WHAT IF SATAN SUCCEEDS?
 
One form of attack that Satan employs is that of temptation, where he seeks to compel, entice, or entrap one to do that which is evil and displeasing to God. It was through the temptation to eat of the forbidden fruit that he incited the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, which was also the method he tried to use against Jesus in the wilderness (Matt 4:1‑11). Although the name “tempter” is directly attributed to Satan only twice in the Bible (Matt 4:3; 1 Thess 3:5), temptation is certainly a ploy that Satan is continually using and is what we must be wary of.
 
The temptation that the Christians at Thessalonica were facing were the afflictions and tribulations that they were going through. Through that, Satan’s desire was that they would be moved, tempted to stop witnessing for the Lord or give up their faith altogether. If that were to happen, then Paul’s labour in their midst would be in vain – it would amount to nothing, it would be deemed a lost cause.
 
Paul said that not because he was concerned for self-glory. It was not that he rued the waste of his time and effort. His foremost concern, as we have seen earlier, was for the faith of the Thessalonian Christians. If his labour was in vain, it means that all his efforts to nurture their faith would have been for naught. The witness of the church would have been snuffed out, and he would have to start from scratch all over again. It would also mean that Satan’s temptation was successful.
 
Surely, we would not want Satan to succeed. In the spiritual warfare that we are all in, our calling is to stand firm against the wiles of the devil. We must “submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). The alternative is to give up and turn away from God. When we throw in the towel, stop serving and give in to the afflictions and hardships that we are facing, it means that we have been moved, and Satan has won.
 
THOUGHT: Satan may win some battles, but he will never win the war.

PRAYER: Father, help me to be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

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