The following column is an opinion piece and reflects the views of only the author and not those of The Georgia Virtue.
By: Dr. William F. Holland Jr., minister, chaplain, and author of the column series ‘Living on Purpose’. You can read more about the Christian life and see other works by Dr. Holland at billyhollandministries.com.
For those who are followers of Jesus, I want to encourage you today. There is nothing to fear because God loves you and has promised that He will be with you forever. Have you ever seen those retractable dog leashes that extend several feet? Picture in your mind that God is out taking His dog Satan out for a walk and this allows us to understand the spirit realm. The Lord has a tight collar on the devil and He allows him to run around roaring like a lion causing all this chaos and confusion. A key point in this analogy is that we must realize that God is in total control and Satan must obey God’s commands. This means the creator of all things is using him as a part of His perfect plan. So, what could possibly be God’s purpose and reason for allowing the dark side to harass and attack His people? He desires for us to trust and depend on Jesus completely. Have you ever considered how we would think and act if there were no temptations, dangers, or discouragements? If the world was a paradise without any problems or disappointments, we would be so busy enjoying ourselves we would never think about God. Why would we need to pray or have faith if we had everything we needed and our lives were filled with pleasure and contentment?
When we realize the meaning of this spiritual covenant, we will understand that our heavenly Father loved us with all of His heart and He desires that we love Him with all of our heart. He wants to enjoy an intimate personal relationship with us and this can only happen when come to know Him for who He is. He wants us to be confident that when we are facing the storms of worry, stress, and sadness that we can run to Him and find peace and hope. Psalm 18:16 reminds us, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run into it and are safe.” Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice that could redeem us from sin and restore us into God’s presence. He wants us to know today there is no need to live in fear because when we are afraid this means we are not trusting Him. May we turn our anxieties into praise and excitement as we know God is perfect, He cannot fail, He is the King of kings and we will live with Him forever. Let us allow our minds to be transformed from thinking that the fate of the world is anyone’s guess because this is just another deception of Satan’s agenda. It might seem that evil is winning, but we have already read the end of the story and we know there has never been a doubt as to the total dominance and control of the Alpha and the Omega. God is never surprised, and everything is going perfectly according to His plan.
You see, many people see life as a battle between good and evil and this is true when it comes to making decisions about whom we will serve. However, when we step back and comprehend the big picture, we notice there is no way that Satan can ever defeat God, and the war is never in question. Darkness can never overcome the light and as Christians we have the security of knowing we are on the winning side. Satan was defeated when he was cast out of heaven and he will always be defeated. The devil knows his dreadful fate and that his time here on earth is limited which is why he is working as hard as he can against God’s kingdom. I was ministering in music the other night and sharing about where we need to be placing our trust. We see all the terrible things that are happening and many are saying that certain political leaders can fix all of our problems and if this or that is changed we can stop the evil and so on. Yes, we can pray but let us realize our hope is not in government or even the church, our hope is in God alone. He has designed tribulations and trials to draw His people to Himself as this is the hour to repent and make sure our heart is pure. So if you feel anxious and worried today just remember the devil is on the end of God’s leash.
