Sometimes when the attacks come, it is all we can do to keep on putting one foot in front of the other… let alone getting psyched up in the full armour of God, feeling ready for battle, and saying, "Get at me, Satan!"
Theoretically, we know: Satan ain't got nothing on us. Jesus crushed his head! It's over. It was over before it even began. We know.
But in the midst of an attack, when it feels like a dementor is standing next to you sucking all the hope, joy, and beauty out of this world, to stand triumphant seems next to impossible.
But God, being the God of hope, knew this since before the beginning of time, and has given us a golden promise to pierce light through a dark season of attack.
"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good...." Genesis 50 verse 20 (NKJV)
Have you ever thought that perhaps the magnitude of the attack factors into this equation? What if it were true that the harder the enemy pushed, the stronger God would respond on our behalves, and in turn the greater we would actually be blessed?
I believe it does.
The proof lies in Luke 22 verse 3 â€" The ultimate act of Satan, or so he thought…
"Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them" Luke 22 verse 3, emphasis added (ESV)
This ultimate act of evil – the betrayal of Jesus Christ – that Satan planned and initiated through Judas, God used for the most powerful, redeeming, glorious act in the history of humanity.
Consider this: The saving work of Jesus on the cross would not have happened the way it did were it not for Satan's attack through Judas.
Would Satan have initiated this utmost betrayal had he known it would lead to his eternal destruction? Probably not. What do you think Satan thought would happen when He entered Judas and led him to betray Jesus?
Do you think he might have thought the same thing that always happened when the Israelites turned from God would happen again when Jesus was betrayed? That they might be sent into deeper exile to repent and pray for God to turn His face towards them again?
So attack Satan did, perhaps hoping to press reset on the same cycle of repentance and exile that the Israelites had lived in for centuries on end, never expecting that this time would be entirely different.
But just as the ultimate attack of Satan on humanity by seeking to kill our Messiah was redeemed by God to produce the ultimate act of salvation, when the enemy comes knocking at our doors, you and I must have confidence to say that the worse the attack, and the more that it stolen from us, the greater the degree our redemption will be – and the more we will be blessed.
Nehemiah put it simply, "Our God, however, turned the curse into a blessing." Nehemiah 13 verse 2
So what do we have to fear from the enemy? Absolutely nothing. In fact, we can almost welcome His attacks and finally be ready to say, "Get at me, Satan!" because we know we have a God who will turn each curse Satan throws at us into a blessing.
And the bigger the curse…? You guessed it. The bigger the blessing.
Tina Hakimi is an Arizona-raised, Sydney-based writer pursuing her doctorate at UNSW.
Tina Hakimi previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/tina-hakimi.html