Recently, I watched a video titled The Unseen Sea. Sam Christen, the flick’s creator, presented a time-lapsed look at the atmosphere over San Francisco filmed from above the clouds. At times, the clouds appeared as amethyst vapor or cottony smoke taking the shape of ocean waves churning and sweeping over the city—seemingly to bury it like the doomed city of Pompeii.
Watching the video reminded me of all that happens in the unseen spiritual realm (Ephesians 6:12). The Bible gives us a peek at this hidden world in the book of Job where God and Satan engaged in a discussion. Their unusual chat shows that God was firmly in charge of the invisible world. When Satan challenged Job’s loyalty, God replied, “All right, you may test him” (Job 1:12). Satan had to get God’s permission—which came with limits—because God was (and is) running the show.
This comforts me when I consider the difference between “the accuser, Satan” (Job 1:6), and our heavenly Father. The contrast shows that good and evil really do exist. It’s God and His followers against Satan and his henchmen (Mark 9:40). The prevailing attitude of our age downplays this truth, suggesting that it’s acceptable and even hip to be associated with darkness.
Speaking of darkness, as Satan addressed God, he said, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on” (Job 1:7). Beyond this spine-tingling confession, we also know that Satan is actually “looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
To avoid becoming the devil’s main course, we need to remember to be strong in God, to pray constantly, and to use His armor as our defense (Ephesians 6:10-16). Then, when we are tested, we will not be swept away by the unseen but mighty powers of this dark world.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Matthew 27:57-66
More:
Read Matthew 8:28-32 for an example of Jesus’ authority in the spiritual realm. Read Daniel 6:21-22 to see how God can provide supernatural protection for His followers.
Next:
Why do we sometimes overlook the spiritual forces at work in our lives? Why should we remember that God is the highest power in heaven and earth?
lukehferris on September 27, 2012 at 10:22 am
Great encouragement! Always good to remember that there is a spiritual battle happening. I can feel bogged down by my battle with sin sometimes, but knowing that I have a savior gives me peace. Amazing visual
tom felten on September 27, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Very cool, Luke! Thanks so much for posting a link to the video “The Unseen Sea.”
rkennedy10 on September 27, 2012 at 2:27 pm
The issue of God’s soveignty is a difficult/tricky one. If God were presently controlling all things, there could not be a real conflict/war raging. But at the time God determined to create free beings, including Satan, by necessity, God choose to give up some of his power–for the time being. If God were to interfere commonly with what the created beings want/try to do, he would not really have created free beings, but only puppets which he keeps on strings. Some of these free beings are thus free to wage war on God and mankind, and the physical universe, perhaps. God is not controlling everything, by his own original decision to create free beings. If God were controlling everything during this age, he would be responsible for all of the evil. But the Bible does not teach this. Jesus, Paul and others had no problem placing the blame for physical ailments and evil happenings on Satan. For example, Jesus said that Satan had kept a woman bound for 20 years. You can’t have it both ways. If you say God is controlling everything, you also have to blame him for this woman’s hump and all the other pain and suffering. And the theory that God has some hidden and good purpose behind every evil he allows just doesn’t do the job. God could have kept all of the power to himself, but he choose to create free beings who have freely chosen to live as rebels. And thus, we have a state of war, and in a war, there will be useless, and unintended suffering which God does not allow for any good purpose–it’s simply colateral damage. The fact that God can use evil/pain/suffering to bring something good about is very different from saying that God allows pain SO THAT, or FOR the PURPOSE of bringing something good out of it. As the Bible says “He (God) does not willingly bring affliction.” (The free beings he created do, however).
jennifer benson schuldt on September 27, 2012 at 7:52 pm
rkennedy10,
Wow–you’ve done a lot of thinking on this topic. Thanks for taking a few moments to share your thoughts with us today.
I found some information that might be of interest to you. The entire article can be found at: http://questions.org/attq/did-god-create-evil/
Here is an excerpt:
“Does God create evil? Certainly not. If He was the author of evil, then He certainly would not be a good God that is worthy of worship and praise, much less trusted to have our well-being in mind. The idea of a good God creating His own enemy and the object of His wrath seems inconceivable. It would be inconsistent for a good God to mastermind the idea of evil, will it into existence, and still be considered a good God.
Rather, God created man in His image with the freedom to choose. With this freedom came the opportunity to rebel against Him. Man did rebel ( Genesis 3 ), and the rest is history. The annals of human history chronicle how God uses everything — even the chaos of this world — to bring about His glory and purposes. Those purposes include our growth in becoming more Christlike.”
tom felten on September 28, 2012 at 10:10 am
Thanks for sharing that Scripture, eduardo. It reminds us that we do face an enemy of our souls in this life, but that we also serve a God who is greater and who is the source of real life!