I Thessalonians 2:18
“For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us.”
This is our third session focusing on this verse. The first dealt with Satan’s tactic of deception, the second focused on how God uses Satan for His purposes; today we’ll focus on the spiritual warfare that we are engaged in.
Ephesians 6 speaks much about this. Verse 12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
The odd aspect of this battle is that it’s invisible. Most go through their entire lives and not know of it. How can we become aware? We can’t know for sure, but we can gain some insight from today’s verse. Paul mentioned that he sought to visit the Thessalonians several times, but Satan hindered them. It may have been an interruption of events. Their donkey may have gotten ill or other needs may have arisen. They may have seemed like normal events.
A question that surfaces for me is how do we tell the difference between satanic interference and God’s sovereignty (a closed door)? I would say that we have peace when God closes a door (Colossians 3:15). This was addressed in the last entry on this verse, God’s sovereignty in our lives. We trust Him and by His wisdom and love, He opens and closes doors. As we grow in maturity, we learn to accept these. I’ve wasted much time attempting to force open one that was closed.
I would also say that satanic interference can be overcome with prayer (Daniel 10:12,13). In this example, it took three weeks for Daniel to get an answer. Spiritual warfare takes time. It’s easy to give up. We are to persist in prayer. The Lord will assist. To be patient in persistence is to understand spiritual warfare.
Lord, help us to understand Satan and his tactics. Help us to be engaged in the battle by praying for others.