The greatest news that the Bible can ever give is that evil is prevailed by the Lord’s goodness. In this day and age it has become customary to yield to the erroneous teaching that what is evil has the final say in life. This is a sheer lie. Satan’s short lived reign is always crushed to pieces by the Lord’s faithful love. The Lord is a good player indeed. How?

Satan tells us to worry. And the more we worry the more we make our lives a living hell. Our good Lord is so cool. In front of our self-defeatism, where we might think that we are going to perish into the raging waters of life, he simply awakes and rebukes all those unfruitful worries. And to cut the story short he gently warns us: “Where is your faith?” (Lk 8, 25). Who are we to doubt his power if not saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him?” (see Lk 8, 25).

Sometimes we get the impression that with our own work we are going to save the world. So we choose to become the slaves of our means! Exhaustion takes hold of us. In front of Satan’s manoeuvre the Lord encourages us to trust Him.

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?

“And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

“For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day” (Mt 6, 25-34).

If somebody insults us there is the tendency to resent and show bitterness to the person/s concerned. Obviously Satan takes great delight in that. Since he is evil in himself he is the essence of hatred and resentment. The Lord protects us from his snares by proposing us the powerful medicine of forgiveness. “But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you” (Lk 6, 27-28).

Some people think that the richer they are the more powerful they can be. Satan uses this trick to damn their souls for eternity. The rule of mammon is destined to crumble from its very first day. The Lord wins Satan’s fragile attack by teaching us: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Lk 6, 19-21).

Discouragement is Satan’s ultimate resort to win souls on his side. He thinks that by fabricating the lie that God does not care for his creation, he can make us interested in his tragic proposals. He is so stupid. He hardly realizes that God’s name, Jesus, means Saviour! So let us call Jesus’ name in order that this irritating and stinking insect gets lost and goes to hell, the place that belongs to him alone.

In times of discouragement Jesus comforts us with the following words: “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11, 28). If “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10, 13), let us call Jesus’ name in these tormenting periods of discouragement and we shall rest assured that the tempter will take his flight instantaneously.

The Lord’s game shows that “great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods” (1 Chr 16, 25), including the most despicable and abhorrent creatures of all time, Satan. With the Lord there is eternal happiness and life.

With Satan there is eternal despair and damnation. Let us gladly join and be protagonists of the Lord’s game. With the Lord we “will have fulness of life” (Tob 12, 9).

Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap

San Gwann