My sister offered to do a photo shoot for my website at a local zinnia farm (four years ago this week). I took my granddaughter Emma along to get some pictures with her too. She loved all the bright flowers and being the center of attention. This photo is one of my favorites of us together. The farm was beautiful and a perfect location for photos.
This farm also had some animals living there. We wandered over to the barn area where we met a rather large sheep. My experiences with sheep have been benign, not like goats. Goats can be traumatic. A goat ate my hat when I was little, and I never forgot. And they always seem to delight in headbutting people. Sheep are usually more docile and easily intimidated. They are more likely to run off or even go stiff and fall over when startled. Not this sheep. Emma walked up to it, and it sized her up. The sheep took a few steps back, then charged, headbutting her in the stomach, knocking her on her butt. I thought she would be terrified, but she just laughed and walked away.
The sheep followed us around the barnyard. At first, we laughed about it. But its menacing presence became a constant threat. It tried several more times to knock Emma down, sneaking up on us from behind. Finally, we decided to move outside the fenced barnyard where the sheep couldn’t get to us. It worked. The sheep was not so scary with the fence between us. Emma even mocked it just a little, her sing-song voice squeaking, “Can’t get me.” We skipped away, hand in hand, with no fear that the sheep was coming after us.
Satan is a lot like that sheep. He tries to knock us down. He wants us to worry about where he is and what he’s doing, constantly looking over our shoulder. He can be menacing, making us run in fear. But, like that sheep, he also is penned in. He doesn’t have freedom to do whatever he wants to. He is limited to what God allows him to do. The Christian need not fear Satan or his schemes.
Sure, there times that he may get to you, causing you some fear or worry. Maybe he even knocks you down temporarily. But remember, He can do nothing outside of God’s control. They are not equals, dueling it out for control of the universe, like Darth Vader and the Jedi. We don’t need to route for God, hoping things go his way. Satan’s future has already been decided. God created him with a purpose, and that purpose has an end date. One little Word will fell him. Jesus has already defeated him. So go ahead and mock him just a little. He can’t get you.
“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3 NIV) “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” (Romans 16:20 NIV)
Lisa J Radcliff ~ Finding Freedom from the Past 