Does it sometimes feel like the devil works faster than God? Does it feel like the devil is quicker to cause evil than God is to cause good or answer prayers? One morning I was pondering on this and felt an answer come to my heart: The devil primarily looks around for opportunities wherever he can find them and jumps on them. In contrast God has a bigger, better, more intentional plan in mind. He is far more strategic than the devil. Moreover God’s plans are impressively all-encompassing, well-crafted and formidable because He is an Omniscient, Omnipresent, Omnipotent God. The devil on the other hand does not know everything, can only be in one place at a time, and has restricted powers. As such, even when he plans, there are many loopholes or ways out of his plans (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The Bible emphasises this contrast better than I ever could, so I will let the verses below do the job of highlighting the devil’s opportunistic behaviour and more importantly, God’s master planning ways:

1 Peter 5:8-10 (NKJV), “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.”

Luke 4:1-3 (ESV), “And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 

Jeremiah 29:11 (BSB), “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”

Psalms 40:5 (BSB), “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us—none can compare to You—if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.”

Psalm 33:11 (NLT), “But the LORD’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.”

Acts 15:8 (NKJV), “Known to God from eternity are all His works.”

Isaiah 46:10 (CSB), “I declare the end from the beginning, and from long ago what is not yet done, saying: my plan will take place, and I will do all my will.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT), “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Isn’t that amazing? This contrast is further highlighted below.

Opportunism

“Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. ⁷ While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head. ⁸ The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. ⁹ “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” ¹⁰ But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? ¹¹ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. ¹² She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. ¹³ I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed. ¹⁴ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests ¹⁵ and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.” (Matthew 26:6-16 (NLT)).

No prizes for guessing which disciple may have been part of the indignant ones.

“³ Then Satan entered into Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve disciples, ⁴ and he went to the leading priests and captains of the Temple guard to discuss the best way to betray Jesus to them. ⁵ They were delighted, and they promised to give him money.” (Luke 22:3-5 (NLT).

From these passages, it appears that Judas may have been offended at a woman showing Jesus love, and Jesus’ beautiful response to her, and this offence gave the devil a foothold. No wonder the Bible tells us to have a conscience void of offence towards God and man, and to not give the devil a foothold at all (Acts 24;16, Ephesians 4:27). May we not allow the devil have any cause to get even his smallest finger through the door of our dwellings.

Strategic Planning

“Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. ⁷ No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God —his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. ⁸ But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. ⁹ That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
    and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
    for those who love him.”

¹⁰ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹² And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-12, NLT).

“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.” (Romans 8:14, NLT).

Imagine if the devil knew that God actually sent Jesus to die on the cross to save humankind, he would have done everything within his power to stop Jesus from dying! But the devil did not know, he had zero idea, and instead he merely worked to advance God’s plan. How could he have known when he doesn’t have God’s spirit?

Praise God that He has graciously given us His Spirit, and if we take the time to pray and listen to Him, we can receive insight into His plans, and guidance to know what to do! (John 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4). May we not ignore this precious, amazing Gift of the Holy Spirit which God has given us, leaving it unwrapped in a corner. For truly there is great power and wisdom available to us when we partake in sweet fellowship with God’s precious Spirit.

Prayer

I pray that in those times when we are wondering why things seem to be going a direction contrary to one we are praying for, when it looks like things are getting worse instead of better, when all sorts of thoughts start to float into our minds, that our consciences will remain empty of offense towards God and man. Remember that strategic planning requires more time and patience than opportunism. Instead, may we learn to trust God, to listen to God’s Spirit, and to submit to God’s glorious, magnificent, awe-inspiring plans. Amen.

Image source here.