In light of the present crisis with the corona virus we can and should take all the precautions we can but when all else is said and done there’s not much we can do but let it run its course. But, as God’s children there is something we can do about any anxiety or uncertainty that grips us from time to time.
THE INDISPUTABLE AUTHORITY WE HAVE IN OUR SAVIOR
For some reason God loved parting waters.
He used Moses to part the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21)
He used Joshua to part the river Jordan (Joshua 3:14-17)
He also used Elijah and Elisha to part the river Jordan (2nd Kings 2:8-14)
I couldn’t find anywhere that Jesus parted waters, He just walked on them. By our faith in Him, we can do the same, we can walk all over satan when he rears his ugly head.
In Genesis 3:15 God tells us that the seed of woman (that’s Jesus, and then us through Him) will bruise satan’s head and he will bruise his (or our) heel. Look at the authority He has given us over our enemy.
Let’s look first at our enemy’s tactic’s. The word heel means “seize by the heel, circumvent as if tripping up the heels,also to restrain as holding on to the heel.”
As satan tried with Jesus he will also try to seize us, he will try to trip us up, he will try to restrain us. My neighbor has two little chihuahua dogs. Sometimes when I’m out in my yard, here they come, nipping at my heels and they have this annoying half bark, half growl as if they are trying to puff themselves up bigger than they are. They act like they are trying to take hold of me and when they get under my feet I suppose they could trip me up, but they are not at all life threatening, just an irritation I put up with from time to time. When viewed from God’s perspective and the authority He has given every one of His children, satan is no more than an irritating little dog with a bark much bigger than his bite (Isaiah 14:16). I don’t mean to minimize the way we feel when we are under attack from our enemy but we don’t need to minimize the authority He has given us to overcome the way we feel.
Let’s take a look at that authority. Here in Genesis God says we can “bruise” his head. In the Hebrew “bruise” means “to overwhelm.” In other words, when satan attacks and we feel overwhelmed we can use the authority He has given us to turn the table and overwhelm him, and it gets worse for the old boy in the New Testament.
In Romans 16:20 the word “bruise” means “to crush completely, to shatter, break in pieces.” not a pretty picture for satan but an incredible picture for us. A bruised heel is just an irritation, it”s not life threatening, you ‘ll get over it. On the other hand a crushed head is something you don’t come back from. We have the authority to crush the life out of anything satan brings against us.
Another picture of the INDISPUTABLE AUTHORITY our Savior has given us is found in Matthew 18:18.
The word “bind” means just that,”to bind.” So when satan tries to bind our mind with worry and fear, we can turn the table on him and bind him up with the word of God (another of the “all blessings” of Ephesians 1:3). The word “loose” means “to “loosen” (literally or figuratively): – break (up), destroy, dissolve, (un-) loose, melt, put off.” Once again, we have the INDISPUTABLE AUTHORITY to break up and destroy anything satan brings against us. Sometimes we need some help accomplishing this and He provides that help in the next verse. Just call reinforcements when you need them.