Have you ever heard someone make the statement, “Satan’s been attacking me a lot lately”?
Is this true? Is Satan specifically attacking you? The problem is, many people seem to make this statement at the same time throughout the world. Is Satan literally attacking everyone all over the world at once?
Over time, we have developed several assumptions about Satan and his power that are not biblical. So, just how powerful is Satan? To answer this question, let’s take a look at what the book of Job says.
1) Satan is Not Omnipresent (In All Places). In Job 1:7, we see that God asks Satan where he came from. Meaning Satan only came from one specific location.
Too often we have the false impression that Satan is everywhere and can tempt everyone at once. This is simply not true. Nowhere in Scripture do we see Satan tempting many different people in many different locations. In the end, Satan is not God. He can only be at one place at a time, tempting one person at a time. He is not omnipresent.
2) Satan is Not Omniscient (All-Knowing). In the discussion between Satan and God, we see Satan had come to know, through experience, that God had placed a “hedge” around Job (Job 1:8-10). Satan had known this because he had already tried to tempt Job and failed. He came to know, through experience, that God was blessing Job’s life and that his influence was limited.
Once again, people today seem to have the misconception that Satan knows everything about them. Satan is not a mind-reader. Now, Satan has about 10,000 years of experience. He knows what buttons to press and what people typically struggle with, but this does not make him omniscient. The only way he can know what we personally struggle with is through experience and observation. Again, Satan is not God. He can only know what he learns from time, observation, and experience. He is not omniscient.
3) Satan is Not Omnipotent (All-Powerful). During Satan’s discussion with God, it is interesting to see some of Satan’s limitations. First, he had to check in with God (Job 1:6). He did not have the right to go and do whatever he pleased. Second, he was not able to get to Job (1:10). Even though he tried, God was not allowing him to. Third, God only allowed Satan to control things to a point (1:11-12). God did not allow Satan to influence Job’s health. What we see in these three points is that Satan’s power is limited. He does not have power over everything in this world. Only God has this.
Satan is most definitely a fearsome enemy (1 Peter 5:8), but too often we think he has much more power than he really does. If Satan is truly attacking you, then we can know he is not attacking anyone else at that moment. Let’s not overpower Satan. Yes, Satan is a formidable adversary, but a very beatable one. As we have said over and over, Satan is not God. Unlike Satan, God IS omnipresent (in all-places), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipotent (all-powerful).
Let’s remember what God has said about battling sin and Satan:
- We can resist and beat Satan (1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7).
- God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13).
- “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:1).
- “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
So, how powerful is Satan? His power is nothing compared to God’s. As we go through this life battling Satan and sin, let’s not exaggerate Satan’s power, but remember the tremendous power we have in our corner – God.
Brett Petrillo