We live in difficult days, and the more we attempt to stem the tide of evil that is present in our society the more frustrated many of us become. It is in the midst of this chaos that we turn to 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7. allow me to paraphrase that passage, “Now you know what restrains [the antichrist] now, so that in His time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already working; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. As we struggle to understand why we cannot stem the tide of wickedness in the world, we need to understand that it is not us that does the work it is the Holy Spirit that holds back the flood of evil. Romans 1 reminds us that the “wrath of God” is revealed, not through the manifestation of disasters, but by simply removing His influence from the world. At the same time passages like Job 1:10-12 and Job 2:4-6 reminds us that Satan can not affect us unless God permits it. What a comfort it to realize that in the battle of good vs evil, God has already won, and the reason for what seems to be the triumph of evil over good is that it accomplishes the purposes of God in ways that we may not understand in this life. Today, remember that Satan has no power at all unless he is permitted by God, but God knows that the ultimate victory is His not Satan’s. Satan does not and cannot defeat you, as you keep your eyes carefully upon the Lord.