However, we don’t need to wait as the hymn writer suggests in order to know the answer. We know why we are often in dire straits and why we are sometimes bruised and bloodied. It is because we have an avowed adversary who wishes us harm. It is his aim to hinder us in our journey to our home in heaven.

Martin Luther also wrote a hymn that acknowledges this enemy of our faith.

For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not His equal.

There are some that scoff at the idea of a real Satan. They scorn all those who believe the devil is real as superstitious or uneducated. But that does not disprove the existence of a devil. There have been and remain today men who are highly educated and are not superstitious in the least who believe that Satan is a real person. It’s not really a matter of intelligence or intellect. If it were, then all people above a certain IQ would not believe in the existence of this enemy. Men may ridicule the idea of the devil, but laughter will not make him go away. The Bible acknowledges his existence and our battle scars substantiate its claims. Satan is the Christian’s adversary.