Does Bad Thing Happens?

Ever since the inception of sin, this world has devolved from a place wherein dwell the holy God; a place where Jehovah came to commune with man daily, into a place where evil reign freely and the inhabitants are inflicted with all manner of evil. These evil are manifested in the unfortunate things that happens daily and the man made tragedies (murder, injuries, crashes of all kind etc.) that secures the mental and physical suffering that are inflict on many or each of us. These along with the other bad things that happens to us as a direct results of man’s behavior and sin that appear to have happen without the direct involvement of us human. Here we speak of illnesses, death and what is termed as "natural disasters" etc.

We are force to deal with the grief that accompanies the death of love ones, we have seen the suffering of friends, family and acquaintance and we have experienced such suffering for our self. We have feel the pain and suffering that is not known to Jehovah’s Holy Angel and that were not experienced by the mother and father of humanity, that is; until they disobeyed Jehovah's laws and sin entered into the world. We have seen and heard of innocent, helpless babes contracting the worst kind of illnesses; we have also seen and heard of these precious gift from Jehovah (babies) becoming victims of abuses in its most extreme form. This world has reached the stage where, the murder of the baby, in or out of the womb is a common and acceptable practice.

Having considering all the above facts; we are forced to believe that there is a God: Jehovah, whose main attributes is love and he sits at the reign of the universe; who has particular interest in this world: would just sits back and allow all of these atrocities to happen to human kind, who some considers to be Jehovah's favorite creation. Yes Jehovah has the power to stop the innocent helpless babes from being afflicted with such evil, yet he look on with interest and he does nothing.

I have face and gone through many difficult experience in my life, yet I have never had one bad thing happened to me. I have been stabbed, had broken bones, I have had illnesses that caused me to toppled over helpless in pain, I have been betrayed by close friend, conspired against, had hits put on me, escaped death several times, intentionally poisoned, efforts were maid to get me hooked on drugs, etc. yet I have never had a bad thing happened to me.

We can say from experience; no one like to endure hard or difficult times and when such comes our way, we often take or view life’s events and experiences in isolation. However; life’s events and life’s experiences do not come isolated. When confronted with a negative event; my earthly father always took the time to remind us and himself, no matter how bad the event or the experience we had to go through or endure were/are; it could have been worst.

If Jehovah were to give the devil unfettered access to us, we would have been destroyed in the very worst way a long time ago. Our suffering would have been so severe and so excruciating we would have been begging for death to come to us. The bible warned us about the intent of the devil; 2 Peter 5: 8, “be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Here the bible speaks about the devil and his intent for each person. He wants to devour us. It is the devil who is truly responsible for all of the suffering, the heart aches and the pain that man endure. However; it is Jehovah who allows him to inflict such upon us.

Jehovah allows the devil to so cause us pain and suffering for two basic reasons which are:

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  So he can bring us back into the safety of his care.

Very often we intentionally and at times we accidentally stray far from the protection of Jehovah, we forsake his love, his protection and his will for our life. When we do such, we are denying Jehovah the rights to take care of us; in other words, we reject his protection, his grace, his mercy and his love. The good thing about this is: even though we reject his love and his leading in our lives; he Jehovah never treats us as we deserve to be treated. He still extends his hand of protection towards us, saving us from the true intent and purpose of the devil. Even though we reject him he only gives the devil limited access to us. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Even when we have betrayed and abandon our sustainer, he still has our backs, even when with our actions and with our words we tell him in clear language to leave us alone he still ensure that we are not allowed to face the full wrath of the devil.

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  He wants to ensure that we develop a character that makes us worthy to be called his own.

It is no secret that sin has defined us. Our thoughts action and vocal expression are as such that cannot dwell in the holy places of the Most High. It is Jehovah's plan to restore us to our rightful place and status. However; because of our love for the unholy, sin, the things of sin and our free will it is impossibly for the all knowing God to restore us except for the way that he choose. We need to give Jehovah our independence and rely solely on him. Unfortunately, this submissive character trait is totally alien to human kind. So we have to be retrained using negative-positive re-enforcement. Here is where the Devil and suffering comes in. Like a parent and a child; when that child does something wrong that child is punished, sending a clear message to the child that the particular behavior is not an acceptable behavior and when the child does something good, he or she is rewarded and praise sending the clear message that such behavior are acceptable behaviors. So the negative behaviors are punished and discourage and the positive behaviors are rewarded and encouraged. The same technique is use in the training of animals.

It is the same method Jehovah use to ensure our characters are retransformed into that which is fitting to inherit his kingdom: the Kingdom of Heaven. Here is where the devil comes in; when we go against Jehovah's laws, Jehovah gives the devil limited access to inflict upon us the needed punishment; however, such access is allowed not out of hate or to hurt us but to strengthen us and to lead us back to where Jehovah want us. When we are faithful to Jehovah, he ensures that we are rewarded, in many ways. He blesses us with wisdom, we are protected from evil and we are successful in all that we do. Ps 1: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. 

Many people asked why? When supposedly bad things happen to them, and in their ignorance some people question Jehovah in anger; while again others choose to be detached from their creator/sustainer. They blame him for what went wrong or the bad things that had happened.

I was fortunate, in that; my parents taught me not to ever question Jehovah when supposedly bad things happens to me, knowing that Jehovah is faithful to us wards; not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance.

When at the tender age of seven (7) years old, my mother; the only Christian I have ever known, the only person who loved me unconditionally, and the person whom I was closest too died; although I did not understand why my world came crashing down and fell into complete ruins; I took my mothers words that her death was for the best as she always said: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 and Ps 84: 1, which says: For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless or upright.

There is story that may help us to understand more fully, the events that go on behind the scene; events we are not privilege to; events that happens in the spiritual realms that has a direct effect us in our world.

The story is told of a Christian farmer who was finding it hard to make ends meet, however he had a strong healthy cow. The cow was the only thing of value the farmer had; it kept the farmer and his wife from going under. The cow gave enough milk to satisfy the farmer domestic need and there were always enough milk to sell to take care of the other needs of the couple.

But one morning when the farmer went out to milk the cow, he noticed the cow was dead, how this could be? The farmer asked in despair, what am I going to do now? He questioned. The farmer wondered why

Jehovah would do such a thing to him; after all he serving Jehovah faithfully and all he asked in return was for the ability to provide for his wife. Now even his humble desire was taken away from him. So in his disappointment and in his hurt he angrily questioned Jehovah as to why he will allow his cow which was his only means of providing for his family to die.

Jehovah understood the feelings of hopelessness and the pain of disappointment the farmer felt; so Jehovah decided to allow the farmer’s guardian angel, to expose him to the events that lead up to the death of his cow. The farmer was told that the angel of death came for his wife, and because His guardian Angel knew how much he love his wife; the Guardian Angel had to give the Angel of death something of value in exchange for the life of the farmer’s wife, it is then the farmer’s guardian Angel give to the Angel of Death the life of the farmer’s cow. When the farmer heard this he was dumbfounded.

So each time we are face with a trial, that seems to much for us to bear, or when our experiences make us want to forsake everything even life; Just remember that Jehovah had promised, he will never allow us more than we can bear, and everything works together for the good of those who love the lord.

Before Jehovah ask you to scale a mountain, he will teach you how to climb, before he let you lose in thin air he will give you wings to fly, if he want you to be a vessel he will teach you how to float, if he want you to sail the ocean he will first give you a boat. If he wants you to liberate others, he will ensure that you are free and if he wants you to walk on water he gives you Buoyancy. Jehovah will never ask us to undergo any task unless he is assured that we are equipped to be successful; if this is true then our failure is of our own doing.

Colossians 2: 16-23 Explained

Photos from google pictures

Question: Please explain Col 2: 16-23

Therefore let no man judge you in meat, in drink, in respect of holydays, or new moon, or Sabbath days, 17) These are a shadow of the things that were to come; but the body is of Christ. 18) Let no man beguile you (deceived you or cause you to give up) of your reward in voluntary humility, and worship of Angels (Idol worship), intruding into things which had not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshy mind (Pride), 19) And not holding the head from which all the body by joins and band have nourishment ministered, and knit together increase of God. 20) Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the Rudiment of the world, are ye subject to ordinances.

21) Touch not, taste not, handle not: 22) which all are to perish with the using) after the commandment and doctrine of men. 23) Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in honors of the satisfying of the flesh.

The Answer:

The first part of this passage was speaking of the ceremonial law; Jehovah instructed his children to faithfully keep these ceremonies, if they were to participate and receive the benefit of the promised redemption, which Jesus came and provided. These festivals were meant to keep Jehovah's children focused upon him, and all of his goodness towards them; for it is Jehovah's desire, to bless and prosper his faithful children for they were to represent Jehovah to the heathen nations among whom they live.

It is important to note, that they were required to observe all of these festivals, every new moon, they were to reflect on Jehovah's goodness towards them; apart from the new moons there were other Sabbaths they (Jehovah's people) were to observe. Which can be found in the books written by Moses, beginning with the book of Exodus? However, there are two major differences with the ceremonial Sabbaths and the Seventh day Sabbath.

1. The Seventh Day Sabbath was instituted as a part of creation, it was blessed and sanctify by Jehovah Gen 2: 3; in other words, Jehovah put a blessing on Sabbath and he set it aside for holy use. You know the saying who/what God bless no man curse. Well he has blessed the Seventh day Sabbath and no one can put a curse on it. Did you consider that mans in his perfect state or should I say man in his sinless state; kept the Sabbath, they were required solely to devote one day in every seven to the worship and adoration of Jehovah; bear in mind that every morning and every evening Jehovah met with the sinless couple Adam and eve. Why did Jehovah requested or command man to keep the Sabbath? for if I don’t praise him the rocks are going to cry out his praise. We must know Jehovah is going to be praise regardless; but what is more important, we were made to praise him. Not for praising him (Jehovah) sake; he is worthy of our praise. Over and over, Jehovah has proven to you and to me by the things that he has done for us that he is worthy of our praise.

2. The ceremonial law which includes the observance of the other Sabbaths, new moons etc. were instituted after man sinned and Jehovah and his Son Jesus Christ had instituted the plan of salvation. These ceremonies were to point to the promise Messiah: Jesus Christ the sinless son of Jehovah, who was to come to earth and die a sacrificial death as the innocent lamb; died at the hands of the guilty Luke 24: 7, For the Son of man must be delivered into the hand of sinful man and be crucified and the third day rise again. When Jesus Christ Give up the ghost whilst on the cross the vale in the temple was rent in twin Matthew 27: 51, thus exposing the most holy place in the temple. This was significant for two reasons:

a. It showed the deity of Jesus Christ as the Son of Jehovah the only true, living and the Creator God

b. It marked the termination of the sacrificial system. For the real offering Jesus Christ; Jehovah’s promised sacrifice came and fulfilled his promise. Jesus' obedience onto death nullified the need to offer sacrifice and the Death of Christ signaled the fulfillment of Jehovah's promise.

Matthew 7: 1-3 Says; Judge not, that ye be not judge 2) for with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judge: and with what measure ye meet, it shall be measured to you again. 3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eyes, but considereth not the beam that is in thy own eye.

Jesus knew, because of sin, man will be prone to be hypocrite, casting judgment on other not knowing the condition of the heart of those they judge, while they themselves (the unqualified judges) are no better off than those who they Judge and in some cases their condition (spiritual and otherwise) are worst.

Many people enjoy holding up their work as a partition, separating themselves from other, Ephesians 2: 8-9 says; “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Hence the reason we are admonished not to Judge.

Salvation is to serious a matter for me to be focused upon you or anything else and you me or anything else. The giving, acceptance and the recieving of salvation is no game, no laughing matter but serious business. For the reward of salvation is something no one in their right minds can afford to miss out on. Hence the reason Philippians 2: 12 said “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” Each of us has only one responsibility and that is to ourselves, which is; to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling that is how serious a matter this is. We should be afraid of losing out on the gift of Jehovah and tremble when we come into his presence.

My beloved, I pray that the love and the Grace of Jehovah our God and His Son Jesus Christ our God; never leaves us but abide with us all today and for eternity.

Jehovah Will Not Do For You, What He Has Equipped You To Do For Yourselves

Jehovah God is an awesome God; he is majestic in his power, excellent in his love and perfect in his wisdom. As impressive as this statement sounds, it is a total understatement; for Jehovah is perfect in every way. The God of whom I speaks is the omnipotent God, wherein lies the source of everything; he is the one from whom every breath, every material thing, every shadow, everything living, everything dead, everything animate, everything inanimate, every thought, every shed of wisdom is derived. In other words, there is nothing that existed and exists that was not derived from and is being sustain because by Jehovah’s awesome power.

Jehovah is not a foolish God, he is not a haphazard God, Jehovah is a God of purpose, he is a God with a plan and that plan is to reclaim his lost creation. Hence the reason, everything Jehovah does is methodical, calculated and is done with the view of the big picture, which is; the salvation of all man kind. Jehovah and his son Jesus Christ is on a planed mission to ensure that each person get the opportunity to reclaim what is rightfully their.

It is important to note, this is serious business and Jehovah or his son is not taking anything for granted. He did not withhold his son from being subject to the embarrassment, humiliation, the suffering and the death of a common criminal. What was worst was the fact that he (Jesus Christ) met such, embarrassment, humiliation, suffering and death at the hands of those he came to save: me and you. 1 Cor. 7: 23-24- Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. Jehovah will not hold us blameless if we choose to reject his love and his effort to secure our salvation; all who reject his love will suffer the full consequence of their sins.

We must come to understand because of this, Jehovah will not do for us; that which he has equipped us to do for ourselves. When you consider what is at stake and what Jehovah objectives are, he will never do for us what he has equipped us to do for ourselves. Jehovah have blessed us with many things, he blessed us with strength, health, materials, good friends, courage, faith, but the most important of all, Jehovah has blessed us with his wisdom. 1Corintians 1: 25- Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Such wisdom must be use to aid us in a closer relationship to him, for our own and the protection of our family, to avoid pitfalls and any stumbling block the devil and his imps may strategically place in our path but most important that we be equipped to accept his salvation.

So because Jehovah is in the process of equipping us to re-inherit his kingdom and because of the consequence we will be confronted with if we fail; there is no time for sports, games, child’s play or such the like.

When we utilizes the gifts Jehovah have blessed us with and we are still unable to accomplish his will, it is then Jehovah steps in and take control, it is then he add his strength to our weakness and when the omnipotent Jehovah and frail man join force together we forge a perfect unity in securing my salvation. 2 Corinthians 12:9-And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Should we deny ourselves the opportunity to properly manage and utilize the gift Jehovah has given to us? If we do, we will remain in our state of helplessness. For Jehovah to do for us what we are capable of doing for ourselves will not accomplish what he wants to accomplish in our lives. Such action preformed by Jehovah will not aid to build or strengthen our faith, it will not seek to build or prepare our character, for heaven.

Have you ever take time to think of what would have happen;

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  If Moses had fail or refused to stretch out his rod over the red sea? The Red Sea would not have parted, the children of Israel would not have passed over to safety and they would have died at the sword of Pharaoh.
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  What would have happened to the woman with the issue of blood, did not press through the crowd and touch the helm of Jesus’ garment? She would have suffered from her illness until she dies.
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  What would have happened of Noah did not build the ark? All of the inhabitants or the world would have been wiped out.
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  What would have happen if the people did not roll away the stone from Lazarus’ tomb as Jesus requested? Lazarus would have never been raised from the dead.
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  What would have happen if the little boy did not give his three fish and five loafs to Jesus? Men and woman would have fainted from hunger.

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  What would have happen if the cripple man at the well beautiful did not believe? He would have remained in his state of helplessness until he died.
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  What would have happen if lot did not use his compassion? He would have been destroyed with the citizen of Sodom and Gomarrha.
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  What would have happened if Job did not practice patience and endurance in the face of torment? He would have curse God and die as his wife recommended.
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  What would have happened if the Hebrew boys partook of the Kings meet? Their wisdom would have wane and they would have forfeited the opportunity to represent Jehovah and to be elevated to the lofty position of power they were placed in.
• What would have happened if Davis the humble Sheppard, who was still in his youth did not take up the challenge to face, and kill Goliath? David and his people would have taken captive and would have been exploited at the oppressive hands of the philistines, thus causing Jehovah to be shamed by the infidels.

We all have seen what happens when we don’t use that which Jehovah has blessed us with.

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   We saw Sampson when he fail to use the wisdom that Jehovah had blessed him with; he lost his supernatural powers, was taken into the custody by his enemies, had his eyes poked out and he was mocked.
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   When Eli Jehovah’s priest did not use his God given wisdom to correct his children; he suffered the grief of death when his dishonest sons died at the will of Jehovah.
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   The children of Israel who was blessed with the honor to be the children of Jehovah, fail to use their blessing; they were taken into captivity over and over again and suffered the indignity of being slaves.

Dut. 22: 22-24 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap mischief upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

It is important for us to understand; with such at stake and the short time with which we have to accomplish that which must be done, Jehovah cannot, I say again; Jehovah cannot afford to play the kind of foolish and childish game we very often choose to play; his gift is to expensive, the high price we maybe required to play for our sins if we forfeits his gift; its too valuable, the price that Jehovah paid (the life of his son Jesus Christ); too time consuming, almost six thousand years of Jehovah’s time has been invested in man’s salvation. It is because of the seriousness and importance of what is at stake, that Jehovah, the all wise God, is not willing to play with our salvation and neither should we.

On the flip side the consequences of losing out on our salvation will pain Jehovah so much and it will pain us far more than our weak, frail, pathetic human mind can ever comprehend. 2 Peter 2: 4-6 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly.

It is because of these simple yet complex facts that Jehovah will not, do for us what ha has equipped us to do for ourselves.

Guard The Doors Of Your Mind

Some time ago, I came upon an illustration that told a story in its portrayal. The illustration depicted the world as a chest board, the people in the world were pawns and Jesus Christ the redeemer of human and the devil: the destroyer of souls were engaged in a fierce game of chest. Thus the illustration portrayed Jesus and Satan as equal and fierce opponents in a battle for the mortal life and the rights to claim the souls of human kind.

The illustration was trying to portray the fierceness of the battle that is being wage for our mortal life and eventually our souls.

At first, I though this piece of art was cute and creative; but after careful consideration and after I consulted with and listened to the voice of Jehovah, I had a revelation. In this revelation it was explained to me that the concept of the art was not an accurate revelation of the truth as it exist. Then as clear as day, I saw the awful error of the illustration. We have got to be careful with the things we are exposed too; for what may appear to be spiritually good thoughts and uplifting idea that enters our minds may aid in our deception. For at times, the devil plants some seemingly good, innocent but erroneous idea in our heads; ideas that we fail to look at with spiritual eyes and because they appear to portray Jehovah or Jesus in a good light we fail to ask for Jehovah’s understanding of the thoughts that entered our minds unsolicited.

We have got to understand that neither Jehovah nor Jesus wants to be portrayed in a good light, but the creator of the universe and the redeemer of mankind, must at all times, be portrayed in perfect light. For they are perfect in all of their ways. Not one iota of Jehovah’s glory, his power, his goodness his mercy, his perfection, his strength or his kindness must be awarded to any one or any thing.

It is not as the art work suggested, Jehovah and Satan are not on equal ground and they are not in an all out war for our soul. It is important to note that the devil is a defeated foe, Satan was never a match for Jesus, when the Devil had his first confrontation with Jesus, he knew of Jehovah's awesome power; hence the reason he worked in fearful secrecy trying to rally the host of heaven on his side in hope of bettering his chances. However, it is important to note; that Michael did not need the help of the angel to defeat Satan and the angels who join his conspiracy, as is out lined in Revelation 12. Michael is all powerful and every bit of power that exist and that is associated with life is derived from Jehovah. The sun in all its glory has not power or light of its own, they all recieved their glory, from Jehovah and nothing will happen, nothing will function, nothing will exist without the creator's consent. Without the sustainor, every living thing will cease to exist. So you see the devil has never been and will never be on par with Jehovah and or his Son.

That drawing needs to have the following correction made to it; in order, to fully demonstrate the reality as it stood and still stands. The devil's position in the drawing is out of place. He should be places on the chest board, for he (satan) is just another pawn; in the game of life. Satan moves or controls nothing, he is placed exactly where Jehovah needs him, he is only permitted to do just what Jehovah allow him to do as is outlined in the book of Job but most of all, he is only given enough leverage to aid in the perfection of our character. Unfortunately, we very often fail to capitalize on such opportunities.

The Conclusion:

In conclusion, Satan is evil by nature and he will grab at every opportunity to dispense of his evil. It is this character trait that Jehovah manipulates for his own purpose and for the benefit of man kind; hence the reason why he is only a pawn to be used by Jehovah, as Jehovah sees fit, for our benefit and for the perfecting of our characters. His evil has so blinded him that he seeks every opportunity to do evil. Satan in his behavior reveal to the un-fallen worlds, how evil he really is, he also expose his true character, his nature and his true intent when he lead the rebellion against Jehovah and his government. This was fully manifested when he arranged and carried out the failed attempt on the life of Jesus, when he was only a helpless babe; in turn he cause thousand of children to die in the process. Again he revealed his true nature when he planned and carry out the unworthy suffering, humiliation and execution of Jesus the Christ, Jehovah only son. See Luke 24 and the other gospels.

It is because of our rebellion, our failure to do Jehovah's will and our love of self that we always seems to falls victims of the actions of the devil. These actions which Jehovah allows the devil to inflict upon us are designed only to perfect our characters. Jehovah said in 1 Corintians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” It is important to remember that Jehovah has made available to us, for our help and protection; all of heaven and the entire mighty and majestic powers that heaven possesses. they are there to protect us and to help us overcome the wiles of the devils. Jehovah uses the devils to being us adversities; however, Jehovah and the angels are always present while we are being tried in the fire, to ensure we come fort as pure gold; with character that is perfect and fit of heaven.