Please, let the record show that I am not endorsing
Greek gods here. I am merely using this story as a parody to establish a
biblical teaching.
The Lord Himself is God;
and there is
none other
besides Him (Deut. 4:35).
The Fictional Story of Sisyphus
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the king of Ephyra.
Sisyphus was punished for his callous and ruthless ways, by being forced to
roll a huge boulder up a steep hill, only to watch it roll back and hit him,
and having to repeat this futile endeavor over and over for eternity, having
never reached the top of the hill.
Sisyphus was the son of King Aeolus of Thessaly and Enarete.
He was the founder and first king of Ephyra. Sisyphus promoted navigation and
commerce, but he was greedy and deceitful. He also killed travelers and guests,
and took pleasure in these killings because they allowed him to maintain his
iron-fisted rule, and he could commandeer their belongings.
Sisyphus was extremely ruthless and cunning; he had created
many enemies among the Greek gods, among them was one, Zeus, for Sisyphus had
betrayed him.
Zeus sent Hades (personification
of Death) to chain Sisyphus down in Tartarus. Sisyphus slyly asked Hades to
demonstrate how the chains worked. As Hades was granting him his wish, Sisyphus
seized the opportunity and trapped Hades in the chains instead. As long as the
strong chains bound Hades, nobody could die. Because of this, sacrifices could
not be made to the Greek gods, and those that were old and sick were made to
continue suffering. The gods finally threatened to make life so miserable for
Sisyphus that he himself would wish for death. He then had no choice but to
release Hades.
When Sisyphus died he tricked Persephone, goddess of the
underworld, to allow him to return to the upperworld to deal with his wife who
did not give him a proper funeral and burial. When his spirit returned to the
upperworld, he refused to return to the underworld and was dragged back
forcibly by Hermes, whose job it was to guide souls to the underworld.
As punishment for his trickery, Sisyphus was made to
endlessly shove a huge boulder up a steep hill again and again, every day,
forever, condemning him to an eternity of useless efforts, unending
frustration, and vain pursuits. (end of Wikipedia reference)
The Useless Endeavors of Satan
I heard someone say one time that the enemies of God still hate God and they don't care much for you and me either. In the story of Job, Satan came before the Lord confessing that he had been patrolling the earth for people to devour. The Lord allowed Satan to take on Job and he made Job's life a nightmare for a while. But in the end, Job confessed to the Lord, "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." He is Almighty God and Satan is a defeated foe. The Lord turned Job's captivity and restored his losses with twice as much as he had before. He gave Job more children, the most beautiful daughters in all the land. Job lived 140 years after this occurrence, to see his great, great grandchildren and the end of his life was better than the beginning.
The Lord always causes us to triumph. Anytime Satan tries to overtake us, he is like Sisyphus rolling a huge stone up the steep hill and he will never, ever triumph over God's people. Therefore, the Bible says, "Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. They shall soon be mowed down like grass, and wither as the green herb" (Psalm 37:1).
True story is told about a young high school student named Casey Heynes, that had been bullied for years by his fellow classmates. He would never fight back or retaliate. He just endured their daily hostility without striking back. One day a boy came and pinned Casey to the wall and when he saw that Casey would not fight back, he started bouncing around like he was Smokin' Joe Frazier. Suddenly, Casey grabbed the boy and body slammed him against the pavement and nearly broke his knee and his ankle. The boy stumbled around unable to walk and not one of the classmates standing around tried to mess with Casey after that. In fact, they all walked away. Within a matter of a few hours, Casey became an international social media hero. Many kids were able to sympathize with his situation and they were blessed as a result of seeing the bully get his comeuppance.
Facing a Giant
David came up against a giant war champion named Goliath, a Philistine from Gath. This guy was about 4 feet taller than David and massive in strength. He was running around morning and evening for 40 days saying, "I defy the armies of Israel this day." But with God's help, David was able to kill that giant with a slingshot and a stone. David said to Goliath, "The Lord will give you into my hands." And He did just that. David took the giant's own sword and cut off his head.
When it comes to trying to figure out why God allows bad things to happen to good people, I must admit, I am the first one bursting on the scene to hear the answer to that. But my Jesus said, "The Heavenly Father, makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust alike." To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.
I heard a preacher say, "Accept what God allows, you're better off anyways. Even when you don't understand accept every trial, putting it in His hands because He has a master plan." I was driving to work recently and I said, "Lord, do I always have to be going through something for You to transform me? Can't You just let some things fall off like ripened fruit from a tree? Like fear, can't You just wipe it out so that I no longer struggle with it? I want to get rid of it, but I hesitate to ask because I know there will be a trial to endure." A spirit of dread comes upon me when I know the Lord is dealing with me about something because I know that the fight is on. Perhaps, as He did with Job, the Lord is asking Satan, "Have you considered My servant, Dee?" Then here comes Satan lining up all my circumstances, trying to get me offended with God.
But I am reminded once again that we are more than conquerors. He knows my going out and my coming in. He knows my sitting down and my rising up. He knows how much I can endure. He knows how much I love Him. He knows that I don't want to be offended because He knows my thoughts afar off. He knows how much I can bear. In regard to Job, the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not lay a hand on his person." Satan could not do what God commanded him not to do because he came back a second time asking for permission to make Job sick.
Jesus said in Luke 10:19 that He has given us authority over the enemy. We can use His name to defeat Satanic attack. He is a defeated foe, y'all. We don't have to put up with everything he throws at us. God's rebuke dries up the sea and make a river a wilderness (Isa. 50:2). Jesus cursed the fig tree and it withered up over night.
One night I was trying to sleep but the neighborhood dogs were keeping up a terrible racket barking at each other. I started to sigh heavily because I had about enough of it. The Lord said to me, "What did I teach you?" He had been teaching me about this authority over the enemy. I didn't want to disturb my husband's sleep, so I spoke in my spirit to the devil, "Satan, the Lord rebuke you." Then without speaking out verbally, I spoke to the barking dogs, "Puppy, peace!" Immediately all the dogs hushed before I could finish saying peace.
I said to the Lord in my spirit, "That helped my faith. I operated in the authority You gave us and saw it work immediately. That helped my faith for future attacks." I drifted off to sleep but later I awoke and was thinking about it some more. Those dogs hushed at my command. I was amazed. A few minutes later they began to bark again a second time. I said to them again, "Puppies, peace!" Immediately they hushed again the second time. The Lord said to me in my spirit, "I didn't want you to think it was a coincidence the first time so I took you through the exercise the second time so that you would know beyond the shadow of a doubt, it was My power at work in you both times, to quiet those dogs.
When David faced Goliath, he knew that God was his power, because he had already killed a lion and a bear in the strength of the Lord. God had built his faith to know that Goliath was nothing and David killed him too. David went on to become a mighty warrior and won many battles.
I don't know why the devil won't just give up these useless pursuits. He cannot do anything to God's people that will cause any permanent damage. He cannot even touch us if God does not permit, and if God permits it, we're better off anyways.
Satan is Sisyphus rolling the futile stone up the steep hill, only to have it roll back over him on the way back down. He cannot defeat the God that has your back and mine.
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.
Isa. 54:17
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
“For as the rain comes down,
and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My word be
that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
Isa. 55:8-11
Go in peace.