During one of the budget and debt limit battles in Washington, I was reminded of the law of unintended consequences. Politicians are always trying to arrange the political conditions in such a way that they emerge from the battle smelling like a rose. They want their constituents to perceive them as their champions and their opposition to appear to be chumps. Try as they might, however, the politicians aren't always able to get things to work out that way. Sometimes what they do to make themselves look good and the other party look bad has the opposite effect. Politics is a dangerous business; both for the governors but especially for the governed. Things don't always turn out as expected.

This is also true for God's enemies. The harder they battle against Christ and His blood-bought brothers, the more Christ's church is seen to succeed under the signs of blood and suffering. Satan thought that He had finally cornered God on the cross, pinned Him upon the sign of degradation and death. He was certain of his triumph. But the instruments of his triumph became the very mechanism of his complete downfall. His attack on Christ, the eternal Son of God became a suicide. Christ's loss became the devil's loss. Christ's shame became His glory. Our serpentine enemy snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The cross was our enemy's Stalingrad. He and his army have been encircled by the embrace of Christ in death and beaten into complete submission. Only the mopping up operations remain.

Because God used the evil of His enemies against them and turned it into our eternal God when Christ suffered death for us, we also should not look at our misfortunes and the persecution we suffer in any other way than that they are being turned by God to our good. Every insult: "You don't believe that religious nonsense, do you?" will redound to God's glory and your benefit, when you reply, "I believe in a gracious God in Christ, who has loved me so fully as to offer Himself in my place. I have a peace that surpasses human understanding. Let me tell you about it." Even when reviled, we are being reviled for faithfulness and we are also getting an opportunity to testify to the divine truth. What could be better than that? The Lord Himself is the one who justifies (Rm 8:33). Shall we not trust ourselves to Him alone? This is what our Lord Jesus did: "When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1Pt 2:23). Turn every attack into a blessing by sharing the story of Christ's death for the world with those who are attacking you. The result will be good, even if not by our faulty human standards. They are according the just standards of the one judges justly. All things work for good, because they work for God.