¹⁷But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short while—in person, not in spirit—were all the more eager with great desire to see your face. ¹⁸For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us.

Persecution had driven Paul and his companions out of Thessalonica, and Paul seems to attribute this to the hindering work of Satan. We must carefully and theologically unpack such statements. We might ask a variety of questions here: Was Paul being directed by the Spirit or by Satan? Did he run from persecution? How did Satan hinder them? Where is the Spirit in all this?

We only need to recall the book of Job to see that Satan and God are often both portrayed as being the movers behind the events of history and in individual lives. Clearly God is completely sovereign over all, and He gave permission to Satan to tempt Job with extreme suffering. Yet as the book of Job unfolds, it is clear that God was in control all along. On one level Satan was making things happen, to which the man Job reacted. On a higher level God was pulling the strings. So also in the life of Paul. Throughout his ministry, he was confronted with resistance and persecution. At times God shows us the higher level, as with the Macedonian vision where Paul was “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia” and “the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them” to go into Bithynia (Acts 17:6–7). In our passage today, we see a lower level of perception: “Satan hindered us” from revisiting the Thessalonian believers. But God was still supremely in control.

Some Christians go through life blaming all setbacks on Satan, while others promote positive thinking, interpreting everything as God’s doing. There are clearly times for each viewpoint. In our passage today, Paul had a passionate desire to be with the new believers in person. He made a number of efforts in to return there, but for details unknown to us, was unable; he pinned the blame on Satan. It may be that he saw the opposition of the Jews as the tool of Satan, since God certainly cannot be credited for that hindrance. God had not appeared in a vision telling him not to go back.

The Lord seems to have allowed the opposition to take place and ultimately it served His greater purposes, namely the gospel being spread to Athens, Corinth and elsewhere. Satan’s hindrances turned into the advancement of the gospel! Each time the enemy threw up a roadblock, the message of the gospel found a wider audience. Satan will continue to hinder and God will continue to be sovereign!

Lord, I praise You that nothing can stop the spread of Your Word.