Fill The Void

Fill the Void

Read: Luke 10:17-20

“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

Luke 10:18

“In prayer we act like men; in praise we act like angels.”

—Thomas Watson

IN WORD Yes, Jesus was there. Before dust was made man, before the serpent was in the Garden, before there even was a Garden, Jesus saw Satan’s demise. From what we can tell, this high angel wanted to be higher, and he was aggressive about it. But there is only one ultimate throne, and it belongs to God. There wasn’t room in heaven for two sovereigns. Lucifer had to go. Jesus and the whole Godhead watched him fall.

Who was this sick creature? Michael is the warrior archangel, and Gabriel is the messenger archangel; was Lucifer the worshiper archangel? Did he sing songs of praise before he yearned to be the object of them? He certainly has his hand in music now; is he perverting his background as a once-sacred artist? Did his familiarity with God’s glory breed the contempt he now has for it? What did he see in the Most High God that made him think he could occupy that position? Did he mistake God’s gentleness for vulnerability? What could he possibly have experienced in heaven that would inspire such lunacy? Perhaps we’ll never know the answers to these questions. Or perhaps one day we will. For now, Scripture only gives us hints.

IN DEED There are some things we can know for sure: Satan hates God. He also hates the fact that God can take such weak, ignoble, sin-struck creatures as ourselves and make us one with Christ, bringing us into blissful, worshipful fellowship with the Trinity. That’s where he wanted to be! He thought his high position qualified him. How is it that our low position qualifies us? What an unexpected replacement we are. It grates on him with undying annoyance.

We have learned something that Lucifer forgot: We can only fulfill the purpose for which God created us. Lucifer was made to praise God’s image. We were made in it. The void of praise that his exit left behind is to be filled with us. Never forget that; never let the evil one convince you otherwise. He wants to distort what God has done in you. You are obligated and privileged—to the praise of God’s glory—to fulfill it daily.