Acts 14:19-28 / John 14:27-33
We know that God is all-powerful and His power is infinite. Compared to God, the devil stands nowhere and his power is certainly limited.
Yet, with his limited power, the devil will strive to do all the evil that he can. And he would do more evil if he could.
Certainly, the No. 1 evil that he would do is to tempt us to turn away from God by making us commit sin.
But when we stay close to God and be faithful to Him, then we need have no fear of the devil.
Although we need not fear the devil, but still we have to reckon with those who are used by the devil.
We heard in the 1st reading that the people stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead.
The disciples would have also thought that he was dead, but when they crowded round him, he stood up and went back to the town.
That may seem quite amusing, but seriously speaking, the devil had tried to use the people to stop Paul from preaching the Good News, but God protected him and kept him going.
The thought that we are surrounded by people who are used by the devil is quite like that of parachuting deep into enemy territory.
But in the gospel, Jesus promises to bequeath His peace to us. It is a peace the world cannot give; it is a peace which only He can give.
So let not our hearts be troubled or afraid. We just have to keep loving God and be faithful to Him. And God will fight our battles for us.