A few years ago, when the Soviet communist system collapsed and the Berlin Wall fell, the world buzzed with hope that a springtime of peace was finally coming. Many believed that once ideology crumbled, humanity would enter an age more harmonious and joyful than ever before.

Yet as we witness the many terrors shaking the world today, we realize that the forces of Satan have drawn nearer than at any time in the past—only in new forms.

In Japan, even before the nightmare of the Kobe earthquake—which claimed more than 5,000 lives—had faded, the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack (3/20/95), carried out by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, plunged the nation into fear. Poison gas scares erupted in various places, deepening the panic.

In the United States, the 1993 bombing beneath the World Trade Center in Manhattan had barely been forgotten when the Oklahoma City Federal Building was struck by a massive truck bomb (4/19/95). Watching on television as innocent children—who had been playing in the daycare center inside the building—were carried out, their small bodies covered in blood, left my heart in anguish. No matter how many casualties would eventually be counted, the sight of a peaceful city turned into a war zone was beyond belief.

In the past, danger was clearly marked by military borders or ideological boundaries. But now, anyone driven by racial or religious hatred can turn any place in the world into a battlefield of indiscriminate terror. There is no longer any truly safe place on this planet.

Beyond wars and terrorism between nations and peoples, crimes committed through computers now steal or destroy corporate and government secrets, drain money from bank accounts, and lure young people with digital pornography. There is no corner of the world untouched by the reach of evil. Science, chemistry, and biology—meant to advance humanity—have become tools through which the deceiving spirit drives people into chaos, stirring conflict upon conflict, delighting in human fear and suffering.

When people encounter such shocking news, they fall into helplessness and despair. At times they even ask, “Why does God allow these things? Why does He leave humanity in such suffering?” But we must be alert: such complaints are themselves a trap of Satan, meant to make us stumble before God and destroy our love and trust in Him.

As we witness these events—wars, national suffering, and acts of terror—we must all the more fall to our knees, asking God for the strength and courage to entrust our generation and the next entirely into His hands. “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” (1 Peter 5:8)

No matter how violently Satan rages, there is one thing he fears more than anything else: people kneeling before God. No destructive power, no method of driving humanity into terror can stand against the strength of a single soul bowed before the Lord.

Though many predict that future terrorists will use even more extreme weapons—nuclear, biological, and chemical—we must stand firmly on God’s side and actively join the work entrusted to us. Even a moment away from God’s solid ground, even a step outside the shelter of His wings, leaves us vulnerable to Satan’s fiery arrows.

From the beginning of creation until now, the sins of those who turn away from God have made it seem as though evil rules the world. Yet its power has always failed, and history has always moved forward through God’s victory. Now is the time for each of us to kindle the flame in our hearts and willingly join the unfolding story of God’s triumph.

When our souls come before God—laying down our confusion, shock, and fear—the Lord, the Prince of Peace, will not ignore the innocent lives that perish without cause. Through the psalms of David, God comforts us:

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? … I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (Psalm 27)

– Yoon Wan-Hee (April 24, 1995)