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I don’t think I’ve heard that expression since my Saturday morning cartoon days when the bad guys in my favorite shows would do their best to work their mischief, only to be thwarted by the good guys, and then exclaim, “Foiled again!” For a while, those words seemed to be the common refrain of bad guys who got stopped right before their badness was fully complete.
- Popeye would eat his spinach, and Bluto would be foiled again.
- Tarzan would get off a good jungle yell, and the poachers would be foiled again.
- The Lone Ranger would have one silver bullet left, and the cattle rustlers would be foiled again.
“Foiled again!” The bad guys always seemed to say that. But now that I’m a grown man, I’m wondering if I’m the bad guy, because I find myself repeating those words when I feel thwarted by the intervention of God.
Has God ever thwarted you?
Have you ever been in a bad place, unconcerned for others, and only looking out for your own pleasure or desires, and then encountered some unexpected resistance? Have you ever received a phone call, or run in to a friend, or noticed a quote on a billboard that reminded you of your holy calling and foiled your dastardly plans?
Aren’t you grateful that God is a divine thwarter that loves to frustrate our flesh, and spur us on to Holy Spirit powered living?
“The Lord foils the plans of the nations, He thwarts the purposes of the peoples.” (Psalm 33:10 NIV)