And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Acts 8:1-4 (KJV) emphasis mine

Before his salvation, the first mention of the Apostle Paul in the Bible is in Acts chapters 7 and 8. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned for his faith and Paul, who was called Saul at that time, was a party to it. Once this happened, Saul took it upon himself to eliminate the early church, actually going house to house to nab believers and take them to prison.

While his actions were evil and wicked and inspired by the devil, the situation actually was used by God to grow the church beyond the walls of Jerusalem. The enemy, working through Saul and other persecutors, tried to take out the church, causing them to flee in every direction. Had this persecution not occurred, it is unclear how long it would have taken the believers to actually take the message of Christ to people outside the city- if ever. This persecution of the early believers actually backfired, and what was intended to end the church actually promoted its expansion.

What devices and strategies of the enemy have been coming against you? No matter what the devil does against us, he cannot win. When we stay in faith, his plans always turn around and cause him more problems than he tried to cause us. It’s like a boomerang, going right back to him. I believe the enemy is pitching fits that his plans against us always come back on him and his demons. That is why God laughs at him.

He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord ridicules them. Psalm 2:4 (Modern English Version, MEV)

We need to laugh at him too. There is no way the enemy can win against believers who are full of faith- unless we let him. When we get that revelation, we will be unstoppable. Every stumbling block the enemy sends will end up being a stepping stone for us. As we walk in faith, free from fear, every attack will boomerang back on satan and give him a nice, big, black eye.

“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed; And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn. This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord. Isaiah 54:17 (Amplified Bible, AMP)