What happens when you feel that you have done everything you are supposed to do, like paying your tithe and giving offerings, volunteering to feed the poor and take meals on wheels, work in the nursery on Sunday morning when you would rather be sitting in the service, and then you pray and feel that you have hit the wall, no answer? I talked with someone today to which that scenario applies. This person is kind and gentle and good, gives generously of their income and volunteers to help the “old folk” and anyone that is down on their luck, it is at times like that I would give everything in me to be rich enough to solve the problem at hand. What do you say? The truth is so simple that it sounds cliché’, it is that “when you are doing good it is the devil’s job to try you at every level, to see if you will turn aside from your faith so that he can devour you, soul and body”.
When Job was tried, he suffered the loss of his family and his properties, plus he was covered with boils! He sat on a dung heap and scraped them with a broken piece of pottery, just trying to make himself feel better, but he went from bad to worse when his wife capped it all off by asking him why he didn’t just “curse God and die”!
Job was faithful in the face of losing everything and endured all his well meaning friends, commonly referred to as “Job’s comforters”, telling him that he must have lived in sin or displeased God in some way or this would not be happening to him. It wasn’t until Job, feeling lower than a snake’s belly, began to pray for those “friends” and that is when God put a halt to all that Satan had brought on him. From that point his fortune began to rebuild, he had more children, he regained all of his properties, and seven times more! Satan had thrown it up to God that He had protected Job, and said “Does Job serve God for nothing? You have put a hedge around him!” That is when God gave Satan permission to try Job in whatever way he wanted, except he could not take his life.
I am sure there have been times that you, like Job, have wished you could just die to get out of all your troubles. But consider this, have you armed yourself against this enemy of your soul? Read Ephesians 6: 12-13 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand
Are YOU having a hard time? Does it feel like your prayers are hitting the ceiling and falling back in your face? Arm yourself then pull up those armed drawers and fight!
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