2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
Yesterday, the Holy Spirit led me to a group of citations on God's sovereignty and supremacy. I don't think there was anything accidental about that. When we step back to look at the big picture in spiritual warfare the Lord wants us to see that while we may be in pain or suffering loss, He doesn't leave us there alone or without a lesson that will move us toward eternal life with Him. He also wants to remind us that if we will endure, we will see that Satan loses in the end. Now, that's comforting! A beautiful example of that is in Job's response to Satan's efforts to cause him to lose his faith and blaspheme God. Just after the storm hit his oldest son's home where all his children had been enjoying a feast and were killed in the collapse of this house, we see a reaction in Job that Satan hates. JOB 1: 20-22, "Then Job got up and tore his clothes in grief. He shaved his head and threw himself face downward on the ground. He said, 'I was born with nothing and I will die with nothing. The Lord gave, and the now He has taken away. May His name be praised!'" This must have left Satan temporarily dumbfounded. What Satan didn't anticipate is the power of Job's faith and Job's knowledge of God's word. Job had been taught from the Torah (first five books of Moses or Pentateuch) from the time he was a child. So, he knew and believed DT 32: 39, which is a part of the Song of Moses, "I, and I alone, am God; no other god is real. I kill and I give life, I wound and I heal, and no one can oppose what I do." In turn for his faith, God enabled Job, as He does all true believers, to see His big picture. Job had enough courage of faith not to lose sight of it throughout all his pain, suffering, and loss.
I have often heard people say, "I don't know if I would have the same tenacity about my faith if I had all the evil that was leveled by Satan on Job placed on me." That's a person being refreshingly honest, because none of us knows how much we are willing to endure in our faith until it is tested. However, we are believers in a wonderfully compassionate God who wanted us to know through Paul what is in 1 COR 10: 13, "Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keep His promise, and He will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, He will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out." The one underlying principle to be best prepared for the challenges that Satan sends our way is to be engaged in a faith-building, Christ-led lifestyle. That keeps us in prayer, urges us to listen for God's commands, encourages daily time in His word, makes us an active participant in God's work at home, in our congregations, in our communities, and for some of us, in the world. We are not to be "Christian lone rangers." We can also take comfort in knowing that disaster and destruction are not God's purposes for those who believe. JER 29: 11-13 and RO 8: 28 make that clear. What that meshes so consistently with is what is said in JOB 1: 12 where God tells Satan he may not kill Job while Job's tests of faith are going on. In other words, God limits Satan's activity. That tells us that our supreme and sovereign Abba never yields control to the "father of lies" whose purpose is evil.
No discussion of Satan's strategy and our response in faithful obedience to God to it is complete without citing RO 8: 18, another great source of comfort to the person in pain or loss from spiritual warfare. "I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us." Those of you who have been reading my messages for awhile now know that I was one of the number of people in our congregation's Women of the Word group who took care of a lady for the four years prior to her death from breast cancer. This lady was a remarkable women who came to us after being rejected by her former husband when she was diagnosed. She went through surgery and chemotherapy, only to have this nasty disease recur and metastasize all over her body. Some of us helped nurse her, some brought food, and some took the word of God to her. Throughout her illness, this lady's hunger for God's word never wavered. If anything, it got stronger. I remember sharing the previous Sunday's sermon with her at her bedside as her earthly life was waning away. On my last visit to her, she was in her hospital bed hooked up to all kinds of equipment, and her voice had grown weak. There was a picture on the wall that was absolutely beautiful of Christ gently standing facing her with welcoming arms opened wide. Above His head was the ethereal picture of the Holy Spirit. I commented on how beautiful that picture was, and my friend motioned me to come closer to her. Then she said, "I don't want you to worry about me. It won't be long now before Christ will be welcoming me home. That picture is a warm reminder of where I'm going, and I'm not afraid." My friend taught me something about faith, as those were her last words to me. Shortly after that, she went home to be with the Lord, a victor against Satan's evil. Today, I have a copy of that same picture in my office where I can look at it every day. It reminds me that as long as I am faithful, I have nothing to fear. Neither does any faithful believer. Satan can't take away the hope and peace that faith in God gives each of us. PHIL 4: 7, "And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus."
PRAYER: O Lord, Your power is so great that it can overcome any evil that Satan and his followers deliver. We can take comfort in that and repeat David's wise and faithful words from PS 20: 7, "Some trust in their war chariots and others in their horses, but we trust in the power of the Lord our God." You sent Your only Son to be our Good Shepherd, a Shepherd Who will never allow even a singe one of His sheep to perish for lack of care. Like sheep, we are helpless and unable to protect ourselves without Him, but He is with us. When He had to leave earth to answer Your command for Him to come home to You, You sent the Holy Spirit to us as our Counselor, to dwell within us and carry understanding to Your word to us. He told us not to worry, that if we remain obedient and faithful, Your protection and love would be extended to us. Both You and He are keepers of Your promises. JN 14: 1-4, "'Do not be worried and upset,' Jesus told them [His disciples]. 'Believe in God and believe also in Me. There are many mansions in My Father's house, and I am going to prepare a place for you. I would not tell you this if it were not so. And after I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to Myself, so that you will be where I am. You know the way that leads to the place where I am going.'" The reassurance and offer of comfort that You give helps us to deal with the pain and loss we face on earth. We dedicate ourselves today to being diligent in our service to You, loyal and true to living a life "in Christ," and willing to trust and obey Your commands, even if they come at an inconvenient time or we don't fully understand them. We humbly offer You our confession of sins and pledge You our eternal adoration, worship, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ's name, amen.
While it is true that Satan's target is the righteous person, there are some citations that can give us God's perspective in handing this. There is also more "combat intelligence" from the Scriptures that God wants to share with us. These will be the subjects of tomorrow's message. In the meanwhile, we need to spend some time meditating on the blessings that God has given us in our own lives. All too often, we become experts on everything that is wrong in our lives, but God commands me to encourage you to look at what is right too. At that basis of all that is good in our lives is the profound love our Abba has for each and every one of us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn