2002-10-18
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Once again, I am led to continue discussing some of Satan’s fiery darts and what God has to say about them. Today’s topic is concern for the future. This one really hits close to home. As many of you know, Peter and I have been going through a very rough patch financially and with my health for the last four years. Before all of this happened to us, I was full of confidence, felt like we had our “ducks in a row,” so to speak, and was enjoying living in our pretty home and taking trips from time to time. But, an economy headed for trouble, the “downsizing” trend in which long-time employees of many companies have seen their jobs disappear, and the diagnosis for me of an auto-immune disease that needs to be managed changed that. Nothing that happened to us was of our own doing.
The reason I can write about dealing with misplaced anger directed toward God was because I experienced it first-hand. It wasn’t right for me to react that way initially, but I did. EPH 4: 26-27, “If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Do not give the devil a chance.” Peter was much calmer about things. God spoke to him, reminding him that a person’s true worth doesn’t come from what you do for a living or how much money you make; it comes from Him. As always, he handed the long wait to get a new job with grace and admirable spiritual strength-surely more than I exhibited. I had less excuse for my behavior than most, because of my thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. But God had some lessons to teach me. What was in my head needed to be instilled in my heart. That is why He had us sponsor a man through a Cursillo weekend with the theme verse JER 29: 11-13. “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me because you will see Me with all your heart.’” When I first heard this passage, it’s monumental importance to my life didn’t sink in right away. God would spend the next several months, teaching me that and another huge lesson that went along with it-one about what waiting for His perfect timing.
Many of us forget or don’t conceive of the fact that God sees everything that goes on in our lives. PS 33: 13-15, “The Lord looks down from heaven and sees all mankind. From where He rules, He looks down on all who live on earth. He forms all their thoughts and knows everything they do.” We struggle with the truth that He is omnipotent, sovereign, and supreme over any human, angel, or other god. We have trouble understanding the scope of God’s presence [1 K 8: 27]. I couldn’t conceive of our Lord’s knowledge of human nature the way we learn about it in JN 2: 23-25, when Christ didn’t trust Himself to people gathered for a Passover festival in Jerusalem, even though some of them had come to faith as a result of the miracles He performed. There was no need for anyone to tell Him about them, because He Himself knew what was in their hearts.
Throughout our ordeal, I questioned God, asking Him why He would allow so much trouble to come our way. Peter kept saying (and still does), “God won’t let our gas tanks run dry.” How I wish I had his wisdom and strength! God wanted us to wait for His time and to listen for His commands. He wanted us to observe Him at work in our lives, honing us for the time when we are called to that meeting with Christ in the air [1 THESS 4: 13-17]. God made clear that we were not to worry [MT 6: 31-34]; He would protect us. 1 PET 5: 6, “Humble yourselves, then, under God’s mighty hand, so that He will lift you up in His own good time.” I would also learn the lesson of PS 46: 1, “God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble.” And finally, I would learn that God cares for us and sees to our provision when we endure in our faith. 1 PET 5: 7, “Leave all your worries with Him, because He cares for you.” PS 37: 11, “But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing, and shall have wonderful peace.”
I can’t tell you that all the troubles we will ever have are over. That would be foolishness. But I can tell you that God has given me the “inward transformation by the renewal of my mind” [RO 12: 2]. We seem to be on the road to recovery now. Peter has a job that makes him happy, and we are looking forward to moving to a smaller, but very nice home. More importantly, I’ve learned to trust God in a way I never did before all this happened to us. Throughout our rough patch, God has provided wonderful, supportive friends, allowed my ministry to flourish, and brought us to the deep belief that our best interests are served when we rely on God, waiting for His perfect timing. It is my hope that each of us will examine our own lives to look for God at work in them and learn the lessons He has to teach us about trusting that He will take care of all those who love him and not allow disaster to befall their futures.
PRAYER: O Lord, You know everything, even the number of hairs on our heads [MT 10: 28-31]. How very foolish we are when we don’t put our trust in You! Your plan is not to bring us disaster. Instead, You allow certain things to happen which we don’t like at the time to teach us life-giving lessons, lessons we need to have our sanctification furthered. 1 COR 10: 13 tells us that You never test us beyond our ability to endure. We should know that You have no evil in You, and thus, no test that You allow us to encounter is for evil reason. Quite the opposite! For that reason, we should spend our lives praising You for Your goodness. PS 34: 1-7, “I will always thank the Lord; I will never stop praising Him. I will praise Him for what He has done; may all who are oppressed listen and be glad! Proclaim with me the Lord’s greatness; let us praise His name together! I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me; He freed me from all my fears. The oppressed look to Him and are glad; they will never be disappointed. The helpless call to Him, and He answers; He saves them from all their troubles. His angels guard those who have reverence for the Lord and rescues them from danger.” These words of David’s are etched in our hearts today, Dearest Abba. We must take the promise of EPH 1: 18-20 seriously, that You have imparted to believers the power to thwart Satan’s fiery darts, the same power You used to raise Your Son from death to life. You have taught us that the only time we are truly vulnerable to Satan’s attacks is when we give in to the fear he causes in us and allow our faith to be weak. We thank You for sacrificing Your Son on the cross, so that He could break the stranglehold Satan had over our lives. We echo David’s words in PS 68: 19, “What a glorious Lord! He Who daily bears our burdens also gives us our salvation.” Dearest Lord, our eyes are fixed on You and our ears ready to listen. We approach You in humility to confess our sins and to offer Your our utmost adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, thanks, and praise. In Christ’s name, amen.
As per the Holy Spirit’s instructions to me, our discussion of Satan’s fiery darts and God’s words about them continues tomorrow. This time, we will look at discouragement, one of Satan’s favorite ploys. The Lord spends every day blessing His children. His greatest desires are to bring faith to the lost and to strengthen faith in those who have pledged their allegiance to Him. We have been told that the only way to the Father is through repentance and faith in the Son. Both are challenges to gain for some people, but that is because Satan works hard to prevent them from overcoming. The Lord looks down from heaven and does all within His power to convince people of the truth. His greatest desire is for as many as possible to believe their future is not disaster and to recognize the saving truth of faith in Christ. We must remember that He invited us first to come to faith and then to join Him in His work of bringing others to faith. His profound love is His motivator. He wants all believers to live in eternal joy and peace with Him. From His point of view (and ours), the more believers, the better! His love is a great blessing for each of us to enjoy. Fighting Satan is a worthy pursuit when led by God as a member of His winning team. That way, we can all look forward to the brightest eternal future possible-citizenship in God’s Kingdom. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn