" It is a serious reflection for the evangelist that wherever God's Spirit is at work, there Satan is sure to be busy. We must remember and ever be prepared for this. The enemy of Christ and the enemy of souls is always on the watch, always hovering about to see what he can do, either to hinder or corrupt the work of the gospel. This need not terrify or even discourage the workman; but it is well to bear it in mind and be watchful. Satan will leave no stone unturned to mar or hinder the blessed work of God's Spirit. He has proved himself the ceaseless, vigilant enemy of that work, from the days of Eden down to the present moment." -C.H. MacIntosh
Every time I read the story of Job I am encouraged; I am encouraged because I see a sovereign God at work in what seems to be the biggest of tragedies and all for Job's good and God's glory. I think often about Job and how despite the constant fiery darts of Satan, he persevered, chose to trust His perfect Father and held tightly to the hope He possessed. The line we often remember is "naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I will return". That is in and of itself mind boggling for me to think about; the attitude He possessed is nothing short of God's strength manifested in Him.
Although my life doesn't even come close to Job, in any aspect, I often find myself drawing comfort and encouragement from His story as I attempt to relate to Him in many ways. I see a man who was speared from every side, struck down in every way possible by the enemy (except death), filled with lies by "friends" and a wife, and who still clung to the living God.
About two weeks ago I posted some resolutions on my blog that I was commiting to myself, before the Lord and asking for His strength in a way to enable me to pursue holiness like I believe He has called me to do. Ironically enough a week later I studied the armor of the Lord and the reality of the spiritual battle we daily face. In all honesty since that day I have been poked, prodded, tested and tried in every way by the enemy. I have found myself weak, weary and discouraged as I seem to get up and get knocked right back down. There are so many situations outside my control and it is overwhelming to even begin to discern what God's trying to teach me through this; and yet in the midst of it all there is that still small voice saying "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD". That of course is much easier said then done. It is not that I don't trust God, or that I question His sovereignty but rather that I am realizing more than ever the constant inner struggle and the constant battle it is to live for Him.
I was thinking about the analogy all throughout Scripture between the sheep and the Shepherd and relating that to real sheep and the real Shepherds and found some interesting things. A sheep is unwise, defenseless, helpless, and foolish and totally and completely at ALL times dependent on the Shepherd for everything. When a sheep is disobedient, wanders away etc. the sheep is struck with the staff, sometimes to the point where its legs are broken and the sheep must be carried by the good shepherd. It is such a picture of us. We are the sheep, we are the ones who are unwise in our own eyes, helpless and TOTALLY and ALWAYS dependent on the GOOD SHEPHERD for EVERYTHING! Yet do we realize that? Do we live that way? Do we draw our strength, our hope, our joy, our peace from Him or is it only when we are knocked down on our faces that we see the reality of that?
Sometimes God allows Satan to take part in this very process. He allows Satan to come in and break us like he did to Job. Satan wants us to be ineffective, to question God, to believe that we are living for the wrong thing, but we must remember that nothing Satan does is without the perfect sovereign hand of God allowing it. That is hard to grasp but it is the truth. Knowing that even the spiritual battle that we face is not out of His control, in fact He uses it all for our sanctification. John Newton said, "Faith upholds a Christian under all trials, by assuring him that every painful dispensation is under the direction of his Lord; that chastisements are a token of His love; that the season, measure, and continuance of his sufferings, are appointed by Infinite Wisdom, and designed to work for his everlasting good; and that grace and strength shall be afforded him, according to his need." Therefore as I look at my own situation right now and the battles going on, the very real spiritual warfare I am facing as I seek the Lord with my whole heart I will rest in knowing that God will never give me more than I can handle, He will always be with me each step of the way, carrying me along the way and that He is perfect in all He does working everything to His glory and my good. And I will look to Job as my example and the promise that we see at the end of the book brings me so much excitement:
"The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. " -Job 42:12a
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Love it. The Book of Job answers so many questions and is so encouraging! It is also good for us to remember that Job was a vastly greater servant of God than you or I, and yet he suffered more than we can possibly imagine. The same with Paul, one of the Lord's greatest servants of all time. When looking at my own trials, I like to remember Paul in 2 Corinthians 11: "23Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches." After reading this, I have no choice but to ask myself, what am I complaining about again? Praise God for His glorious word sister. :-)
I know this is easy to say and hard to impact the heart, but: hang in there! These momentary trials are for our sanctification and ultimately for our (and HIS) eternal Glory! God tests his children to see if our professions are true. What a blessing to be called His own and even to be seen counted worthy of the testing/suffering! "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
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