Ever so often Christians experience things that bother them. Somebody says something… spreads some gossip… treats them wrong… or some other hardship enters their life. Many times the believer responds by saying, “Boy Satan is really after me right now!”
Oh really? How do you know that?! It might NOT be Satan, but GOD who brought the situation you find yourself in into your life. Have you ever contemplated that as not only a possibility, but a probability? Consider…
Deut 8:2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Deut 13:1 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
James 1:2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
ESV
Don’t automatically assume the difficulty in your life is from Satan or one of his attacks. Satan attacks ONLY as part of God’s plan for our holiness and spiritual growth… which means GOD is the one controlling Satan for His glory and our good.
When we are in situations that are hard or difficult, remember a few things from a Biblical perspective. God knows what you’re going through and He will take care of it in His way in His time. YOU be faithful! How will God take care of whatever the difficulty is? I have a few suggestions that involve believers honoring God. It is to God’s glory when…
Christians respond to whatever happens to them with love, grace, and compassion many problems are eliminated quickly.
Christians respond to whatever happens to them by forgiving and showing mercy to others rather than breaking fellowship.
Christians follow Philippians 1:27, “Whatever happens conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel.”
Christians follow Romans 12:14, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink…”
People learn how to deal with hardship, difficulty, and adversity by watching their leaders deal with those things in a manner that glorifies God. THUS, I believe, God picks us at times deal with issues SO THAT others will see the right way to respond to Satan’s darts… and then our Lord is glorified.
Very good thoughts.
I think this is totally true. Like God said to satan about Job, God allowed the tests to happen to him. At the end, Job couldn’t actually feel God (or see him, Job 23-8-12) But he “kept to His Ways without turning aside.”
But there ARE times in life when we have to ‘shake the dust from our sandals” at a situation. I personally have not done a good job of this at times. When we know without a doubt, we are seeking God with all our soul and all our might, and staying in the word, and people are just unwelcoming and (maybe) mean and abusive to us over and over again. I forgive them, wholehearted. But they judge by their own measures and you know in your heart and mind what the TRUTH that Jesus’ spirit is telling you. ..SOMETIMES, just sometimes, we have to do what Jesus told his diciples in Matt 10:14 and keep going forward in love.
I liked this one.