On my way home from work tonight, I heard someone speaking on the local christian radio station about dealing with struggles. I thought to myself this may be the perfect thing for me to listen to...maybe it was God's timing for me to turn on the radio and hear this....maybe I would find a new way to approach some of the struggles in my life.
This person said that God "allows" us to have struggles in our life to teach us something. That maybe the struggles didn't come from God, but where ever they came from, He was the keeper of the gate, and He decided whether or not to let them into our lives...so eventually they were from Him. He allowed bad things into our circumstances so He could teach us something through the trial.
STOP THE TRAIN....SAY WHAT???
John 10:10 says "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
That does not fit in with the before mentioned....the enemy sends destruction into our paths, not Our Father. The enemy sends doubt into our thoughts, not Our Loving God. The enemy sends strife our way, not The Holy One.
I do believe that God gives us everything we need to defeat any enemy that comes into our path, but I do not think that He allows things to stop us from our daily walk.
"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17
The devil does everything he can to distract us from our purpose...not to stop us from getting to heaven, because that is already decided, and he knows that...but to stop us from using our testimony to get others to God.
I would love to hear others thoughts on this one....it could help encourage me, or anyone else who reads this....what do you think???
My babies!!
About Me
- Libby
- Hendersonville, NC
- No matter how long I do this....I know I still have something to learn.
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1 comment:
Hey... My computer at home is DOWN for the count... so I haven't been on in a while. It is horrible when you can't wait to get to work. I knew that I would have a little bit of time to check in on everyone. This is from a couple weeks back... but I just had to comment. I pray that you will take this with the love that was intended....
I love tasks like this. This is where my mind goes with a question like this...
The book of Job
**According to Job 1:1, he was blameless and upright, he feared God and shunned evil.
** Job 1:7 When satan comes into the presence of God along with the angels... God asked him where he had been. Satan answered him, "from roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
**Job 1:8 The Lord said to satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
**Then satan tells God it is because there is a hedge of protection around him... if God were to stretch out his hand and strike everything he has, he would surely curse God to his face.
**The verse 12 tells us that God gave satan permission to destroy everything that Job had.
I love it that God had to give him permission to bring calamity on Job. God trusted Job to do right... even in this trial. It sounds to me like God allowed this to happen to Job to prove his faithfulness and unconditional trust in Him.
Then...
James 1:2 says this...
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, WHENEVER you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you many be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
It sounds to me like God desires to use trials for our good. To mature us into the people He wants us to be. Also... it says "whenever" not if. He knew there would be trials....
And then... one of my favorites...
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says this,
"Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, for this is GOD'S WILL for you in Christ Jesus."
So again... I think this says that every circumstance we find ourselves in... it is God's will for it... to accomplish His purpose in your life. Many times it may be consequences to our own sin... but God's will is for us to go through that so that we can be taught through it... BY HIM.
Your statement:
"I do believe that God gives us everything we need to defeat any enemy that comes into our path, but I do not think that He allows things to stop us from our daily walk."
No... I think that the struggles are to help us walk a little closer. A little more dependant on Him.
Then... in 1 Corinthians 12:7-10..
Paul says this...
"to keep me from becoming concieted because of the suprassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
I think there again... God allowed the struggle or thorn to remain there so that His power could be displayed through Paul as he dealt with his thorn. He decided to let it stay there.
I have found that it is in the hard times that I learn the most from God. My abundant life comes in my relationship with Him... and that grows tremendously in trials.
Does that make any sense?? I am not even sure if this is what you were asking for. You and I may not have the same examples of struggles in our minds... I am thinking of financial struggles, job loss, teenage children problems, health issues, loss of any kind... etc.
While I was struggling once because I had just miscarried a child that I so desparately wanted... and several people I knew were pregnant and didn't want to be... a very close friend of mine said, "I don't know why God allowed this... I don't know what His purpose is... but I do know that without his approval it would not have happened. She explained that in her "imagination" she saw God sitting at his desk with a rubber stamp... everything that happens has to cross His desk first. He either says yes or no. For some reason my "hurt and pain" got a yes... and through that "hurt and pain"... I began to search for Him, got saved, and I have been able to use my hurt and pain to minister to many others that have gone through the same pain. Believe it or not... I can honestly say that I am thankful that the struggles have come in my life. Oh... what my Lord has done for me through them. God changes me through the stuggles... instead of changing the circumstance. I hope this helps. Please let me know what you think.....
Blessings,
Lynn
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