Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
- 1 Peter 5:9
I want to continue to share about having faith, because it is important.
So many people are believers and some even teach Sunday school or Bible classes until that moment when the evil one slaps them with a horrible incident.
Suddenly, these people are mad at God and cut Him out of their lives, or they can’t fathom why God would let these horrible things happen.
It’s hard to help them understand, that God has not left them, that God did not “allow” stuff to happen, it is the evil one doing everything he can to pull us away from God.
If you have never read “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis, you should.
It is somewhat confusing at first, Sparknotes study guide explains the book as “the competing forces of Heaven and Hell”, it gives an interesting view on how the devil tries to win our soul.
We have to resist, we must stand firm in our faith, even when bad things happen, we cannot let go of the good that God has already done.
We are not alone, ever.
Someone somewhere is going through trials that are every bit as painful to them, as yours are to you.
Don’t let the suffering turn you away from God, but instead fall into His arms, and let Him get you through this storm, and the storms that will inevitably come in the future.
#dailybreadbykitty
my amazing friend Leon K responded to today's daily bread and gave me permission to post it. I have to split it into 2 comments.
ReplyDeletePart 1:
It is my honest belief that everything that happens to us ultimately boils down to our faith in God. Do we believe (have faith) that He is who he says He is? Do we believe that as Lord of all creation he is completely in charge of everything? As true and faithful Christians we must have faith in these beliefs in all situations, whether we perceive them as good or bad.
As such, while I do agree with you that the evil one is doing everything he can to pull us away from God I have to disagree with your statement “that God did not “allow” stuff to happen” when speaking about the terrible things in life that befall us.
Nothing can happen without God’s permission! God is Sovereign. He is the King, the ruler or the boss. He calls all the shots in the universe. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”. Therefore, it holds then that everything that happens in heaven or on earth is subject to God’s commands.
He is in charge of all things. Nothing can take place without Him sanctioning it. Life is not a series of random, freak accidents. Everything that happens is planned and orchestrated by Him. If we only grasp this truth and comprehend that fact, we will stop worrying about a lot of things because absolutely nothing happens without God’s permission. Even the devil has to seek his permission as shown in the book of Job. Therefore God alone has the final say in our lives and the events of the world.
He permits things to happen because they have a divine purpose of which we are not able to yet comprehend. So even when it looks like God is not ruling, He is. When chaos appears, He is still in charge. When things start falling apart, He is still in charge. He is an expert at bringing good out of every bad situation. He will use any circumstance to fulfill his purpose. Search the scriptures and you will see that this is so.
God could have kept Paul out of prison in Philippi but, instead, He allowed Paul to go to prison so that the jailer could become a believer. God could have kept Jesus from the cross but He let Him go – His own Son – to suffer and die so that He could become our redeemer.
Sometimes God permits things to come into our lives to humble us. For it is only when we are thoroughly humbled that we will confess that God is all-powerful. No one can tell God what to allow or not allow. He does what he wants, and no one can stand against him. Job came to that realization during his saga which led him to deep repentance for his foolish questioning of God’s plan. He also came to the awareness that God can do all things, and no plan of his can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). True faith allows us to understand that no matter what happens, God is in control and if we truly understand this then we have to accept anything he does.
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteEverything in the universe is either caused by God or allowed by God and nothing is caused by someone or something outside of God’s control. Some things He directly causes; other things He allows to happen. God can answer our prayers any way he chooses. Our God is infinitely creative in the way he deals with us as he brings us to spiritual maturity. There are bright days and dark nights, good times and bad times, and all are from the Lord. He is absolutely free to do whatever he wants to do.
He allows things so that we will rely solely on Him. And that is the true test of faith. Belief that whatever is happening to us is part of the working of God’s plan. Though humans have caused it, God has allowed it to come. And maybe He did not intervene to stop it, but your faith should reassure you that God will help you through it as well. In the end, we will learn many painful and much-needed lessons but it will be for the good. Nothing happens anywhere in the universe by accident. There is no such thing as luck or fate or chance. God is at work in all things at all times to accomplish his will in the universe. He does whatever pleases him. Nothing can happen without his permission. He always has the final say.
Nobody can speak and have it happen unless the Lord commands it. Both bad and good things come by the command of the Most High God. — Lamentations 3:37-38 NCV