There are certain happenings in our lives that look as if
God is far away from us and cannot possibly be letting what is happening to us
to happen. We must understand that if indeed we are children of God, everything
that happen to us is not per chance but all orchestrated to showcase the power
and glory of God in our lives. Someone once remarked that why should God allow
certain things to happen to us first before rescuing us from them. At the same
time we must not forget that He equally rescues us before the things actually
happen. That is HIS way. To understand this further, Jesus Christ taught us a
model of prayer thus: “…And do not bring
us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one…” (Matthew
6:13a). This means He can deliver us before we enter into the problem or allow
us to enter the problem and then deliver us from the problem. The prerogative is
His. You might ask why. This is so because He wants His glory to be fully
showcased in the situation and in our lives. One more thing we must equally
understand about the Lord Jesus Christ is that He does not do things haphazardly!
Everything He does is measured, calculated and planned so that: “…The earth will be filled with the
knowledge of the Lord’s glory, as the waters cover the sea” (Habakkuk
2:14). It pleased the Lord to save the three Hebrew boys in the fire and He chose to save Elisha before the army of the enemy could capture him.
Several are going
through myriads of persecutions especially in the work place because of their
faith and not because of their performance on the job. In fact these ones are
doing so well but are being denied promotions and several entitlements because
they have not bought into the debauchery that is going on around them. Please don’t
give up because your deliverance from these persecutors is at hand if you will
not waiver in your faith. God intends to allow what you are going through to
showcase His power and His glory. In this times we are in, which the Bible
calls perilous times, certain attitudes have set in, all designed to rob any
unguarded heart of his faith in Christ Jesus. The Bible clearly warns us of the
antics of the enemy at this perilous times and how we must intelligently watch:
“Be sober! Be on the alert! Your
adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.
Resist him, firm in the faith,
knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your brothers in the
world” (1Peter 5:8-9). One of the important phrases in the foregoing quote
is “looking for anyone”. It doesn’t matter how long you have known the Lord or
what you had done or doing, ‘anyone’ is a target! Thus, as a child of God, the
verse warns further that we must be ‘firm in the faith’. That is the only way
we can defeat the enemy.
A typical example of this is Daniel. Daniel was doing
so well that king Darius desired to set him above his fellow administrators and
satraps of the kingdom. Of course, they got jealous and thought of a dastardly
way to get rid of him. Please note that they tried every means but could not
find any fault with him, in regards to his work performance or his integrity.
The only way they could bring him down is if it concerns the God that Daniel
serves. Now, this is where it gets constructive for us. The enemy knows that he
cannot make the government or heads of corporations make any policy that will outright stop us from serving God, but he can come up with ideas that will make God
disqualify us and make our service to God a lie; thus giving him leverage to
destroy the life. The scripture we read in 1 Peter 5 tells us to be firm in
faith; meaning, certain arrows will be hurled at us that may want to make us
deny our faith. Friends once we deny our faith, his terrible arrows can then
penetrate our hearts: “In every situation
take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the
flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). Daniel was set up by his
colleagues, but they failed because he was innocent of their charges and he had
not committed any evil against his boss or the kingdom. Friend, how is your
stand with God. If your faith is strong, how is your stand with the organization?
There is a saying that he who must come to equity must come with clean hands.
Friend, the God of the whole earth shows no favoritism or partiality. Daniel
stood before Him blameless, and God delivered him from the mouths of the lions.
God is set to deliver you in and from every lion that has opened its mouth to
swallow you or anything that concerns you. This is yours and mine right in the
Presence of God. But it is not a right that must be taken for granted.
We must
stand right with God and not assume we can get away with misdeeds because we
are the righteousness of God. If that is our cover, then we are in grave
danger. Daniel had no assumptions but believed and trusted the God he serves: “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’
mouths. They haven’t hurt me, for I was
found innocent before Him. Also, I have not committed a crime against you
my king” (Daniel 6:22). Make right with the Lord and watch Him fight this
battle for you! This is your right as a child of the Most High God! May the
Lord shut the mouth of every lion that has opened its mouth to swallow you or
anything that belongs to you in Jesus Christ name. Just as He did in Daniel’s
case he will do for you, all those that are conspiring against you: “I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they will be
drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. Then all flesh will know that I,
the Lord am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob”
(Isaiah 49:26) in Jesus Christ name. God bless you.
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