A Reason to Hope – Preparing for Battle. In his message last Sunday, Pastor
Jason spoke on spiritual warfare. He talked about our formidable enemy, Satan,
and his schemes. “His main agenda,” Jason said, “is to drag as many people as
he can away from God.” O.K. So I let this sink in…
All this time I have looked at my life, at trials, as tests
for building perseverance like it talks about in James 1:3-4. I have been told
that they have a God-sent purpose of building in me strong character. I have
even cried out, “No more character, God, please!” I have attributed the trials
as coming from God to mold and sculpt me in the way that He wishes, even
pointing to the book of Job to support my belief.
But Jason talked about Job and he pointed to the character
in that story that I had been overlooking, Satan. Suddenly it hit me: What was
Satan’s agenda in that scenario? He wanted to make Job turn away from
God. So God said, “Go ahead. Give it your best shot and we will see if my
servant Job is faithful."
Now. Personally I had to look at the point I wasn’t getting
before: Satan is the one who sent the trials! He is the enemy,
and God is our “Reason to Hope!” because, as I often tell my kids, the end of the story has already been written - God wins!
Still, I had been asking God why, if He loved me, was
He making my life so very hard to bear, with burden upon burden added to our
backs. I knew He was asking me to trust Him, but seriously until this day I
didn’t see what it was He was asking me to trust in. That it would “all work out in the end?” – no, I knew that
wasn’t necessarily something that He promised us. I had been told over and over
that I could trust in His presence, but honestly I felt only distance. After
another look at Job, at the scene that takes place in heaven, I saw that the
thing God was asking me to trust in was His
Love. God had confidence that Job, having known the intimacy of a
love-relationship with God, would not let it go, no matter what the devil
threw at him. And God was proved right in Job’s case. Amazing. In putting
myself in those shoes I see God’s confidence that I, having known Him
personally and through His word for so many years also won’t turn away from
that kind of love.
It became clear to me that I had been giving the enemy
considerable ground in this war. I had been letting our trials cause me to feel
separated from God’s love. Just what our formidable enemy wanted me to do! His
plan had been working. But no more! I know now that I need to put my faith in
this promise from Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death nor
life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any
power, neither height not depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able
to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Thank you Lord, that you continue to speak into my life and
that you gave me this promise once again to hold on to and rest in your great
love. Amen.
