Living Through The Struggle

<sup>Issue 3          [November 29, 2010]

Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.

      The Bible states that Job was a man who had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yolk of oxen, and 500 she asses. Think about this, if each yolk of oxen could farm 50 acres, then Job had over 25,000 acres of land being farmed. It says he had seven sons and 3 daughters. And concerning the servants it says “a very great household”. The last sentence in verse 3 states “ this man was the greatest of all the men in the east”. There is no denying Job was a wealthy man.

     The Lord said unto Satan, “hast thou considered my servant Job“? Why do you think God would have asked Satan this question? Do you think God would take pleasure in seeing one of his faithful saints suffer? Heaven forbid. God put the offer to Satan because He had confidence in Job. God knows the very secrets of our heart and if He knows the beginning from end, don’t you think He put this to Satan so He could get some glory from it and maybe rub it in Satan’s face?! God said He would never put anything on us more than we were able to bare, the only problem with this is we just don’t have the confidence in our load limit as God does. God has more confidence in us than we do.

      There are very few people who have everything they ever want in their life and wake up one morning and say “ I think I want to live for God”. No, in my experience, people come to God broken, alone, scarred by sin, torn apart and their lives in shambles, many are like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing.

     In our time Job was probably a multi-millionaire and in just a moment, he lost it all Could you have been in Jobs shoes and lost everything in a moments time and still speak the words he spoke in verse 20-21 in the first chapter? . The day after Job lost everything, is similar to the day when we come to God. This is the day that our blessings begin. Job was blessed but he may not have felt blessed. Job, just like us, had to learn how to live thru the struggle.

     When talking to different ones and how they were before coming to God, the names are different but the stories are so much the same. Their finances were in the dump. Their home life was in turmoil. Husband don’t love wife, wife don’t love husband. Children screaming at the parents, parents screaming at the children. Trouble on their job, some not even having a job. Chemicals sloshing around in their brain. Their mind scattered as the leaves, some not able to gather their thoughts together long enough to make a sensible decision. Many to the point of despair and abandoning all hope of rescue. Some in trouble with the law and looking at serious repercussions of their recent deeds.

     The home they were living in was just like their lives, wrecked and in much need of repair. For some, if they had a car, it was run down and on its last leg. Door wont close, window wont roll down, engine wont crank, clutch wont engage. For others, they may have felt the cold, cruel chains of chemical dependency. Alcohol, cigarettes, maybe it was drugs; poisons of all makes, models, and flavors (There is a deliverance message with in itself).

     The day you walk down at an old -fashioned alter, sincerely repent of your sins, get baptized in Jesus Name, and receive the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues as God gives the utterance, this my friend, is the day your blessings started.

     You may not feel blessed. When you wake up the next morning you will have to go to that same old junk car, the same old job, begin to shake off those chemical dependant feelings. You will have a struggle to contend with those demons, but can I tell you this, God will be there for you and with you thru it all. He will give you what you need to make it thru. This is your growing time. You can look at this as a time of rehab. He will teach you how to walk, how to talk, how to dress, how to live, how to have faith. This will take time. Just like one in a rehab clinic for physical, drug dependency, or whatever the case may be, it will take a long time to get to where you NEED to be. I feel to tell you that it IS worth every step you make toward God, and for God. You will never, I mean never be able to do for God without him rewarding you for it. He is not slack concerning his promises.

     God starts out working on the basics first. He begins to fix your heart, your mind, your home, etc . . God will take care of your needs, then he will bless you with your wants.

     We have to understand this is no instant fix and the church is no emergency room where you can come in, get your wounds bandaged and return back out into the world to a life of sin. There is a treasure trove of wealth waiting for you and all you have to do is live for God, obey his word and allow him to mold you into a vessel of honor.

     Sometimes God removes things from our heart to repair our life. When we come to God we are spiritually sick. We have an infection in our soul and if not removed it will defiantly lead to our death. The doctor has to go in and cut out this infection from our heart. When He performs this heart surgery, and we are under the knife, if we aren’t wiling to allow him to remove the infection completely, it can be fatal. He will go in and clean it all out, not just some. Stephen was in the Synagogue of the Libertines preaching and the Bible says that they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit of Stephen but yet they suborned men to speak out against him. The people he was attempting to reach, had got so upset at hearing the truth They paid men to speak lies against Stephen. They were not willing to have the heart surgery.

     The day you start out living for God, if you will begin to keep a diary of your daily struggles and victories. You can, from year to year look back to count the many blessings God has bestowed upon you. Also you can see how that God has brought you thru the various valleys in your life. The struggles he has helped you to overcome and the best part, every time you read it you are giving Satan a bust in the mouth or right between the eyes. I believe this, if you did that, not only would you continually boost your faith in God but you can inspire others when you go to testify of the past events.

     I don’t want you to think that living for God is a gloom, doom, dry, dreary, dull, or boring lifestyle. My wish is to drive home the importance of living through the struggle. There IS a better day coming. There ARE bright sun-shiny days ahead. God promised in
 Malachi 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. God said in his word that the meek shall inherit the earth and the righteous shall eat the good of the land. He said he would fight our battles for us and he would give us the desires of our heart. We would be more than conquerors, He would lift up our head above our enemies and supply our every need. He would prepare a table before our enemies. He would never leave us nor forsake us.

     There is fullness of joy, there is peace beyond measure and if he will provide for the sparrow, and the robins, and if he owns the cattle of a thousand hills, surely he can take care of us. Not only do we receive that while we are living here in this world he has prepared a home for us in Heaven where we can live forever with him. No more crying, no pain, no sickness, no heartache, no temptation, nothing but Joy unspeakable and full of glory. Did I mention it is eternal bliss?! 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Scriptures For Your Basket:</sup>

* 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

* Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

* Mal 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

* Jn 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid

* Ex 14:14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

* Lk 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.