James 1:3, 13, 17; Luke 4:12-13; Jeremiah 17:10; 1 John 4:1.
When we come before our Lord, we come to receive instruction for life. To understand our place in him is based entirely on his goodness, and his great love for us. His love saves us, and keeps us in his divine purpose. In understanding his nature, albeit in a measure by his grace, as revealed in his word, we are able to appreciate his glory and anticipate his direction. By understanding his will we know God do not set evil traps for us to prove our commitment to him, he rather pours us with daily mercies, goodness and faithfulness, urging us on in triumph. He sets us in a prepared place of his grace, in a secure and fenced territory of his protection. It is being under his sovereign and outstretched wings. Satan on the flipside tempts us with evil, to lure us away from the plan of God. He is the one who challenges our credibility and seeks to prove your unworthiness by presenting foul options, and then goes on to accuse you. God instead derides giving us opportunities for failure. He won’t give us more than we can handle. If we find ourselves practicing any evil deeds, it isn’t because he has not made a way of escape, but rather our weakness has caught up with us, again he would come to the rescue. He tempts no one with evil, he refuses to be tempted as well with evil. He proves our genuineness and competence, by his goodness. He gives us opportunities to serve, and rewards us with more when we excel in our commitment to each task. First, if faithful in small, then he commits more. This is not the skewed sense of wide interpretation or obscure pattern of ‘it is not what you do but who you are’, creating room for tribal prejudices, rather it is a real sense of who a believer is in God and also a just reward for faithfulness for all. If he asks us to sacrifice our lives or what we hold dear, it is because he gave us anyway, and often he intends to see our heart yielded to him more than the gift we offer.
As a believer, to set a trap or evil test, to prove another is not consistent with God’s character. What we should do is to commit to others credible opportunities, and offers in goodness, where they excel in the little, and then reward justly with more. But to create hate, strife, resentment, or any evil to prove another, is sheer manipulation and not the Spirit of Christ. It’s spiritually unintelligent. What God calls us to do is discern and test spirits by the word, to see if there is sincerity and whether such a person is operating in honour of God. The word of God is divine and key, as we evaluate a conduct by reference to what the word says. God leads the way in this as we see in Adam, Saul, David, Job, Abraham and many more, he shows them his goodness and then rewards their faithfulness, where they represent him faithfully he commits more to them and keeps his promise. He is committed to meeting your need not just what you want or prefer, that, he may also meet, but be sure his utmost desire is to grant you deep and true satisfaction. In Christ, we know the love of God, that he is not trying to get you, he is not seeing if you are not good enough by asking you to do something foolish or wrong. In fact, it is his goodness that pulls us. So when you hear any evil prompting in your heart, rebuke it and ask God to show you the right way. Every good and perfect gift comes from only God, devoid of deception, and full of mercy. When any evil befall you, God has not sent it, the enemy of your faith is at work at that instance, discern it and counter it in prayer and by formidable trust in God’s faithfulness. We live in an evil and fallen world- we may ask, as God is all powerful, why does he allow certain ills? We maybe should also ask, why does he intervene sometimes to stop evil sweeps or bring victory when we pray? One thing we know for certain and most reassuringly is that a day is coming, which he has promised to bring victory by judgement, over all evil and Satan, establishing his kingdom, then we will see him face to face and every knee will bow to his authority. Also true and not inconsistent, is the victory we have now in the spirit by faith in Christ, and because we believe the kingdom of God reigns on the earth through us. His will and purpose is done through us by his Holy Spirit, we are indeed his representatives, sons, his people on earth doing his bidding. Now we know in part, and we experience a measure of this divine presence knowing that even in this life he walks with us, by his spirit, therefore we can expect not just his intervention, but his reign in us and through us. For our body is his temple and abode. We have become his precious hands and feet to bring healing to the nations. He promises in his name, we have his divine authority. So let’s know our Lord wishes us well, and is not playing games with our commitment to him, and let us treat one another that way. Even when persecution arises, it is the attack of the enemy, to stiffen the flow of the word and destroy our faith. In response- we should pray that we might be continually bold, carry on the work till Jesus comes, encourage one another, possibly- flee to another place if persecution arises till it abates, or instead pray for significant deliverances from the wicked one, not fighting in the flesh but trusting the spirit at work. If after all, it seems the Lord allows it to persist, to know in his sovereign will, he intends to grow us and bring ultimately great glory to his name, and that yet still his un-understandable peace and comfort remains by his spirit, and our reward awaits. By his grace, the response is always one of joy haven been counted worthy for the ministry, and to share in his plan. If our heart grows weak, know his power upholds and strengthens. Lastly, I will say to any, whose faith in God is in doubt, wavering, because you are discouraged because you think God should have acted, or the pressures of life has placed a demand you cannot fulfil, I invite you to see that God has been the unseen hand fighting for you all the while. Give him the glory due, and enjoy his love. May God’s blessings abide with you, I pray. Always.
@israelokunwaye
