One of the things about us Christians that I find intriguing is that there is a tendency to view anything unpleasant that happens to us as the result of "spiritual warfare." When a difficulty arises, many of us immediately ask God to remove our distress. One problem arises though. Our predicament might have nothing at all to do with Satan or spiritual warfare. It might appear far better for us to explain away our hardship's as attacks from Satan than to admit the reality. We are reaping what we have sown and are in the process of being disciplined by our heavenly Father. I mean, admit it! No one wants to confess that they have been "bad."
" My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12:5-6.
Friends, what is often mistaken or blamed as attacks from Satan might actually be chastisement from our loving Father. If we have neglected our role as spiritual teacher to our children, God may allow them to fall into sin. If we have been dishonest at work, God may correct us by letting us face the consequences of our dishonesty. We cannot become upset or indignant as a result of the consequences of our own actions! God is disciplining us in order to gain our attention and bring the necessary changes to our life! I think, "How tragic it is for us to never make the connection between our problems and God's discipline."
I also understand that not every problem we have is chastisement from God. We do have real problems caused by things out of our control. But, we also create problems because of our own actions. God's discipline will not help us if we are quick to dismiss it as Satan's doing or spiritual warfare. Remember, Scripture clearly states that God will discipline us and He does! We need to be able to determine God's discipline from spiritual attack and they way in which we do this is through study of His Word, and careful examination of our life, everyday! We need to ask what things we did or did not do that could have resulted in us being blessed or disciplined and then go to His Word to find out what we do about it.
If we misunderstand God's chastening, we might actually start to blame Him for not answering our prayers, or worse, for failing to protect us from Satan. Meanwhile, God is warning us of the danger we face because of our own sin! Are there difficult circumstances in our life right now? Could it be God disciplining us for our actions? We need to ask and examine! Our Lord, whose nature is perfect love, will correct us because He has our ultimate good in His heart!
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
" My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." Hebrews 12:5-6.
Friends, what is often mistaken or blamed as attacks from Satan might actually be chastisement from our loving Father. If we have neglected our role as spiritual teacher to our children, God may allow them to fall into sin. If we have been dishonest at work, God may correct us by letting us face the consequences of our dishonesty. We cannot become upset or indignant as a result of the consequences of our own actions! God is disciplining us in order to gain our attention and bring the necessary changes to our life! I think, "How tragic it is for us to never make the connection between our problems and God's discipline."
I also understand that not every problem we have is chastisement from God. We do have real problems caused by things out of our control. But, we also create problems because of our own actions. God's discipline will not help us if we are quick to dismiss it as Satan's doing or spiritual warfare. Remember, Scripture clearly states that God will discipline us and He does! We need to be able to determine God's discipline from spiritual attack and they way in which we do this is through study of His Word, and careful examination of our life, everyday! We need to ask what things we did or did not do that could have resulted in us being blessed or disciplined and then go to His Word to find out what we do about it.
If we misunderstand God's chastening, we might actually start to blame Him for not answering our prayers, or worse, for failing to protect us from Satan. Meanwhile, God is warning us of the danger we face because of our own sin! Are there difficult circumstances in our life right now? Could it be God disciplining us for our actions? We need to ask and examine! Our Lord, whose nature is perfect love, will correct us because He has our ultimate good in His heart!
May God Richly Bless You Today!! H Trent!
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