Fear Not; God Is in Control

Sometimes we give the devil too much credit alluding that God has no say or little say in the afflictions the devil throws at us. But if we read the book of Job 1: 9-12, it is clear that even the devil has to seek permission from God to afflict anyone. In the case of Joseph, what his brothers meant for bad, God used it for his albeit over a long period, and in this Joseph story we can deduce that patience is a virtue on the faith road. Why does God allow the devil to afflict us?

Like in the case of Job God wants to give us an opportunity to proof that we are faithful, and that we know that he is God in good and bad times, and our trust and love for him is constant. Or in the case of the Israelites, he wants to remind us that he is the lord, our deliverer, our protector. He wants to show us we don’t live or survive by our strength or chance, but that he is alpha and omega and all glory goes to him, and him only. Also, the bible says we must be tested or go through suffering in order to achieve endurance, perseverance and character needed for our heavenly glory (Romans 5: 3-5)

In 1^st Corinthians 10: 13 the bible says “God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear….” The story of Job and even that of Joseph in Genesis 37 demonstrates that even that which the enemy means for our harm, God turns for our good! But for God to turn harm to good we must first believe that He is God, and trust in His promises and powers no matter what we feel and see in the physical. In Numbers 23: 19 the bible says “God is not man that he should lie, nor son of man that he should change his mind…..”

The devil likes to cast aspersions on God’s promises by planting doubt and impatience in our hearts and minds. But we ought to reject those seeds of doubt and learn the virtue of patience. If only we can learn to wait upon the Lord, we shall see all his promises come to pass. He says;

• his hand is not too short to save (Isaiah 59:1)
• that he prospers us like a palm tree (Psalm 92:12)
• that he fights our battles (Exodus 14:14 & 2 Chronicles 20:17)
• he has plans to prosper, not to harm (Jeremiah 29:11)
• that he will satisfy us with a long life (Psalm 91:16)
• that he will go before us and level every mountain ( Isaiah 45: 2)

The bible is filled with promises. But the bible shows that even for the faithful, afflictions are real. The righteous may have troubles, but the Lord delivers and protects them from such troubles (Psalm 34:19). God knows everything and he is not surprised by what happens to us. (1 John 3:20). So he knows when good is coming and when bad is coming, but he expects us to be still and remember that he is God. We ought to have the mind of Christ who knew what was coming to him but he did not panic, no matter what pain he was going to go through he believed God was in control.

Many a time when afflictions knock on our day, we cower and see ourselves as grasshoppers compared to the challenges. But nothing is really beyond the scope of God; he is the final say and when he says yes, the devil can’t say no. He constantly invites us to hold on to that truth and not be weighed down by our circumstances, because our circumstances are not bigger than God. Like the children of Israel, God will not let us into “our promised land” until we trust him. Lack of trust will make us go round circles in the wilderness.

We lack trust in God’s promises because we are too much in the natural; it is what we see, or what we hear that causes us anxiety and worry, and even makes us doubt if God will really do anything. God answers us best on what he knows is good for us, not what we think is good for us. So we might be praying for long and expecting an answer in one specific form, but when the answer does not come in that form we doubt of God’s promises and power over our situations.

We need to ask the Holy Spirit to open our inner ears and eyes so we can see things in God’s perspective. We ought to meditate on the word of God; feed on it; sleep on it; sing it; and let the mind open up to the possibilities of those promises. Memorizing the bible verses is not the same as mediating on them; we ought to meditate to get the inner meaning.

Trusting God means we must first repent; then believe in our heart and mind that he can and he will. It means believing he is perfect and he does not make mistakes and he is never delayed. Unlike man he cannot be bribed by our seed or offerings. But most importantly we ought to know that God does not answer because of our long prayers, fasting or goodness but because he is a gracious God; he is our father through Jesus Christ and he cares and he knows at what point to show up. We have to trust him even unto death.