Passage of the Day: Job 21: 23 - 34 … Linked for study …
My Journal for Today: Well, reading this passage again today, perhaps you’ve been where Job was – at least to some degree. Maybe you were accused of something falsely. Perhaps a friend or two have given you advice laced with lies. Maybe you were the focus of some social attack on your character. Whatever the circumstances, it probably caused you great concern, anxiety, or angst.
Well, it’s in times such as these where the harsh realism of life tests our faith and trust in God, doesn’t it? It’s in these character-bending times where we learn whether we really believe in the truth of Romans 8: 28 or we exercise the reality of Proverbs 3: 5-6 or Philippians 4: 6-7. And by the way, my fellow Christian soldier, since we’re always going to be battling our enemies in the everyday spiritual warfare we call “life,” it would also be good to heed the old Revolutionary War saying which Swindoll quotes in his devotional today: "Trust in God; but keep your power dry.”
My dear one, WE ARE IN A WAR; and it is stark reality that we have enemies which could bring us down if we are not vigilant and well fortified, especially with the heart knowledge of God’s truth. Another old saying which will also prove true in the harsh reality of spiritual warfare is one you probably know: "Pray like it all depends upon God; but work like it all depends on you.”
Both of these old adages have much truth in them. And it’s in times like Job faced that our faith and trust in God gets tested to the limits of our human abilities. It’s in the testing times that we’re going to learn whether we really BELIEVE in what Jesus commanded in Matt. 11: 28-30, to let Him help carry the burden; and in Isaiah 41: 10, to let our God lift us up with His might right hand.
I can’t speak for you, my dear reader; but I’ve been through the “valley of the shadow of death” more than once. And God was always with me, just like He promised in Joshua 1: 5 or Hebrews 13: 5. My friend, you’re going to be tried, and you WILL be tested. So, now is the time to prepare yourself for the battles ahead. And if you do, you will discover that you can have the fortitude of a Job in facing the harsh, but realistic challenges that we face in life.
Test yourself now, my friend, in the safety of meditating on what I’ve written here. Do you know each of the passages which I quoted in this journal entry – BY HEART? If not, perhaps you need to bury more of God’s word deeply into your heart to prepare for the warfare ahead. I learned long ago that you can’t be a Spirit Swordsman if you don’t carry a well-sharpened and well-practiced sword (see Eph. 6: 17). And no battlefield leader would ever take his soldiers into battle without a well thought out battle plan. Do you have a written and personalized battle plan to prepare you, as much as you can be prepared, to face the spiritual battles you will face in life?
My dear one, these are perilous times; and you leave yourself vulnerable for the battles of life if you don’t have a battle plan and if your mind/heart are not saturated by God’s truth from His word. So, I leave it to you to become a warrior like Job … or to succumb to the enemy’s lies and attacks from the world or the vulnerabilities from your own deceit-ridden heart. I pray that we’re all prepared for the harsh realities of our future.
My Prayer for Today: Lord, God, set our course to follow You, no matter where You lead us so that You will be glorified when we stand and deliver. Amen
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