We are on the earth for a purpose. We are here to carry forth God’s plan, and He has empowered us to do so under the authority of Jesus Christ. In Luke 9:1, Jesus Christ gave the disciples power and authority to cast out all demons and heal all diseases. In Mark 16:18, he told them they would be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drank anything poisonous, it wouldn’t harm them. He also gave them the ability to lay hands on the sick and heal them. Jesus Christ has given believers today the privilege to use his authority as well, so that we can live abundantly and do good works by our faith in him. He told us in John 14:12(NLT),”I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”
Christ gave us his authority to accomplish a mission. In 1 Peter 2:21, he tells us that God has called us to do good, and that sometimes we’ll endure suffering for doing good, but we’ve got to persevere, because this is the example Christ left for us, and we are to follow in his steps. Jesus Christ isn’t telling us to follow in his steps just because. He’s telling us how to live in truth, and how to walk in his victory. The blessings of life come from living the truth, but sometimes we shift our focus on other things, and away from living the reality of Christ. In every case without fail, when we look away from the example of Christ, we will begin to regress instead of progress.
Sometimes, we endure tests, trials, and temptations because we have neglected to be the lights that God has called us to be. James 1:14-15(NLT) says,“14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” It is extremely important for us to understand this, because often people will believe that God is spearheading their tests, trials, and temptations. This is not the truth, and believing it will most assuredly undermine your faith. James 1:13(NLT) states “And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.”
We are here on this earth to introduce and expand the Kingdom of God. That’s our principle mission and the enemy knows it. 2Corinthians 2:11 makes it clear that if we are not wise about satan’s devices, he will take advantage of us; the more ground he gains, the more we lose; suffice to say, the more ground you and I gain as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the more ground the enemy loses. So, we must be on guard and arm ourselves with the truth. We are powerful only to the intent that we believe and clothe ourselves with God’s love. This is one of the reason’s that the enemy will try and steal this love from our hearts, and do so by testing our faith and tempting us to sin.
God and the devil have completely different and separate ways of operating. God’s way is love, the devil’s way is fear. The two are #1 diametrically opposed, #2 cannot occupy the same space, and #3 achieve categorically different results. 1John 4:18 tells us that there is absolutely no fear in love; perfect love annihilates fear. So, for us to assign what God does to the devil and what the devil does to God is very wrong. It is impossible to have faith in our Heavenly Father’s protection and care, and believe simultaneously that He causes situations and circumstances that cause us to fail, falter, and regress. This kind of thinking doesn’t link up with His goodness and love.
God knows our strengths, and He is fully aware of our weaknesses. Why would He need to test our faith when He already knows the outcome? He does not test our faith, because this is something He has told us to do. Through the Apostle Paul, He tells us in 2Corinthians 13:5 (NLT), “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” We need to examine ourselves, study ourselves and see how we stack up regarding walking by faith. This is our responsibility, not the Lord’s.
The devil studies us through and through. The Book of Job in the Old Testament gives us a record of the very difficult tribulation that Job, a Godly man, endured. It tells us that the devil pounced on him in a major way by killing his children, making him poor, and cursing his physical body with many afflictions. Job was attacked by satan on all fronts. Before any of it took place, Job 1:7(NLT) tells us that God asked satan a question, “Where have you come from?” the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” This is how demonic spirits operate. Spying on us, looking to see where our vulnerabilities lie, is their principle occupation. So when they send evil darts, those darts have a target. It is to hit us where it hurts the most; so that our focus is deterred from our relationship with God, our faith is diminished, and we are knocked off balance. But, if we have prepared ourselves by renewing our minds to God’s Word and putting His love in our hearts, our faith will stand the enemy’s test.
Our Heavenly Father is a God of light. He’s our Rock and Rescuer. Psalm 84:11 (NLT) tells us, “For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” God doesn’t want our hearts burdened with the tribulations of the world, and that is why He invites us to cast our burdens upon Him. He can handle all our cares. Our faith must not be encumbered with wrong beliefs about the love and care of Heavenly Father. Instead, we must be focused on what God has called us to do and be. In 1Peter 4:8(NLT), He tells us, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.” This is the way we withstand every test, trial, and temptation from the enemy. If we will live by God’s love, we will come out on the winning side every time.■
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
“Tests, Trials, and Temptations”, written by JMack. 4theChristianMan.Com© 2018. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.