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Sometimes
we suffer because we have done wrong. Yet, God usually shows us mercy.
We rarely get what we deserve. He seems to be willing to let us continue
in our sin for awhile before He disciplines us. But before He does
this, He speaks to us through His Word.
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All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching,
for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good
work. (NASB) 2 Timothy 3:16-17 |
But there are times when you may be sick or
"everything" seems to be going wrong and you do not know
why. When this happens,
it is time to ask God to convict of any sin or sins that you have
committed so that you can honestly admit your sins and stop sinning.
I have found God to be faithful in reminding me of some sin that I
have not confessed to Him, sometimes even before I finish my prayer.
I have also found that when I confess or admit my sin, my suffering
usually stops some time later. But what should a person do if the
suffering does not stop? Then I have asked God to protect my family
and myself against Satan and his demons. I have asked God to put a
hedge - a fence, or protective wall (Job 1:10) - around my family
and myself just as God did around the patriarch Job. God has always
proven faithful to stop Satan's attacks.
Jesus
told us that the ultimate-cosmic-killer defense against the attacks
of Satan and demons is prayer and not exorcism. If this is a surprise,
read about the time Jesus healed a boy from a demon in Mark 9.
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And
when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked
the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and dumb spirit,
I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.”
And after crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions,
it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most
of them said, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by
the hand and raised him; and he got up. And when He had come
into the house, His disciples began questioning Him privately,
“Why could we not cast it out?” And He said to them,
“This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.”
(NASB) Mark 9:25-29 |
Jesus
had just finished exorcising the demon and Jesus' disciples asked,
"Why could we not cast it out?" Jesus' disciples could not
do it. They were His apostles! Jesus gave them the ultimate weapon
in dealing with demons - prayer!
Conclusion:How
can we tell if Satan is involved in our suffering? Pray for protection
from Satan and if the affliction goes away, then the answer is obvious.
But if we have confessed our sins and asked for protection from Satan
and our suffering still continues, then God has decided to leave us
there just as He did Paul the apostle (2 Cor. 12:8-9). If it is persecution,
there are many thousands of martyrs who have gone before us and died
for Him. |
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