Well it has been a fun few days in dream land. I’ve dealt with home invaders, family members, gunmen, and all sorts of attacks. One after another, dream after dream is about the attacks on my life. When I was awake it wasn’t much different, accusations and cancelations and physical problems and family issues have been swirling around.
Thank God for this stuff! I know that’s a little counterintuitive but let’s look at it closer. If I were heading down a bad path, the path would be enough trouble to have me locked down as a threat to darkness. But I’m right in the middle of God’s will! Because of that I’m a genuine threat to the invisible enemy. I’m basically getting the apostle Paul treatment, buffeted angels of darkness.
Now I haven’t been shipwrecked or beaten or reached that level, but I’m on that path. That’s the path God wants us all on! I don’t want to live a Luke warm life where no one ever thinks to oppose me! Peter and John and Paul and Silas all sang and danced and praised God and jumped for joy when they faced trouble! They knew things that are counterintuitive. I know God isn’t beating me up, He’s giving me grace!
In fact, every time I get hit by the enemy I have an opportunity to shine! Many people get choked out by the cares of life, like the seed that fell among thorns in Jesus’ parable. You got past the first stage, believe the word, you got past the second stage, don’t be shallow, but here in stage three the thorns are choking you out. That’s where revivalists are made! You get choked out by the weeds enough times but don’t blame God or give up and you will out grow them!
When life gives you lemons, blame the devil and praise the Lord for making you a threat to darkness. Pray to become more loving and humble and grow into a servant of servants. God is good and His mercy endures forever! The god of this world has nothing in me in Jesus’ mighty name!
Speaking of Jesus, let’s find Him in out Bible reading today. We’re going to read through Esther and start into Job today, both of which point to Jesus. Esther is a beautiful story. It tells a great allegory of the church’s journey in the world as well as the true story of the supernatural saving of Israel. Remember we said if Trump is Cyrus then the Xerxes is coming? This is what happened under Xerxes. Israel was set to be wiped out but God placed someone in a special position and saved them. This is also an allegory of the eventual salvation of Israel in the last days. All good stuff, lots of Jesus in there.
But today is a Job kind of a day. Where is Jesus in the beginning of Job? This is the part when all of hell is unleashed against a righteous man. No one understands and everyone is blaming Job of secret sin and saying it was God attacking Job. But when we see behind the veil we find out that it wasn’t God at all, it was the god of this world, the accuser.
The more clearly we understand God, the more we can see what is and isn’t God. We learn to know His voice when it comes in the words of a person, when it comes in the voice inside of us, and when it comes in circumstances. That’s what Job teaches us about Jesus who is the Word of God. It teaches us how to interpret circumstances. Jesus revealed God to us, meaning when someone is healed, the devil may take credit through in some way, but it was God. And when destruction comes against us, the devil may try to blame God, but it wasn’t God.
The devil comes up to God and God points at Job and says he’s really a great guy. The devil makes an accusation of secret sin and God gives him permission to attack. Why does the devil have the right to attack someone? His dominion comes in the curse of sin. But God still told him not to kill Job. So the devil attacked the best guy on earth because he’s evil. Then he tried to get Job to blame it all on God because the devil is evil.
His children, all his savings, his health and more were all gone one after another. It hurt so deeply few of us can ever imagine it. When that was over Job’s wife said a weird thing, curse God and die. That was the entire point of the trap. This was an attempt to convince Job to curse God and die. But because he was faithful to God under the worst of circumstances, he didn’t die lost. He grew through this process.
I know we all run into trouble and Job showed us how to receive the Lord’s blessing in the process. Just stay faithful. Put the blame on the destroyer, Revelation calls him Appolyon, Abaddon, the angel of the Abyss. We are talking about one who set himself up as god in this world to deceive us all and destroy us all. If we can be righteous, keep our eyes on Jesus and instead of fighting for our rights or blaming God falsely, we will step into a higher walk of faith. We get more like Jesus and see more through the veil and grow closer to God because we were attacked.
God is good. I’m all in with Him. Whether I have a lot or a little or I’m under attack, God is good and I will praise Him. May you see clearly where good comes from and where evil comes from. May you never be deceived into blaming God and if you have in the past may you outgrow those thorns. May you persist to the heights of the mountains that are above the snake line. May you walk in love and may you walk in the Spirit of Christ Jesus! I know when we are under attack it seems like we should be upset but by the power of Jesus we are able to respond with the grace of God! I hope you will join us in the reading today, it is Esther 1 – Job 7. May you overcome the accuser in your life. May you walk in the integrity of God forever and may God bless all y’all.
Practice Outlaw 