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Satan finds ways to accuse and insinuate us during our periods of suffering. Instead of relying on our own merits, we must learn to rely on the Spirit for strength. How does the Sprit work through the promise of God?
During suffering, how aware are we of the presence of God? How aware are we of the presence of evil? Satan is constantly seeking to weaken our relationship with God in our moments of pain and suffering through insinuations and accusations. Only through prayer, preparation and reflection can we guard ourselves against his deception.
How does Satan use suffering to damage our relationship with God? Satan wants to prove that our relationship with God is based only on material gifts, not on love. By blaming God for our sufferings, we affirm ourselves of God's abandonment and become food for Satan. In spite of all our weakness or limitations, we should still strive to use sufferings as a chance to know God's grace, and in doing so draw closer to God.
Sin is ever-present in man and allows evil to work in us. We cannot destroy sin, nor can we pay it back in kind - it is only Christ who pays it back in full for us. What we can do to is to seek repentance. In repenting, we do not just correct our wrongdoings, nor do we just seek to do good. Instead, we realise that we have already been redeemed, and in receiving God’s grace and love, we learn to hate and reject sin.
Although Job was a righteous and blameless man, God allowed sufferings on him, so that he could see the full measure of God’s grace. Job was fearful of God, and remained righteous because of his fear. Through his sufferings, Job saw that his salvation did not lie in his righteousness alone, but in the grace of God. Have you seen God’s grace in your sufferings?
If even the righteous Job have to go through sufferings, how can we even question God about our sufferings with all our hidden sins? Rather than blaming God for the sufferings, thank Him for His sustaining grace.
What is the voice that is making you feel orphaned from God's love? Guard yourself by seeking the protection and counselling of the Holy Spirit.
Which is more important to gaining a godly attitude: works, or faith? Work is a test - the test by which we nuture and strengthen our faith. For faith without works is dead. Yet it is not through works that we find salvation but through faith. As it is by grace that we have been saved, through faith. A godly attitude is seeded with faith and bears fruit to righteous works - our specialisations. So take joy in working for the glory of His kingdom.
We are all given specific gifts by God according to our specific calling. It is in the trials of our lives that we discover and utilise the gifts given to us so that we come out of our old self and claim our purpose.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matt 6:33) Real success starts from within the spirit, when we tune our hearts to seek out the will of God. Only then can He work in us to carry out His good works. And how can works alone, without the spirit, ever be significant?
Our weaknesses, failures and successes - it all starts with grace. In our weakness, we look to God for strength; his grace is sufficient to carry us through. In our failure, we find redemption through grace, for He has already won the battle for us at the cross. In our success, we see His grace at work, and give thanks with humility.
Are you aware of the spiritual reality in our era? Satan is constantly working to corrupt our hearts and draw us away from God. In this age of technology, it is easy to get caught in the flow of information and lose sight of what is truly important. Look past the veil of the world and become aware of the spiritual reality.
Why do we pray? It might be easy to pray when one is in a ‘spiritual’ mood, but it is even more important to pray through our weaknesses and sufferings. We pray because of the promise of God, given to us through Romans 8 - for nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. He has suffered for us, and will surely share in our sufferings, just as we will surely share in His comfort.
What is the one constant in the midst of our worldly achievements or sufferings? It is the grace of God. We see His grace when we are given recognition in the eyes of men; we also see His grace when we are given the strength of carry out His work, even when shunned by men. "You cannot be selective about the grace of God - if you choose the grace of God, you will not see the glory of His grace."
Our living and prayers should not be detached. Instead, it should be embedded onto everything that we do so that we can fall back onto the truth and guard our hearts in all areas of our lives.
For our prayers to reach the throne of God, we need to pray with the truth that stirs up a spiritual battle within us, so that we restore the right mentality and vigilance towards the works of the spiritual realm.
We need to have a violent faith that is up against Satan, the world and our sinful nature, in order to come out of typicality and advance God’s kingdom.
Do you find it hard to pray in your daily living? Without seeing the impact of Satan’s daily influences through the information we receive in this new age, it is difficult for us to be driven into prayers.
Indeed God has called us to share His gospel, but are we able to do it consistently with a willing heart? On the flip side, it is in times of inability to preach willingly, that our experiences amplify God's power and grace more.
What does the cross symbolise? To the world, shame and suffering. To Christians, strength and glory. Christ took both, scorning the shame and enduring the suffering with joy, for the glory set before him. As Jesus did, so should we - to fix our eyes towards eternal glory while running the race set out for us.
What can we look to in our imperfections and weaknesses? Where do we get the strength to run the Christian race? How do we overcome temptation? We look to Jesus Christ on the cross. In His moment of apparent weakness, He shows His ultimate strength - He died on the cross to redeem us from our sins. He has never failed, and will never fail.
Why did the Lord wipe the world out in the time of Noah? It was because the corruption in the hearts of men that turned them away from God, got so great that there were only evil inclinations in their hearts. So, as we run the run the Christian race towards the end times, let us guard our hearts against the antichrist - for he is the one that brings this corruption back in its full measure.
In the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20), Jesus calls his disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations". As we run the Christian race, how are we to find our personal calling as part of this Great Commission? Especially, when circumstances get tough and we find ourselves lost, remember that Jesus is with us “always, to the very end of the age”. Pray to free our hearts, so that we can find our calling in the midst of these circumstances and through it, exalt God.
Delight in your struggles because it pushes us into a race that has to live each step by seeking God's will, when we are in brokenness.
In the current era, it is getting increasingly tough to rest our hopes and desires on God because of the distractions and worldly culture surrounding us. Are we sensitive enough to realise how Satan is working in our hearts today?
When do you feel that you are worthy of praise? We may define being praiseworthy by our outward conditions and works, but God values the inner person more.
In faith, everything that we do must come from what is within us. Thus, to set ourselves apart, the focus has to be our spirit. We need to restore the faith that continues to claim the complete gospel, the complete truth and the complete promise that God has given us.
We often proclaim "I believe in the promise of God!" without thinking deeper what we're actually looking forward to when we say this. At times, we believe that God will give us the result, relationship, the promotion etc that we think we need, and equate them to God's promise. But beyond what our human minds and eyes can imagine and see, God actually promises us more than these. God promises you HE Himself, in whom you can find all you everlasting purpose, joy and satisfaction.
The promise of God is the only yet most fundamental foundation holding our relationship with God. It's not through our good conducts and obedience to the law that make us worthy of His promise. Instead, it's when we realise, and believe in God's promise that is freely given to us through His sovereign grace that leads us into submitting to Him, naturally, in all things.
The world offers the promise of abundance, but these are empty promises and they ultimately lead to destruction. In the same way that the Lord rained fire and brimstone on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He will come to pass judgement on those who put their faith in the world instead of in Him. Seek not the false riches of the world, which are lost in the blink of an eye. Instead, look toward the eternal glory of the Lord.
