Let’s keep in mind the concepts of Job. I will refer to them
often.
1) God listens to our prayers, our laments, our frustrations,
our fears and our doubts patiently.
2) God is more concerned about our reaction to situations than
the situation itself.
3) We must filter our situations through the Word. It never
changes like man’s rules, traditions and culture.
4) Satan does not restore anything.
Here are a few more:
Concept five: Satan’s goal is to
turn people away from the Creator. Satan wants to show that people love
the gifts God gives more than they love the Giver. Example: Do you only pray
(or pray harder) when you want something like healing, financial security or
marriage restoration? Is Satan putting a wedge between you and God? The wedge
is not understanding. The bridge is faith. How long, deep, wide and firm is
your bridge? Satan wants to confuse tradition (world) and spiritual (heaven) so
people will turn from God because of their misunderstanding. Satan thinks if Job
turns from God, others will follow.
Concept six: God never gives up on
us, but we give up on God a lot. But there is a verse that says, “Resist
Satan and he will flee from you,” James 4:7. Push Satan and his ways away
enough and intentionally, and when Satan figures out you will not give him a
foothold, his influence in your life will be greatly diminished. It happened
for Job. After 37 chapters of Job not giving into his wife’s plea for him to
‘Curse God and die,’ God steps in and rescues Job and restores all he lost. He
resisted the temptation to curse God, Satan had to flee and God restored him.
Concept seven: Job does not know
God and Satan are battling in the heavenly realm over him. Good vs.
Evil. We only know in part. We should keep that in mind. The arch angel Michael
battles Satan for Moses’ body. Daniel saw that. In 2 Kings 6:17, Elisha prayed
for God to open the servant’s eyes. “He looked and saw the hills full of horses
and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid. Those
who are with us are more than those who are with them.” It would be awesome to
see glimpses of the heavenly realm now, but if God chooses not to show ME, I’ll
wait. Always keep in mind things happen behind the scenes and we have angels
battling for us...even if we don’t realize it.
Concept eight: Human understanding can only go so far because it stops at
the barrier between the worldly realm and the spiritual realm. One of my
favorite authors and speakers, who I have met several times, is Mary DeMuth.
She describes Thin Places as a “place
where heaven and the physical world collide, one of those serendipitous
territories where eternity and the mundane meet. Thin describes the membrane
between the two worlds, like a piece of vellum, where we see a holy glimpse of
the eternal…” If we strive to be in tune with the Holy Spirit, we can have
knowledge and understanding of the heavenly realm that never ends (although we
will never know it all). We can experience thin places. Hebrews 4:12 says,
“God’s Word is active and alive. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul [world] and spirit [heavenly].”
I think I could find a dozen more concepts, but that is
enough introduction. Read ahead. Read Job 38:1-40:2. Blessings!
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