Monday
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised" (Job 1:21).
Can a caterpillar fly? If you said, "No," you would be partially correct. Actually, a caterpillar can fly, but it must have a transformation first.
The butterfly begins life as a caterpillar, a wormlike larva that spins a cocoon for itself. For weeks, the larva remains hidden within the cocoon as it undergoes metamorphosis. When it's time for the butterfly to emerge, it must struggle and fight its way out of the cocoon. We might be tempted to help this process by tearing open the cocoon - but that's the worst thing we could do. The struggle makes it strong and enables it to fly. Butterflies need adversity to become what God intended them to be. So do we.
The Book of Job is the story of a wealthy and successful community leader named Job. He was a successful and righteous businessman with huge holdings of livestock and real estate. One day Satan came before God and asked him, "Where have you come from?" Satan replied, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
God said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? He is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." Notice that God pointed Job out to Satan! God gave Satan permission to put Job through a trial of adversity. Job's herds were stolen, his servants were murdered, and all of Job's children were killed by a sudden tornado.
Through his trial of adversity, he grows in strength, wisdom and faith. His entire perspective on God is transformed by his suffering. He was even accused of sin by his closest friends.
We must get beyond the immature notion that God is interested only in making us healthy, wealthy and happy. More than anything, He wants us to be like Christ. And the road to becoming like Christ often leads through the wilderness of adversity.
In order for the butterfly to fly, there must be a transformation process that is often developed through adversity.
Tuesday
"When Israel became strong, they pressed the Canaanites into forced labor but never drove them out completely" (Judg 1:28-29).
Have you ever hired a contractor to do some work and ended up having to spend time and energy to get him back to finish the job? The small unfinished projects simply irritate you and create ill-will between you and your contractor. If you have been involved in a building project, you have surely had this experience.
God wanted his people to finish the job. He often told the Israelites to remove your enemies from the
Promised Land. However, many times they would not finish the job and the remnant that was left would come back and create difficulties. In most cases, the people of Israel would intermarry which enticed them into their enemy's way of living. Other times they had to enslave them, which took time away from their mission.
Whenever we fail to complete a job it creates ill-will from those we are serving. It also violates a basic biblical mandate for every believer to do their work with excellence. The Bible says that Daniel and his friends did their work ten times better than anyone else. They were known for their excellence.
It is often said of American football that the hardest place to score from is the one yard line. That is because the defenses are greatest where there is the most resistance. Sometimes completing a job is like this.
Whenever you have a project to do make sure you complete the job fully. Go the extra distance to make sure your boss or your client is totally satisfied with your work. You may complete 95% of your work, but if it is not completed you will be known for what you did not finish, rather than for what you did finish.
Wednesday
"You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there" (1 Kings 17:4).
The prophet Elijah pronounced a drought upon the land because of the sin of Ahab and the nation of Israel. There was only one problem. Elijah had to live in the same land as Ahab.
"Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.' Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 'Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there'" (1 Kings 17:1-4).
God provided for Elijah in a supernatural way. The ravens brought bread in the morning and meat in the evening. His water came from the brook.
God often uses money to confirm direction for our lives. Many times God uses a lack of provision to move us into new directions. It is a catalyst to encourage new ideas and strategies. Many times a loss of job becomes the greatest blessing to our lives because it provides the catalyst to do things we simply would never do without taking the step to get out of our comfort zone.
Friend, if you are fully following the Lord in your life and seeking direction from Him and you have no un-confessed sin in your life, there is no way He will allow you to miss His provision for you. He has a thousand ways to get the provision you need at the time you need it. Provision follows obedience.
Thursday
He made us accepted in the Beloved. --Ephesians 1:6
Like the pain we feel when we step on a sharp piece of glass, guilt is our moral warning system.
Guilt is not necessarily a bad thing, because it is a reaction to something in our lives that is not right. But sometimes the devil can use guilt to drive us to despair.
This is why it is important to distinguish between Satan's accusations and the Spirit's conviction. A feeling of guilt and shame is not a bad thing if it comes from the Spirit of God. But if it drives us to despair and hopelessness, then we have listened to the wrong voice.
The devil will accuse us, saying that we are not worthy to approach God. May I be blunt? We were never worthy. We will never be worthy. On our best day, we weren't even close to being worthy.
As believers, we have been made acceptable to God through what Christ did for us on the cross. We have been made acceptable in the Beloved. It is because of Jesus that we can come to God.
So don't ever let the devil's accusations drive you away from the cross, where you will find forgiveness.
You have a choice. The next time you sin, you can either give up in despair, or you can come back to the Lord and repent.
Remember this simple truth: Satan will always seek to drive you away from the cross, but the Holy Spirit will always draw you back to the cross.
Friday
Is this not a brand plucked from the fire? --Zechariah 3:2
Do you ever get sick and tired of being ripped off by the devil? Does it seem that in your Christian life, you take one step forward and two steps back? Have you ever felt condemned for your sin and wanted to just give up?
If so, listen up. There’s a good news for you. Your life as a Christian does not have to continue on this way.
One tactic the devil uses over and over again is that he first tempts you to sin and then accuses you once you give in to that sin. And having led you into sin, he doesn't just leave you to suffer the consequences. Instead, he wants to make sure that you are doubly defeated. He wants to drive you away from the presence of God.
We see this illustrated in the Book of Zechariah, where the prophet had a vision from the Lord one night:
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?" (Zechariah 3:1-2)
Here is Joshua standing condemned, just like us when we sin. The devil was going for the kill--but suddenly he stopped in his tracks. Why? Because God basically said, "Hands off. This is a brand plucked from the fire. This one belongs to me. This one is mine."
Aren't you glad you are His? Don't let the devil drive you away from the presence of God.
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