Victory!

Tonight, God has blessed us with His presence in my mother's formal sitting room as our Bible study group gathered together to immersed in His Word and spiritual wisdom. He spoke again to us in a beautiful message, given by Tita Jo. And as Raymond Edman, a Christian author, says: Never doubt in the dark what God told you in the light. To me, when I shared my insight on the quote, it means that we should take root in God's word all the time, so that when we are facing any kind of challenges, we won't stumble. We will not take the devil's bait to temptation, wrongdoing, and misconduct.

One of my favorite life metaphors is a succinct and common declaration that life is a battlefield. With that, comes another favorite life metaphor of how life is a choice. We can act impulsively based on the losses we've suffered, the pain we're enduring, or we can keep our faith in Christ and strategize according to God's Word and what we know of who He is, what His purposes are and what His will is for us. Therefore, the decision is up to us. Just be forewarned, however, that free we may be to follow what we want, we are not free of its consequences.

The discussion mainly revolves around the trials and tribulations we encounter as Job had, and how best to tackle the obstacles we are currently dealt with. Job was an extremely wealthy man who had ten children, and whom God greatly favored because of his righteousness and blamelessness. He had everything until he lost his livestock and servants, his ten children were killed, and he also developed a disease that prevented his friends from recognizing him. However, in spite of his sufferings, he still found reasons to praise God by affirming His greatness and sovereignty over everything in the world.

He was able to describe who God is to his friends because he maintained an intimate relationship with God. Not only did Job know who God is, but he also understands God's characterization. Because of that understanding, he accepted the things that God willed for to happen in his life. Now isn't that beautiful?

Through Job's pain, he endured and soldiered on. And we should do exactly just that. Everyday, we are constantly fighting our own battles--physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally--that are unfortunately draining us of our rations of hope, peace, and patience. The more we lose on those fronts, the more our personal spiritual warfares become hectic. However, as humans in today's society, we often fail to recognize the red flag in targeting our focus on dangers that only affect us on earth, while we are temporarily assigned and camped in it. Job's tactic was different, on the other hand. And definitely much wiser too.

Job didn't focus on the carnage around him. It was there, as he knew well, portrayed by his complaints. But Job understood that though what he was enduring was painful, it was ultimately up to God. He accepted God's control over his life. Job also surrendered his life to God's plan and purposes because he knew that God's sovereign reigns. Job understood who God is, and has accepted God's role in his life, he was able to remain in his faith in Him. And because of Job's beautiful example of faith, he lived through the ordeal.

I learned of Job's story through one of my closest and oldest friends' blog a couple of years ago. I had been running across the battlefield in anger and impatience at the time. I was headstrong, determined to fight for my life, but I didn't have the right fighting necessities such as the patience, trust, and wisdom--all through faith in Christ. And truly, from my own personal experience, that made the war on all fronts worse.

Don't make the same mistake I did. Seek out Christ's character first instead. And sincerely, once you have, use who He is as your protection. Use His eternal promises to fight with. Rest assured, not only will you be delivered, but you will claim your victory through Him, who has suffered the worst yet endured... through Him who lives.