8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” 12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. ~ Job 1:8-12NKJV
As Christians, we go through a lot of trials, tribulations, and hardships. Not because God isn’t faithful, or even because the World hates us or Satan is out to get us, but because we ourselves are not faithful. Job was a righteous, blameless man. Not because he never sinned or was perfect in every single thing he did, but because he never forgot God. He was weary of sin and would make sacrifices to the LORD, continually cleansing himself and his family. He’d do so, not just because he knew they’d sin, but just in case they did. So, would he do any less for himself? No. This is the reason for Satan’s complaint.
God didn’t build up a hedge of protection around Job just because He loved Job above all others. He did it because He honored Job’s sacrifices and diligence to do what is right. As Christians, we don’t believe we have anything to do with our own Salvation, let alone our own trials and tribulations. Paul, however, wrote to work out your Salvation with much fear and trembling. He wrote that he would afflict his flesh so that he might not be disqualified from this race after preaching and teaching to so many. We are in a Spiritual Battle, a long-distance marathon, racing against an enemy seeking to destroy us.
How many times a day do we take the time to pray for the forgiveness of our sins, the protection of our lives, and the protection of our family and all that we have? The enemy doesn’t just try to hurt us by going after us alone. It’s our family, specifically our children and spouses; it’s our finances, our jobs, and investments. It’s our homes and our cars. It’s everything. If I can just distract you from praying, worshipping, reading your Bible, then I can get a foothold in your life and then build that into a stronghold; then I’ve won. I’ve now gotten control in your life.
So, what are we to do? Take Job’s initiative. We go before God humbly, offering sacrifices of praise, Thanksgiving, worship, and fasting. And we couple that with prayer as we dedicate all that we have to Christ. And we build that spiritual wall of protection around ourselves, our family, and our finances. We build that hedge of protection around all that is ours, so that we are not the cause of any of our hardships. Any of our trials and tribulations. So that the enemy has no foothold in our lives.
Peace. Love. GO Forth and Take The Job Initiative.