Prove the devil wrong!
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
God tests His Followers to see if it's your will, your way or His will, His way you choose. Testing from the adversary, or the devil, happens. God allows things to occur as He uses the enemy to strengthen your faith in Him. When you think things seem to be going to wrong, usually that's a good sign that something good is about to happen. Or that is the way it has been in my growth with the Father.
My testimony on the subject is based on two specifics from many, many experiences in the beginning of tremendous adversarial times... or should I say... when I prayed for my spiritual eyes to be open to it.
One morning, I awoke with a sharp pain in my right lower quadrant. I thought "possible appendicitis," since I had a fever with chills in the middle of a hot summer in 2006. The pain was horrific and sporadic every 45 minutes. This cycle lasted for hours.
As the pain intensified, I knew I best head to the ER. After being thoroughly checked, the doctor really didn't know what was causing the pain, but perhaps it was a virus.
Later during night, I woke up with a severe rash from head to toe and all around my abdomen. Mother had casually mentioned Shingles earlier that day when I mentioned a tiny little strawberry rash on my right foot. So I went online to investigate. Yep. I definitely had Shingles. The next morning, I called my physician. By the time I had seen my doctor and my doctor had seen me… “The itch” started! I couldn't make my way to pharmacist fast enough to start the meds.
There didn't seem to be any type of relief until the meds started working while I was in agony, literally in tears. The more I itched... the more I scratched. The more I scratched... the more pain I felt from try to scratch an itch. The closest I can explain is when you have a really bad sunburn, but it itches and when you try to scratch it, YIKES!!! It was a “Catch 22.”
It was in pain everywhere clothing touched my skin. Worse than any sunburn from the beach in the older days of using baby oil to "tan" as it sizzled your skin. Prior to this outbreak, the only Shingles I was aware of where the type for housetops. But this Shingles does cover you... from head to toe if it's severe.
My doctor said I missed one pill, I may have another rash to appear after this episode. You can bet, I took my pills like clockwork. There didn’t seem to be much relief in sight except for the hope that the medication would make me well. I did take an over the counter medication which made me sleepy. The only other comfort was cool showers. I took three or four a day! Anything to find comfort.
At one point while showering I was so unbelievably miserable, I got down on my knees, praying and crying to the Father for relief. I had been praying… but I prayed like I'd never prayed before!
About the same time I was praying, mother received a phone call from one our family friends who knew I had been dealing with Shingles for several days. She had been watching a religious program. The host was praying for different people’s ailments, afflictions and illnesses. What caught her attention was a special prayer for someone who had Shingles and was praying for relief. The host continued to say that the person who was praying for a healing would be healed by Jesus.
Since I was in the shower, I didn't know about the prayer mentioned on the TV. After my shower of pleading and praying God for relief, the rashes were gone. I felt immediate relief! It was a miracle!
Call it whatever you may or may not believe… but I call it being healed by Jesus Christ! I believe in the power of prayer... and I believe it was me who God was blessing.
“For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” Psalm 22:24 (NIV)
I thanked God for the quickness for His answered prayer as the Shingles vamoosed! Later, I thought “If God was testing my endurance; I believe I made passed, but it was tough lesson.”
It was through that experience, I learned to appreciate Job as I learned more about His suffering, pain and how He endured. It was a summer I won’t forget! During that summer, I had many different types pain inflicted.
I had just been educated about the Holy Spirit a few months prior to all these occurences. I was also reading a lot about spiritual warfare. My mentor told me it was probably too soon to read one book that I could seem to put down. I needed to build a firm foundation in my faith by reading God’s Word.
I wished I had listened instead of allowing myself to be more drawn into the book. Finally, I carried the book and placed it on a top shelf in my garage storage room. I left it there for weeks.
One afternoon, I headed into the storage room. I completely forgot about the book. When I reached for a box on the top shelf, I don’t remember touching anything. Then out of nowhere, a heavy roll of unprinted news paper (used for packing) probably weighing about 30 lbs, came tumbling down and landed on my left big toe. "OUCH!!!!!!" was an understatement for the pain I felt immediately! It hurt so badly, I couldn’t cry. I thought I was going to pass out before I could get back to the house. As a matter of fact, I crawled! I could not put any weight on my foot without screaming. I was just getting past my second round of Shingles, now then the paper weight was a heavy load to bare.
Before the summer was over, I had three cases of Shingles! Yet, I never missed a pill.., not once.
Did I really want to grow spiritually and be a warrior for God? YES! There was no turning back.
My toe was severely bruised but was not broken and I didn't lose my toenail to my surprise. However, I wore sandals for months past the summer. I am grateful my toe was cracked into pieces! Praise the Lord! He is the only reason it didn’t break. As soon as the pain came, I immediately began to pray. As a matter of fact, I never did have any major physcial setbacks, just a lot of minor hindrances which made me think more about God’s ways as Job was an example of loyalty to God through much more suffering than I had lived to tell about.
When learning God’s Word, there is a great deal more to living in this world than what appears to the naked eye. Christians have two choices in seeking to mature and grow closer to God:
1.) Keep going forward with God
OR
2.) Shrink back from God.
I have learned there is a devil at every level of growth. A dear and deeply devoted Christian sister that I cherish named Dana, shared that phrase with me when her minister used it for a message. And it’s true!
Many things came about my first summer when God was just starting to remold me inside out. Sometimes I cannot begin to explain but experienced. I never had so much go wrong in such a short time BUT I was outright devoted to God for the first time in my life. I had NO desires to procedure on a wrong path away from God. with wrongful temptation!
“And that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:26 (NIV)
The more I learn from God and about God, the sweeter His Spirit grows on my journey with Him.
Mother once said that I reminded her of Job in the summer of 2006 due to so many things happening to me. What a compliment! It meant God was beginning to prepare me and test me as He disciplined my ways. I love God with all my heart! He is the center of my life. But I am human. I make mistakes. But I am willing to learn from my mistakes.... something I was not prepared to do before 2006. I was just going through the motions.
In the Bible, it speaks of Job's life in great detail. He had everything taken away from him, even had bodily harm come upon Him. But Job stayed devoted to God, if when Job questioned God, he continued to devote himself to God as his only God. Once God used Job as a prime example of endurance for all of us to learn from Job's challenges and success... he was blessed abundantly after his testing period! He is definitely the one who experienced “a devil at every level!”
“But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.” Job 36:15 (NIV)
This summer of 2009 marks three years I have devoted myself to knowing God like I never thought possible. Once I commited my heart to God and cleaned my life up, I learned that God's love in getting to know Him is contagious.
I have NO regrets for stepping out on faith for God. Have I questioned my devotion to Him or the call I feel He placed on my life? YES, many times! But only recently have I come to a place of no longer doubting what I am to do for God in my career or for work for His glory. With that comes a huge relief of self drudergy I was placing on me. I was self inflicing my self to kept from being healed bby not giving it all to the Father for a complete healing, spiritually, physically and emotionally.
Do you know Him…really know Him? He’s the best friend I'll ever had in my life. He continues to test my faith and our personal friendship to see if I am willing to go the distance.... the distance is all the way through heaven’s narrow gate!
To go the distance, there is a proverbial mountain of levels. At every level the devil is waiting... trying to keep tempt you to back down away from God.
“My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” Psalm 119:50 (NIV)
I encourage you to keep going forward... GO THE DISTANCE!
Learn the Words of God in your Bible for protection against the enemy. Keep in mind when you feel you are caving in to temptation, God is only a prayer away.
Our Heavenly Holy Father will “level” everything out in your life as you learn to balance and ascend to the next level as you become closer to God.
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