Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Smell (the sense of smell) (07/29/10)
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TITLE: Satan Makes Enemies Last Longer | Previous Challenge Entry
By Tina Leonard
08/05/10 -
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Have you ever been in a situation where your faith is tested to a point where you wonder if you are getting ready to sacrifice your witness as a child of God? I have been placed in a few tough spots where I have felt the need to learn the art of a spiritual jack slap. I prayed for God to place me in a bubble so that my flesh could not get out.
Sometimes it’s hard to look at current circumstances and count it all joy. When people, finances and jobs push you around it’s not human nature to put on a smile and walk away praising the Lord. A few years ago I was injured on a job that I had been doing for fourteen years. Without going into a lot of detail, I was being pushed to quit so they did not have to be liable for my condition. One gentleman decided to take it upon himself to create a living hell for me to clock into each morning. It had gotten so bad that I called a meeting with the president.
During the conversation I asked for someone else to be appointed over my case and it was granted. About a month later the doctor they had been sending me to, put me on permanent restrictions. This was a result of them denying any form of physical treatment for my injury. The next day, those involved with my case at work called me into a meeting and informed me they were going to have to “let me go for my own safety”. The gentleman who had made it his personal vendetta to get me to leave was chosen as my exiting escort.
As I was being followed out of the building it took all I had not to turn around and say something that would not have been rivers of living water. I was praying “God bridle my tongue and help me not to show weakness or defeat.” I began thinking of the words that David prayed in Psalms 143:11-12 “Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I [am] thy servant.”
Is that not the aroma of our hearts that linger before the nostrils of God when someone does us dirty? It took me quite some time to realize that God does not work that way. Yes the battle belongs to God, but God never wants to destroy anyone. He never sets out on His first attempt to punish the sinner or the lost soul.
One of my favorite scriptures is found in Deuteronomy 32:41 “If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.” If we take judgment into our own hands we might as well throw in the towel on our witness for Christ. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy and the first round is a knock out if you lose your witness as a Christian.
The Bible tells us in Matthew 5:44 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”
It was about a year after that incident that God started to convict me of my prayers for the individuals involved. When I started to pray for their salvation and repentance I found out one by one that they were losing their jobs. Do not tell me that God does not work in mysterious ways. To this day I believe that incident was a blessing in disguise. God moved me from a place, tested my faith in Him and placed me in another position that I love and I am much happier at.
God gave me the ability to see that those enemies did not have anything personal against me. It was a battle within’ themselves that God needed to bring them to their knees to get them to look up and pay attention to Him. He showed me that it’s easy to love those who love you, but it’s a testimony to destroy the stronghold of the bitter taste of anger and resentment. Romans 12:20 put into action will cause others to smell the love of God burning into their soul.
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