Let's Make Him Famous!

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Today's Passage> Job chapter 1
Memory Verse> Luke 22: 31-32


Most of us love God with a passionate love. We know that because of Him our lives have meaning, and we do desire to serve Him with all our hearts. But something happens to some of us when the resistance comes that makes our witness doubtful. We change from being full of passion to not being sure of Who God is from one day to the next. One moment, we're on fire; the next, we've dropped off the face of the earth. What happens is an age- old tactic used by our enemy to wear down our faith until it totally disappears, or it at least is severely inactive. This strategy is called "sifting".

The meaning of this word in the physical sense is to "agitate", to move back and forth so as to separate parts of a substance that usually cannot be seen with the naked eye. When you're trying to remove impurities and rough lumps from flour, you sift it so that the undesirable elements can be separated from the part that you want to use. The figurative meaning is to "try one's faith by agitating inwardly". The enemy literally wants to pick at us until there's no SUBSTANCE left that God can use to move on our behalf. This process of wearing away is quite effective because it doesn't happen overnight. Rather, it takes place little by little, just like erosion wears away the protective sand from the beach. He's an expert at blending in when our problems are in full swing so that we don't even notice he's there, and we can begin to question God's ability to deliver us.

But God, Who knows all things and is aware that this is the enemy's primary purpose, also has a plan. He allows the enemy to sift even while providing us with the grace and strength to face the trials. Did you really think He was surprised when satan showed up before God? Why do you think God handed Jobto him on a plate? God ALREADY had a plan in place to show Himself strong and mighty in Job's life. You see, God has more confidence in that FAITH He gives us when we make Him Lord of all, and if we can just stand, we will overcome. Study Job's reaction when he began to lose the things he had worked so hard for. His response to "stuff" being gone was: "naked I came to this earth, and naked I shall return to the dust".

Job is one of the shiny examples of how firm our faith should be in the midst of the toughest trials. We must know that God is always a million steps ahead of the enemy when it comes to how much He will allow him to inflict on us. He's already calculated how much we can handle at the level of our walk. Things He never would've allowed in our lives when we were babes, He now does because our faith should be stronger. This is why Jesus told Peter the secret: "satan's plan is to agitate and aggravate all of you until you give up. But I have prayed for you that you won't allow the sifting to eat at your faith. Stand firm in that, then turn around and strengthen (encourage, bear up) your brethren".

The lesson in this story isn't to cause fear about the fact that the enemy's always after us. The issue is that our Father has confidence in what He placed inside of us. Actually, fait is so solid that it CANNOT just be whittled away with the passing of time, especially if we CONTINUE to build it up. In Jude verse 20, we learn that faith is built when we pray in the Holy Ghost. And while WE do what God's Word tells us, HE will make sure that the only things the enemy can sift from our lives will be the secret sins and other unsightly lumps that trip us up. So really and truly, we must yield to the sifting because God uses it to refine us. How much glory God gets out of the trials inflicted upon us depends upon how well we pass the test, making God's Name famous for His ability to cause us to triumphn in trials.

Prayer: Father, You are so faithful. Thank You for reminding us today that trials must come, but that YOUR purpose for us is greater than the enemy's, and only Your purpose for us will prevail. I declare today that we, Your children, will make You famous when we stand in the midst of the trials for all the world to see. Thank You for Christ, the Intercessor Who is praying that our faith won't fail. And by Your Grace, we WILL be victorious. In Jesus' Name, Amen.