Something to ponder,,,,

Greetings!

Here is something to ponder .....

We have all heard things like, "God won't give you more than you can handle."  But are you sure God is the one dishing out the trials and tribulations as well as temptations in your life?  I'm not!!  We have some pretty good examples in the bible to look at.

First, was it God who tempted Adam and Eve in The Garden of Eden?  No!!  It was Satan!!  Satan was the serpent who tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit.  Why on earth would God tempt them and then punish them?  (One of many reasons I hate snakes, they represent Satan and all that is evil.)

A huge example of who tempts, and brings on trials and tribulations can be found in the book of Job.  Satan, the great tempter was the won who caused all the calamities that fell upon Job, not God!!  God allowed it to happen but if you remember He said to Satan, "I know that Job is faithful, do anything you wish as he will not betray me, but do not kill him."  So God allows temptation of His believers but He does not do the tempting.

If Satan is allowed to do whatever he wants to us but kill us, then how can we say God will never give us more than we can handle?  It is not God giving it to us in the first place, it is Satan.  But I will say this,,, it will never be more than we can handle so long as we trust in God and call upon Him.  Always being able to trust in God and call upon Him to handle our problems is often hard when we are knocked down physically and especially emotionally.  But that is what we are called to do and that is the true test of our faith.

I have known a few people in my lifetime that I would call serious, practicing Christians that were knocked down so far by severe trials and tribulations that they tried to commit suicide.  One succeeded the other did not.  The one that succeeded, in my opinion, was given more than he could handle.  Did God do that to him?  No!!  Satan did!!  If you think for one minute that Satan does not have that much power or control in the world then you need to wake up and smell the coffee.  He is losing the war against God and he is not about to go down without a fight and without taking as many of God's children with him that he can.  That is his sole purpose in life, to destroy God's Kingdom.  If you claim to be a part of God's Kingdom, if you endeavor to live a godly life then you must expect frequent attacks from Satan and be prepared for them.

The bible tells us that we need to "put on the whole armour of the Lord."  "We will face trials and tribulations, we will be attacked by the evil one."

I heard a Pastor tells his congregation not long ago that, "If you are a Christian, Satan cannot come up against you."  That is so wrong!!  Satan can and will come up against you.  Whether or not he is successful is up to you!!  How strong is your faith?  Do you put on the whole armour of the Lord?  Will you call upon the Most High to help you and protect you?  Will you stand steadfast in your faith no matter what comes up against you, like Job did?

Until next time,,,,,,,,,, Blessings!