Many Christians believe that because they have embraced Christ and follow the Commandments of God, that life should be a bed of roses, and no harm will come to them. This then leads to them placing any difficulties they may face at Satan's door, as if Satan were greater than God and they were at the mercy of the evil one.
This kind of thinking may also lead to a spirit of discouragement when after praying for a difficulty to be resolved, many find that it remains. This then starts a counter action of belief that God has not heard their prayers, or they have been abandoned by God. These thought processes are music to Satan's ears, as he feeds the fear and insecurity that he senses within the soul of the troubled individual.
What many fail to grasp is that what we find troubling and difficult may in essence be a blessing to strengthen that which is weakest within our own nature. As when St. Paul experienced a thorn in his side and upon beseeching our Lord in prayer to remove the thorn that was irritating him, St. Paul found that God did not will this for him. Now upon being told that God was sufficient for him, did St. Paul give up and cede defeat to Satan? Then, why is it, when many Christians face any crisis, many attribute all problems to Satan as if he were in control of their lives and they were at the mercy of the merciless foe!
Our Heavenly Father knows that our biggest battle is with pride, which can take many forms. And so He at times will allow problems to beset us in order to keep us totally dependent upon Him and to humble us in realizing that we cannot do anything without the support of our Loving Creator. Sometimes many do not even recognize pride in all its various forms, for many will say, 'I am the biggest sinner', which in a subtle way brings attention to themselves. This is not to say we should live without remorse in the sin's we have committed for a contrite heart is a timely reminder not to offend our Loving Creator with the same sin. Others will say, 'oh I don't have much to offer' in the hope of receiving many compliments which then feeds the Ego!
Therefore our Heavenly Father allows us to be faced with struggles and disappointments, not to chastise us, but to guide is into total reliance on Him and to have all Confidence in God's Power to overcome evil. For through His Death and Resurrection, Christ won for all of us the Victory over Satan, then why do so many still accredit every disappointment to the tempter, which is Satan?
Our Lord has equipped us with certain victory, but it is up to each of us to use the weapons we have been given through Christ our Lord. These weapons are, prayer, which is grounded on our love of God and our obedience to Him. We also have the Sacraments of the Church to restore through Confession that which has been broken through sin, and to partake of the Eucharist, which strengthens the soul for the battles ahead.
For the war we face is not outside of ourselves, but within our own souls. This is why it is integral to see all difficulties as challenges which through Christ's strength we can overcome, and all disappointments as lessons in humility so that we rely solely on God for our support and not become reliant on the fickle feelings of man.
It is when our emotions become embroiled in the minutiae that many can then miss the bigger picture, which is to bring us to the realization that we do not need man to validate us, but we do need to acknowledge our neediness to our Sovereign Lord. For it is God who is in control of our lives, and it is to Him that we should fly in prayer and seek out His Will as we are guided by the Holy Spirit to overcome that which tempts us.
We need to understand that the difficulties, disappointments and discouragements that we all face are not the acts of a 'whimsical' God. But it is the actions of a Loving Father who will give us the strength to overcome our fears and fill us with strength through prayer and the Sacraments to fight the good fight and behave as Victors as we give all praise and Glory to our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us then arm ourselves with the weapons of Righteousness and go forth in full knowledge that it is Christ who is King and we His humble servants, whom He will never abandon.
Peace of Christ to ALL
Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
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