Word for Today....Something is Pushing Me
Scripture: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 2 Cor. 12:7
the messenger of Satan to BUFFET me...
Did you know the meaning of buffet is to push or strike repeatedly with force? Satan has sent a messenger to you and it has been allowed by God. The Bible says that God does not tempt man with evil, so your push isn't FROM God but it is ALLOWED by God. Like in the case of Job, Satan was minding his own business trying to see who he could cause to fall and it was God who suggested Job, NOT the devil. It was because Job was a righteous and upright man, God allowed the devil to push on him, on his material things, push on his children and push on his physical body. Job was in a fight whether he liked it or not. And that is what we have to understand, that we are in a fight whether we believe we have enlisted to fight or not. It is because you have the "signet" of God that the enemy has waged war on you. Spiritual warfare is a reality. It isn't suggestive or a belief system for some Christians. It isn't an idea or typology, but it is REAL. But the weapons of our warfare are NOT carnal but they are mighty THROUGH God to the pulling down of strongholds. It is because we are assigned to pull down Satan's strongholds that we have engaged in battle with our enemy. It is in the spiritual atmosphere that Satan pushes against us trying to make us give up, walk away from God or just bow out gracefully. But when allowed by God, there is purpose in your push! Though we pray that the thorns be removed from us, like Jesus, we must bear the pain of the thorns because it is establishing us into far greater works. If Jesus hadn't endure the process of the cross (though He cried to let the cup pass), He wouldn't have been glorified and neither would we.
When you have a push that is allowed by the Holy Ghost, it doesn’t push you out; it pushes you in. When you have a push that is allowed by God, who knows what you are able to bear, it doesn’t push you away; it draws you closer. When you have that kind of pushing it is what fuels your strength in God. Paul wrote that after asking the Lord 3 times, God told him that HIS grace is sufficient and his strength is made perfect in weakness. And so Paul said that if the grace of God is enough then I don’t need anything else. And so like Paul, I glory in my infirmities that the power of God and the glory of God would rest upon me. I glory not because I am weak but because when I am weak, then can people see the strength of God manifested in my life. If I had it all together, how would God be glorified? So when there are challenges pushing me, striking me, that is when God is glorified. It's okay to be bruised when you know you are a winner. I don't mind having a swollen and blackened-eye, if I beat my opponent and come out a champion.
I believe the principle of sufficient grace is this: Christ wants to destroy the spirit of self-dependence. So we are pushed into depending on God. We are pushed into leaning not to our own understanding. Even when we think we have everything figured out, God allows a push from the devil that brings you back to reality, that you are NOTHING without God. A push to let you know that you are nothing and that you deserve death. BUT it is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, for His compassion fail not, yea, they are new every morning. GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS!!!!Be Blessed!
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