3 Believes to avoid In times of sufferings

Satan is good at nothing else but telling lies from the beginning, either through accusation or pretending to be a friend. His lies seem to be more effective when we are trapped in circumstances that would not go for a very long time. We most times are forced to believe him because the time we expected to have come out of the trap has long passed yet no sign of the end. So he probably may come back mockingly to say: “I told you.” Then gradually we may start yielding to his persuasions. The devil is a great liar.

Telling or hearing success stories is a sweet and beautiful experience. It gives us joy and evokes our ego, but if you have ever experience a stubborn problem before you will agree that there are many things you are saying now that you forgot to say when you were still facing the problem.

Problems are greater than problems. When we are faced with one that is stubborn, our countenance changes; it doesn’t give any chance to think correctly, neither does it tell us any positive things about God and our future. All it tells us are things that are contrary to realities and our expected end. It is only when we have come out of it that we realize they were all lies after all.

If you are into any persevering problem right now, then Satan is probably telling you one of these lies. I urge you not to take it serious because they are all absurd and lies. Not every problem makes you feel or think this way; only problems that persevere do this. Let’s take a look at this lies one after the other to see which of them you have been told.

1.     You Are Alone

“Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron and said to him, come, make us gods that shall go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” (Exo. 32:1).

When suffering and challenges persevere in our lives, before you realize, you have gradually concluded that you are now alone. If there is God, with you then you would have been out if this before now just like Martha said to Jesus after the death of Lazarus (John 11:21). At the beginning this thought would never have come, because you were still seeing God and still very expectant of His divine help but as things continue to get worse, the eyes we used in seeing becomes deem. God is no more there, we think to ourselves as ordered by Satan.

The Israelites woke up every morning and looked to the east, once there is a pillar of cloud then there is confidence, the Lord is there. In the night before they go to their tent to sleep they do the same and as much as there is a pillar of fire, there is confidence they will sleep like babies that night because the Lord Himself is taking watch (Exodus 13:20-22). The finishing was: “He (the Lord) did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people” (v22).

These was done in order to give hope to them, that in whatever problem, they face, the Lord will be there to direct, fight and deliver them. One may ask; did they see God till the end? A sad no will confront you as an answer because of their reaction to the report brought by ten out of the twelve spies sent to Canaan (Numbers 14:1-10). God’s presence is no more seen by them because of they perceive to be greater problem.

“Lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age.” Says the Lord (Matt. 28:20). Even in our darkest moments and times of suffering, He is there. He didn’t say, I am with you now but He said always even to the end of the age. This is a guarantee (assurance) that no matter what we pass through in life our Lord and helper is with us. At the time appointed, He will stretch forth His helping hand and deliver us from our terrible and devastating problems. You are not alone my friend

2.     You Can Never Overcome Or Be Happy Again

 

When problems persevere, it has a way of blinding our eyes from seeing the joy of victory at the end of the fight. Satan uses this to tell us that we can never be happy again because we can never come out of it. To euphemize it, he adds; “except by God’s grace”. Be mindful when Satan uses the scripture to kill you. The bible says in psalms 30:5 that “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning”. There must always be morning after the night no matter how dark or long the night may have stayed.

We read how Abraham himself, a man known for his strong faith laughed at God for telling him he will have a son through his wife Sarah (Gen. 17:17). This is the picture I paint from that scripture; “Lord, if it is Ishmael you will use as the child of promise, I will believe but don’t tell me Sarah would conceive and give birth in this old age. Please don’t make me laugh this afternoon. (see v18).

Abraham’s failure in every attempt to have a child through Sarah caused him to believe it is all over with Sarah even after God has promised him a child through Sarah. Circumstanced has made him to forget that to everything there is a season (Eccl. 3:1-8). With God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26). So the Lord asked him with disappointment: “Is there anything too hard for God to do?” (Gen. 18:14).

3.     You Are Good For Nothing

 

Life itself is arranged in phases, we are bound to react to the phase we meet at every point in time either positively or otherwise. When we meet the hard phase we react sadly and vice versa.

Nothing in life happen by coincidence, they are all planned and arranged to happen for specific reasons. Consider that there are things we do over and over again, but it yields no expected result. Yet someone else just comes from nowhere and does exactly the same and the result we have been struggling to get appears with ease. So the devil say to you in your ears “Do you know you are good for nothing? Nothing works for”. When suffering and problems persevere, blunting every effort put in place to curb it, then Satan’s lie seems to become true for us (not that it is true).

Because the problems persists, your potentials and skills (gifts) are not having effects or reaching its peak during our suffering and dark phase of life doesn’t make them useless or good for nothing, but Satan will never tell you that. He is good at discouraging and killing peoples’ dreams (John 10:10).

How can man whom was specially created in the image of God become useless because of a failed attempt when you were wonderfully and fearfully made? (Ps. 139:14) It is a contradiction and an insult to God Almighty and His works. Start to resist the devil and his lies. Try as much as possible not to play with it or romance it, because you are not wiser than he is. Our minds is a playground for both God and Satan. We choose who stays and who goes.

The devil has always been a liar. No matter what deviced against you in words can not stop God in working out His promises for your life; "For all things worketh together for the good of those that love God and are called according to His purposes." (Rom. 8:28). Be strengthened, for you can do all things through Christ that loved you.