Satan attacks

After I wrote my last post, I was feeling excited. I started writing down more topics that have come to mind over the last year. I felt that my life and health have finally gotten to a point where I can truly focus on what God is wanting me to do with this. I want to make Him and this a true priority.
Over the last several weeks, I've gotten into my Bible more. I pray a lot more. And my husband and I have been more diligent with praying with each other every night.
But Satan attacks us when he sees us doing good for the Lord.
This past weekend my parents, husband and I went to a Bible winter camp. We were in the Bible often and constantly with other believers. It was cold but a lot of fun.
Sunday night we hit a wall though. Satan used my stepson to hurt us quite a bit.
Satan started to make me feel discouraged and doubt all that I do. He made me question my role in life. Satan is a deceiver.
Think about it.
Adam and Eve lived in literal Paradise. Satan comes in and convinces Eve that what she knows is true is really not true. He knows God and tries to use His words against us. He changes them just enough to cause us to doubt and turn away.
I refused to let this happen! I have learned that the stronger my relationship is with God, the easier I can recognize Satan's plots. I also have learned to take it as a compliment of sorts. If I wasn't doing what God wanted me to and trying to encourage others towards Him, Satan wouldn't care enough to try to discourage me. So I have tried to make it a point this week to dust myself off and keep leaning on God.
I've prayed a lot during this week. I get thoughts going through my head of a negative nature so I stop and pray. I get a pit in my stomach thinking about the future so I stop and pray. I get nauseous from all the emotions and hurt so I run to bathroom and pray.. while I'm getting sick.
The other thing to remember as we go through these times is that God is allowing Satan to do this. God is more powerful than Satan and could stop him at any moment. God doesn't always do that though and I think there's a couple reasons why.
He gives us a free will. He wants us to want Him and to choose Him. The bigger thing is that He wants to test our faith. Going through things like this should draw us closer to Him and make us rely on Him all the more. It builds our character and faith. If there weren't trials, I'd venture to say that we'd all become too comfortable and forget God's role in our lives and in that comfort.
Does your relationship with God grow during trials or become weaker? He wants us to be closer to Him when it's done.
We just got done doing a study of Job at our church. Job went through the ultimate trial of losing all his children, his possessions, his health, everything except his wife and a couple friends.
Here's what sticks out to me...
God and Satan had a conversation in the beginning. God called Job blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. Satan answers back that God is protecting him. He has blessed his work and put an hedge about him. Satan questions whether Job would still be blameless and upright and fearing God if all those things were taken away. God then tells Satan that all those things Satan can take except Job's life.
Do God and Satan have a conversation before Satan is allowed to deceive any of us? No. I don't think so. But what if they had this conversation about you? Job had no idea that God felt this way about him or that Satan was trying to make him curse God.
When we face trials do we remember that God loves us and wants us to honor Him through it all? Do we see Satan's attack on our minds?
That's something to consider when you're hurting.
The other thing I gain from this conversation is that God didn't allow Satan to take Job's life. He took his health but he was still alive.
Psalm 121:5-8 says "The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, or the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever."
Wrap your brain around that. God is our keeper. We will not die one day before He wants us to and we will not live one day longer than He wants us to.

Pause and think about that alone.

He protects us from all sorts of evil. Sometimes this verse makes us think of near death experiences.
Our best friends were in a horrible car accident last May. Some of them certainly should not be alive right now. But they are! God was and is their keeper! He's not through with them yet!
I also like to consider the times that we may not know that God is keeping us. Do we know everything that He protects us from? I don't think so. We just rely on the fact that He does protect us.
He also knows when it will be our time to go. This isn't from a lack of protection but just that our job is done on this earth. He knows when that time will be. He'll protect us until that moment. Then He goes from being our keeper here to keeping us up there.
Now.. keep in mind this isn't something to go test out. I'm not going to go to a shooting range and run in front of all the bullets to see if God wants me to die today or not. The point is that we can fully rest in knowing that He keeps us.
This is not just on a physically level either. Verse 6 said "The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night." The sun can affect us physically we all understand that. But what about the moon? How can the moon smite us?
This is something that was just pointed out to me this weekend. We know the moon is also known as Lunar. We've heard of Lunar eclipse. Well... what about the words "lunatic" or "lunacy"? That's talking about someone we consider crazy or out of their minds. Right?
Have you heard of people saying that more babies are born when there's a full moon? Or how about kids are a little more hyper when there's a full moon? I know first hand the latter one is true! And I've heard stories about hospitals being crazy on nights with the full moon.
The point is that the moon affects us on a different level than just on a physical one. It affects our mentality and emotions. Isn't that cool to think about the verse again? God protects us from the full affects of the moon just as He does the sun.
How amazing is that?!?
I'm not letting Satan win this battle. God is my keeper on all levels. He protects me and I rely on Him. He will heal my heart, my mind and my stomach (it's where I carry my emotions). He has a hold of the future and I can rest assured that He will always be here for us.
After Job lost his family and possessions, he said "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
Can you say that in the midst of struggle? Can you Praise God for what He has done?
In this moment, in this trial, I am....
Blessed be the name of the Lord!!