|
Suffer No Harm
by Venus Laney "Saying touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm." 1 Chr 16:22 After arriving at the island of Malta, the apostle Paul was adding wood to a campfire when he was bitten on the arm by a venomous viper. But the Lord is faithful to His word the word says "He shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm" Acts 28:5 Now, if you're like me and suffer from a severe phobia of the slithering kind, our carnal minds would have us believe that being bitten by a viper IS considered suffering harm! But, praise the Lord, we are not slaves to the mind of our flesh. If you continue reading, you'll see that Paul was able to continue his ministry and suffered no ill effects from the bite. This spoke volumes to me today, as I am still in prayer about a number of fresh "bites" in the body of Christ (local and afar). Why would God's children suffer from affliction and persecution when we know He is true to His word? It's all about the end result. "God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 When we live a life submitted to God and obey His word, we can trust that no matter what the circumstances may look like, it will work out for the good and therefore no real harm will be suffered. We also know that He will not put more on us than we can bear. (1 Cor 10:13) Two scriptures from the book of John speak about the importance of the end result. In the first, the disciples had brought a blind man to Jesus and asked Him who had sinned the boy or his parents, that he would be born blind. "Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." John 9:3 This seemingly tragic situation was turned around to become one of the miracles of Christ's ministry on earth. The end result was salvation, not just for this man, but for many others who would later read this testimony. Two chapters later, a friend of Jesus has just died despite the requests of Mary and Martha that He return to heal their brother, Lazarus. How could this happen? How could He delay His return and not heal the man that the bible describes as the "one He loved"? Jesus said "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." John 11:4 No one could deny the miracle, or fail to glorify God alone, when after four days, Lazarus was raised from the dead at Jesus' command! The situation had to be extremely dire before the awesomeness of His mighty power could be displayed. We must endure the hard times with faith and trust that in the end, we will suffer no harm. As long as God is glorified in the overcoming, the fight (and the bite) is worth it. Venus Laney is an inspirational writer, songwriter and singer. Whether through songs of praise or written word, her personal reflection and use of God's word is meant to glorify the King and draw the listener/reader closer to Him. Copyright 2008 www.venuslaney.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |