"In That Case"

"Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us:" (Psalms 124:3)

  You do know that there is really nothing that can harm you, if God does not allow it, right? This is about what could have been, if God were not for them; which is probably something that we are not that familiar with, or aren't we? I only wish I could say that it was so, but I cannot; and if I tried to tell you otherwise, I would be lying! Here is the point I see in this, 'could have been,' situation: there are trials that we face where it seems as though we have been caught off guard, almost as if the enemy has set a trap for us, and we have fallen for something by which we allowed ourselves to be a part of. This is really not that unusual, because it is really something that is so common, it is almost overlooked. First and foremost, we must remember that we are fighting a battle; whether you agree with it or not, there is a battle going on all around you, and the enemy of your soul is going to try and take you out. If I could, I would like to relate this message to a very familiar character from the Bible; someone that we all are very familiar with and can easily relate to: his name is Jonah. As many of you know, Jonah was prophet that did not want to do something that God had asked him to do. Not all that uncommon, if you really stop and think about it. How many times has God asked you to do something and you said no? Maybe not so direct, but in one way or another, you avoided the request or found an excuse to say, No. There are things in our daily lives that require a direction or choice; probably more instances then we could ever keep track of. In Jonah's case, his was one that involved offering some people that were wicked a chance to denounce their wickedness, and a chance to be saved from destruction. What might have stopped Jonah from doing what God asked him to do? This is the time when we start looking for the trap! If you don't know it by now, God loves people; He might hate what we do, but He loves all people, even those that are lost! If there is something going on in our heart that stops us from loving people, especially those that are lost, then their is something that is missing, from God, in our heart. If there is any way we can give 100% of anything, that 100% of anything is our pride, as in, we give it up! I cannot count all of the times I let pride get the best of me; and when I say best of me, I mean the part of me that is not me, but the Holy Spirit living in me. Anywho...

"When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with a voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land." (Jonah 2:7-10)