" SATAN IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF OUR TROUBLES"

Good Evening to All!

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
(2 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV)

To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me. (GNT)

I don't know about y'all, but when things happen to me, I start looking for something or someone to blame. At least I used to. God is definitely working on me for that shortcoming. Anyway, used to, every time something would go wrong, I would automatically think, "the devil's working overtime on me this week", OR, I would think well, such and such didn't go my way, so it must not be God's will.

I am finally maturing in Christ enough to realize that first of all Satan is not the only obstacle in this world. We can be our own worst enemy. We get in our own way of getting things done, and we put limits on God's ability to help us. Not to mention that sometimes things happen because "life goes on". We tend to forget that we have free will, which means not only can we make our own decisions, we have the choice between right and wrong decisions. Most of the time, if we do not include God in our decision making, something will go haywire.

A lot of times what life throws at us, or what Satan may throw in our way meaning to trip us up and dampen our faith, will only make our faith stronger. If we will give God a chance, whatever Satan or life throws at us, to mess us up, God can used to make us better, and stronger in our character, and faith.

Jesus said Because you belong to me, your pain is not meaningless or random. It is purposeful. I intend to use it in your life for my own good purpose. This kind of reminds me of Romans 8:28 which says And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

A wonderful example is when Jospeh's brothers sold him into slavery. They meant it for evil, yet look what God did! He gave Joseph a wonderful life growing up, and gave him a position of prestige in adulthood.

The essence of faith is being confident in what you can's see. You might not be able to see how or when He is using your suffering for good, but you can still be confident that He will.

Instead of being so focused on who is to blame, we need to begin focusing on welcoming God to work and use the suffering our our lives to keep us from sin.

Good night to All and May God Bless!