Dearly beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many of our lives are afflicted with agony and sufferings. Jeremiah says, “O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me...” (Jer. 4:19). Job says, “... I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.” (Job 7:11). We read about the woman who was afflicted with bleeding for 12 years and the resultant sorrows and loss of wealth. She received her miraculous healing. What is impossible with man is possible with God. Today some people commit suicide in times of struggles not able to face the situation. Some others take wrong decisions in wrong ways and spoil their lives.
REASONS FOR AFFLICTIONS
1. Disobedience
“To the woman He said:“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children...” Genesis 3:16.
Suffering is a curse to mankind. Disobeying the word of the Lord in the life of Eve made way for this suffering. She went near the forbidden tree that was at the centre of the garden. In our life also if we go near such forbidden places, we would sin and come under curse. She listened to the voice of Satan and took the wrong decision. She had never tasted it. Yet she thought it was good. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6). As a result, they lost the glory of the Lord. They lost the image of the Lord shrouded in garment of light. They became children of darkness. They observed that they were naked. We must have the clear sense to discern the plot of the enemy. They heard the voice of the Lord and yet hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. Because of their disobedience, there came into this world curse, death and affliction. Having lost the good relationship with the Lord, they had to labour hard, sweating to earn their living. Life became miserable. Eve lost the presence of God because of her sinful act and came under curse. They were sent away from the presence of God. Man who was formed from the soil had to plough it and maintain it.
Dear Brother / sister, never disregard the word of the Lord in your life. His words have a lot of power. His words are like fire and can bring down a hill. His words can heal and rescue us from destruction. The words of the Lord guide us, comfort us, and lead us to blessings. So let us be careful never to disregard them and be blessed.
2. Fear
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18
Today we see people living in different types of fear – the fear of death, the fear about the future in the midst of financial struggles, the fear of separation in the family, the fear of uncertainty and the like.
Once a snake sneaked into the house of one woman. On seeing it she fainted and fell down. Even though it was a long snake, the people of the house killed it. The woman who fell down had to undergo an operation in the brain for some weakness. We sing that we will not fear; yet in trivial cases we do fear. Parents are afraid about their children till they come back from school. This fear takes away all our faith. As we fear, we are not able to do what we have to do in the Lord.
3. Slavishness
“And the LORD said: “I have surely seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.” Exodus 3:7.
Slavery itself means lack of freedom. You cannot do what you desire. You have to listen to the one under whom you are in captivity and carry out his desires. This is a miserable life of yearning.
Some are subjected to certain evil habits and practices which rule over them. They cannot themselves put a full stop to those practices. They are under bondage to several such practices – seeing films, smoking, drinking, singing cine songs and other traditional practices. They are not able to use their talents for the purposes of the Lord, for the ministry and the name of the Lord. They destroy themselves without sense.
We have to guard ourselves from such evil practices which spoil our thinking. Some visit pornographic sites in internet and use their computer for viewing seductive films and thus spoil their holiness at heart and subsequently yield to fleshy desires. Ultimately they meet their end.
Dear child of God, you should be diligent and guard your spirit, soul and body.
4. Satan
“And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed” Matthew 15:22.
In life we do discern the evil force at work against us. The force has been active from the beginning of mankind. This is described as the dragon, “that serpent of old, called the Devil or Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). It causes certain grave diseases and also tempt us to do certain wrong things. Because of its attack, man loses peace and happiness and lives a bitter life. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “... your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Hence we should be sober and vigilant. To resist the devil we should be steadfast in faith with the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. We should test his suggestions in the light of the scriptures and stand against evil temptations. Jesus Christ overcame him with the word of God discerning his evil designs and never submitted Himself to his suggestions. Let us be holy with the fear of the Lord and live a life pleasing to the Lord and enjoy the fullness of life in Christ.
5. Forgetting the Lord
“Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings; In the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap of ruins in the day of grief and desperate sorrow.” Isaiah 17:10,11.
Today we see so many people forgetting the Lord who made them and face defeats and disappointments in life and ask why there is no blessing in their lives. Peter laboured all night depending on his skills, knowledge and experience but caught no fish that day. Jesus Christ boarded his boat and gave him advice. When he obeyed His suggestion, he had success in his trade. He caught so much of fish that his net might break. His boat was filled with fish and he called his friend and his boat too was filled with fish.
This same Peter not knowing anything about the risen Lord went again for fishing. He forgot all that the Lord had told him about his resurrection. He backslid and went back to his profession of fishing. The other disciples also accompanied him. But that night they could not catch anything. The disciples had seen several miracles but forgot the words of Jesus Christ. They were in defeat and sorrow.
Dear Brother/ Sister, for your life to be successful, keep your Strength and Rock the Lord before you and never forget Him. Only He will give you victory. He will make things prosper in your hands. You will have a good life without any suffering.
6. The Desire of Money
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” 1 Timothy 6:10.
Some people are drawn towards the desire of money and do evil things to amass wealth. This desire leads them to rob, murder, and covet the properties of others and indulge in all evil practices. There are people who give their money for high interest to poor needy people to increase their wealth.
Once a man who had no children at the time of his mother’s funeral made his two sisters sign certain documents for borrowing money to meet the funeral expenses and took the properties unto himself. This is only because of the love of money.
In the Bible we read about Achan who took “some of the accursed things” - “a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels” - and put it among his own stuff in the midst of his tent. As a result, the Israelites were defeated. When he was found to be the culprit, all his belongings were taken to the Valley of Achor where he was stoned to death and burned (Joshua 7).
Dear child of God, the desire of money is harmful and brings curse. Let us commit ourselves to hate it and to live a life pleasing to the Lord.
7. Being in Hell
“And being in torments in Hades...” Luke 16:23.
In the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the rich man lived a luxurious life quite unmindful of the poor Lazarus at his doorstep. On an occasion when a rich man came after Jesus Christ and enquired Him what he should do to inherit eternal life, Jesus Christ told him to sell his wealth and give it to the poor. This rich man had no mind to feed the needy Lazarus and so spent his eternity in hell. In hell there is fire. It is a place created for Satan and his angels. Not to reach this place, let us be filled with love for others and good qualities.
HOW TO BE DELIVERED
1. By the Lord
“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.” Ezekiel 34:25.
Beasts would spoil the life and peace of man. Paul asks, “If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? ...” (1 Cor. 15:32). Titus 1:12 says, “One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” In Ezekiel 14:21 it is written, “For thus says the Lord GOD: “How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem — the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence — to cut off man and beast from it?” Again in Ezekiel 14:15 the Lord says, “If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts,” and again in Ezekiel 5:17 it is written, “So I will send against you famine and wild beasts, and they will bereave you. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.’ “ In Leviticus the Lord warns, “I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few in number; and your highways shall be desolate” (Lev. 26:22). David mentions about several animals in Psalm 22: 12-14: “Many bulls have surrounded Me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me. They gape at Me with their mouths, Like a raging and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.”
Beasts denote evil forces that act against us. In 1 Peter 5:8, it is written: “... your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Thus the qualities of the devil are expressed in terms of wild beasts. They act against us. Dogs denote witchcraft done against us. So David pleads, “Deliver Me from the sword, My precious life from the power of the dog” (Psalm 22:20). Further, Paul warns, “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!” (Phil. 3:2).
Once an agonising thing happened in the family of a single daughter. She told her mother several times that she saw in dreams a bull chasing her. The mother did not understand the meaning of the dream. One day, the daughter told her parents that she was going to take bath and went to commit suicide. As they did not recognize that the bull of the dream meant the devil’s attack on her, they lost their child. The Lord says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...” (Hosea 4:6).
Dear child of God, when we use the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, against such evil spirits which manifest in the form of beasts, we are saved from them. We can live in peace.
2. By Faith
“And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” Mark 5:34.
Jesus Christ said these words to the woman who suffered for 12 long years in bleeding. She had spent all that she had for medical treatment. At this stage, she heard about Jesus Christ. Hearing made her have faith in Him. She decided that if only she could touch the garment of Jesus, she would be healed. So she followed Jesus in the midst of the crowd and touched His garments. Immediately she was healed of the affliction. Then Jesus Christ, knowing that the power of healing had flowed from Him, asked, “Who touched My clothes?” She was taken aback and fell at the feet of Jesus Christ and narrated the truth. Then Jesus told her, “Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” She came to Jesus Christ with faith and received healing.
3. By Fervent Prayer
“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now I will arise,” says the LORD; “ I will set him in the safety for which he yearns” Psalm 12:5.
Fervent prayer with sighing is very effective. The Lord listened to the prayer of sighing of the Israelites in captivity in Egypt. Exodus 2:24 says, “So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.” God says so in Exodus 6:5, “And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.” In Romans 8:28 it is written: “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered.” It is a way of prayer. When you pray so, the Lord will wage wars for you against the adversary and help you.
4. By Serving the Lord
‘Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, “let the LORD be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” Psalm 35:27.
As we work for the Lord and do His ministry, He calls us His servant. The Lord Jesus Christ is more concerned than the centurion for his servant. When you loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke, share your bread with the hungry, bring to your house the poor who are cast out, cover the naked, and not hide yourself from your own flesh, “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard” (Isaiah 58:8). You will thus be blessed.
The Lord who seeks a good life for you remains the same yesterday, today and forever. As written in the scriptures, He gives us a healthy life and blesses us.
May the Lord bless us!
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.