FOR READING AND MEDITATION-
JOB 1&2
Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection. (Hebrews 11:35)
You see, many of our fathers in this same faith were tortured, yet they refused to accept deliverance. And why were they tortured in the first place? What was the term or condition for their deliverance from torture? Why did they even prefer to be tortured rather than accept deliverance from torture? You see, let me tell you, if you have not gotten to a level whereby you are tortured and afflicted, of which you are asked to pay homage to a certain god so that you can be set free, I tell you, you, you haven’t seen anything yet in your walk with God. You see, your faith will be exposed to this horrible experience. Hear me! For your faith to be purified, God would allow some afflictions and torture to get hold of you and their condition to set you free would be if you can worship devil. You see, you must value your worship so much before you get to this stage of your journey with God, or else, you won’t see any reason to hold on to your worship in the face of torture. Hear me! Whenever devil is beginning to ask for your worship in order to let you have a better life, I tell you, you are just beginning to experience the reality of your journey with God. What do you think that Satan was asking from Job before Job could be set free? I hope you know that it was his worship! If not, the Bible wouldn’t have written it like this in Job 2:9 “Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.” The demand of the devil is…… pay homage to me and live. Thank God for Job who actually knows the worth of a man’s worship. See what he did in refusal to the demand of the devil in Job 1:20 “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. Do you see that? He worshipped God, rather than worship the devil. He told the devil……. I will rather worship God than worship you. He simply refused to accept deliverance at the expense of his worship. Let me ask you…..”Why do you think that Job’s affliction extended to the second stage” Or you mean you don’t know that satan appeared to God twice on his demand to afflict Job? See satan’s first appearance, his demand and God’s permission here according to Job 1:12 “And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” At satan’s first permission, God allowed him to torture Job emotionally by taking away all that he has. You see, emotional torture is the first torture that devil would always want to use to cause you to willingly submit your worship. Emotional torture is simply the dealing of the devil with all that a man has which gives him joy. It is a serious affliction, I tell you. I have been there beloved. Except God have mercy on you, you would be shaken and lose your stand. Why do you think that the kidnappers would kidnap someone and ask his relatives to meet a demand for the release of the fellow? That is to simply use emotional torture to make them submit! You see, devil knows how many things God has done for you that is actually a joy to you. And if he really wants to torture you and cause you to come cringing before him, he’ll set traps for those things. Hear me! Emotional torture is one of the devil’s strategy to cause a man to give up his worship. That is why Jesus simply gave this condition as a criteria for becoming a disciple in Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” You see, who do you have than all these relatives and siblings? But Jesus knew the tactics of the devil in using emotional torture to cause a man to deny Him, so He says, you must come to a point where you should not be attached to anything that the devil can use to bring you to submission.
You must be careful of where exactly you place in your heart all that God has given you that are giving you joy. Don’t place any of them at the core of your heart! You see, when satan saw that Job refused to accept deliverance from emotional torture, he went back to God for his bodily torture. See it here in Job 2:4-6 “And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.” Real torture from the devil begins from emotion and advances to the body while real training by God begins from emotion and also span through the body. I hope you have read a thing like this in 1 Timothy 4:8 “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” Now, don’t just think that satan is just torturing Job without giving him an option for his deliverance. No! That is not the way of satan. You see, whenever satan is behind the predicament of a child of God or he is allowed to tempt a child of God, he will give a condition for deliverance from torture and that condition is often to worship him, which always be by going through his way to solve one’s problem. Beloved! Our fathers refused to accept deliverance from torture because of the exact demand from devil and that demand is nothing but their worship. You must value your worship beloved! Do you know why God is saying this to you? It is because, worship is the key to your resurrection to a better life…. “…..and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection. Hear me! Anyone who loses his worship in order to accept deliverance from torture would never obtain a better resurrection that only worship can bring. You must keep your worship for God at all cost. That is the only key for your better resurrection! Beloved, in what way are you being tortured, either emotionally or bodily because of your precious worship? I want you to know that the worth of your worship is greater than any torture you can can go through. Don’t ever accept deliverance from the torture of barrenness at the expense of your worship. Remember the severe consequences of deliverance from emotional torture that Abraham accepted from his wife. The world has not recovered from it till today and will never recover from it till Jesus comes. Don’t accept deliverance from that torture of singleness at the expense of your worship. Don’t accept deliverance from the torture of failure at the expense of your precious worship. I pray that God will give you His grace like He gave the Hebrew boys which grace actually aided their decision to refuse deliverance from the torture of fiery furnace, in Jesus name. It is well with you. God bless you.
Prayer: Oh God my Father, I ask for your grace to say no to every offer from the devil in an attempt to be delivered from whatever kind of toture I am going through, which is at the expense of my glorious worship, in Jesus’ name.