Читать книгу Recover Your Losses By The Power Of God - Peter I. O - Страница 8

Two little boys of about ten years old were playing football on the street. Suddenly, the ball fell inside a hole that contains water in it. The little boys tried to get the ball out of the hole with a stick, but all their efforts proved abortive because the water in the hole keeps making the ball to revolve instead of coming out of the hole. When the little boys could not get the ball out of the hole, they sat on the ground and began to cry. While they were crying, a passerby stopped and compassionately asked them why they were crying. The little boys narrated to the man how their ball fell inside the hole, and they could not get it out of the hole despite all their efforts. Upon hearing the cause of their sorrows, the passerby took a long stick, brought out the ball from the hole, and handed it over to them. When the little boys saw the ball, they stood up and began to rejoice, and immediately resumed their play. The joy and happiness of the little boys were restored when they recovered the ball they lost.

This is exactly what happens when we recover what Satan has stolen from us.

Loss is painful, but Recovery is gainful and joyful. The height of loss which Satan has caused the affairs of humanity have reached the Almighty God in heaven. God in His infinite mercy and supremacy has seen the need to intervene in the affairs of humankind for total recovering and restoration of whatsoever the Devil has stolen from the people. Many people think and believe that the perpetration of stealing, which happens to be the major work of the Devil, ended after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, that is not the truth. Satan made the majority of people in the world believe this lies so that he can keep them in total ignorance of his evil devices. It is clearly stated in the Bible that Satan takes advantage of those who are ignorant of his evil works and activities.

“Lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11).

Apostle Paul understood the dangers of being unknowledgeable about the schemes of Satan, and he ensured he defeated the plans of the Devil by being spiritually alert and physically vigilant. There is nothing like "Satan or Demon emeritus”. Satan and his cohorts did not retire; neither did they relent after the triumphant of Jesus Christ over them at the cross of Calvary. Instead, Satan reinforced and regrouped with his spiritual and physical agents to unleash more afflictions and troubles against the creatures and children of God. Therefore, we need to be spiritually sensitive concerning the proceedings of our efforts in life, to ensure that the dockets of Satan do not limit us in any way. Indeed, Jesus Christ has defeated the Devil forever through His death and resurrection. But while the earth remains, Satan still believes he can cause great harm to humanity, and lead many people to Hell before his final damnation.

Jesus Christ admonished and encouraged us to hold firm what we have, lest we lose them (Revelation 2:25, Revelation 3:11). As long as the Devil exists and still performs his evil works and activities, someone can lose what he or she has if it is not firmly held in Christ Jesus. One of the necessary things we need in our lives is to recover the things we lost both in the physical and spiritual. This is because, one of the major works of the Devil (the adversary of the children of God), is to steal the good things that God is releasing to His children. Every creature of God depends on God for supernatural supplies, and God generously provides for all His creatures daily.

The Bible says in Psalms 68:19; "Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits". And in Psalms 19:1-2 the Bible also says,

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork, day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge."

It is the will of God that we achieve profit and have sufficient benefits in every good and godly thing we do in life. In Matthew 6:11, Jesus Christ admonished us to ask for daily bread during our prayers; "Give us this day our daily bread." Our “daily bread” means our daily needs. Jesus said so because God is always willing and ready to supply our needs. God takes care of His creatures; He feeds us, cloths us, provides for us, gives us wisdom, reveals knowledge to us, and also protects our lives and belongings. Isn't it amazing that God does all these things for us? Unfortunately, these daily blessings and benefits elude many people, while the majority of people lose these benefits even after they have received them.

In the book of John chapter ten, verse ten, the Bible says, "The thief does not come except to steal and to kill, and to destroy."

There are specific facts about thieves that we should know;

1) A thief comes without notification.

2) A thief comes to rob you of your goods and belongings.

3) A thief can do anything to get what he wants, even if it means killing someone.

4) A thief is cruel and wicked.

5) A thief sees stealing as a business and not an act of evil.

6) A thief comes each time he noticed that something good has come into someone's life.

7) A thief is not mindful of your loss. He is mindful of his gain. Etc.

These ungodly characteristics of a thief or thieves should call for your attention, and equally awaken you into realizing the damages the Devil might have done in the lives of many people, and the destructions he may still cause if you slumber in sleep and merry in relaxation without praying down the mighty hand of God to put an end to these evil operations of the Devil.

It is the nature of Satan to steal. If he succeeds in stealing, it becomes easier for him to kill and destroy. This menace of Satan and his cohorts have reduced the potency of the virtues which God deposited in the lives of His people, and also render the destiny of many people useless. Satan has robbed many people of their salvation, gifts, talents, marriages, jobs, businesses, properties, and even their lives. It is not by accident that someone who used to be good, suddenly becomes evil. There is a high rate of divorce in the world today because the Devil has stolen the love of many marriages. Many spiritually active people suddenly became spiritually down because Satan has stolen their spiritual strength and effectiveness. God thinks and plans good for us, and He is always good to His creatures. But Satan vowed to steal and destroy this divine generosity given to humanity, and he is determined to continue these wicked acts with great aggravation. Therefore, you must be mindful of whatsoever the Devil has stolen from you and quickly seek recovery through divine intervention. Jesus Christ has purchased the redemption and restoration power for us. Therefore, we have to make of this divine power effectively in active exercises, both in prayer and works to enable us to recover all that we have lost.

No one enjoys losing something good. A pregnant woman is never happy when she experiences a miscarriage during pregnancy or loses her child after birth. Businessmen and women feel so sad whenever they fail in any business venture. In sports, no team feels happy whenever they lose a match or tournament to their opponent. In Luke 8:43-48, the Bible recorded the story of a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years. Because of her painful condition, she was so restless and unhappy that she had to sneak through the crowd and touched the hem of the garment of Jesus Christ so she could be healed and be free from her infirmities. The question here is, "Why did this woman take such drastic decision, even when she knew she could be rebuked by the people around Jesus Christ, and her action could be seen as encroachment?” The truth is that this woman had lost so much in life, and she didn’t want to continue loosing. In the past twelve years, she had lost so much blood, so much money, many friends and relatives. These are quite enough for someone to be distressed about, and that was how much virtues and blessings Satan stole from this woman before she encountered Jesus Christ.

Generally, we set goals and targets virtually in everything we do in life, and whenever we experience loss instead of gain, we feel so sad. The Bible says that "God loads us with daily benefits." We are destined to be the beneficiaries of God's goodness and not losers in any of our good and godly quests. We are encouraged to make more efforts when our works yield profit. But when we keep losing and losing despite our commitments towards our goals and visions, it makes one feel like quitting even when the future is very bright. Satan understood how frustrating it could be to lose what you suppose to get, that is why he chose "stealing" as one of his major schemes, and he is wickedly executing this evil plans in the lives of many people without any thought to relent.

The hope we have irrespective of what we have lost in life is that we have the potent power of God and also reserve the right to recover the things we have lost, no matter how far, how big, and how expensive it may be. God is still in the business of recovery and restoration, even unto the end of the earth. If you have lost any precious thing and it looks as if you won’t succeed in life, don't be down-casted, there is hope for you.