“…For Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually” (Job 1:5).
Have you ever cried, “stop thief!”? If so, it’s more likely something was stolen or taken from you. Or perhaps someone died, or something was destroyed or lost due to past mistakes. Well, the thief cannot gain access when you function in faith.
Let’s examine Job’s life. He received tremendous restoration in his life, but how did the thief get in, in the first place? Remember Job had everything – a whole lot of money, a beautiful family, fame, and to top it off, he was upright and perfect; he feared God, and avoided evil.
But Job lost everything; and verse five tells us how, “…For Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned….” Notice, this verse didn’t say his sons sinned. But everyday Job offered sacrifice unto God for his family, not because he believed God’s Word, but because of fear.
Fear activates Satan the same way faith activates God.
Think about that for a minute. Since Job was operating in fear, his hedge of protection was down. Fear was the reason why Satan was able to take everything from Job – his family, his money, and if that wasn’t bad enough, his health.
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes not, but for to steal, kill and destroy.” Satan is the thief. Some people think God gave Satan permission to do this to Job. No, Satan already had permission from Job. Satan is not omniscient, he doesn’t know anything unless you open your mouth and tell him. Job opened the door to the thief through fear.
Every single day he got up saying, maybe my kids have sinned, or maybe they messed up, maybe they did this or maybe they did that. Well, “maybe” is not a faith word.
Now God has to turn this thing around. When Job’s friends visited him and blamed God for Job’s condition, God said, “Not only have you spoken wrong about me, but you need to ask Job to pray for you.” God knows if Job changed his words, got back over in faith and focused on helping somebody else again, then he would be a prime candidate for restoration.
God wants to restore to you abundant life – your health, family, money – everything that the canker worm has stolen. But restoration must come by faith. Don’t allow the thief access through fear. Remember, stop the thief in your life by using faith words. And your faith will fully activate God in your life.
Scripture References: John 10:10; Romans 1:17; 2 Timothy 1:7
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Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).