PROBLEM FREE LIVING?

Reference: Judges 3:1-2,4 These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. 2 He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle. . . . 4 These people were left to test the Israelites"to see whether they would obey the commands the Lord had given to their ancestors through Moses.

Observation: I think we all have sometimes wondered; "Why doesn't God just remove the problems from my life and make it easier for me?" This scripture suggests an answer. God does not want us just to be survivors but to be overcomers, not observers but soldiers. He wants us to fight against the forces of evil that will destroy this world if we let them. If those same forces are messing with our lives, personally, we are more likely to fight them because it costs us something not to.

The other reason is that God knows our tendency to fall back into our old habits and ways of life when the pressure is off. Dealing with problems and challenges keeps us on our toes and on our knees in prayer. God wants us to be totally dependant on Hima and keeping problems in our lives reminds us to live in that state of dependancy.

Application/Confession: I want a life that is problem free. I really do!! What I can see here is that if I want that kind of life I have to learn to battle and to stay close to God. Then He can trust me with fewer problems and an easier life.

PRAYER: Thank you for my problems, challenges and difficulties. They remind me to stay in the battle. Teach me to never stop fighting and never stop depending on You.