That's Called Growing...

"But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3

As I read this verse today, I thought, man, that's called growing! He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one- each trial we go through is a means of strengthening- of growing. Each time we come out the other end victorious, we've grown and added some spiritual muscle. And God most certainly does protect us. He will never allow the devil to test us more than we can handle. God knows us, and knows what we can take and what will cause us to break. Job is an excellent example of this. God knew Job, he knew his servant's heart, and knew that everything could be taken away from the man, and he would still love God.

"Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."

12 The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Job 1:8-12

Job completely lost everything. He lost his children, his wife, his riches, his home, his land, his livestock, his friends, absolutely everything. Yet he still loved God. He lost absolutely everything, he had nothing, but he obeyed his God and in the end, God restored to him everything. God gave him back everything- and then some. God did not allow Job to be tested beyond what he could handle.

"The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. 15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so he died, old and full of years." Job 42:12-17

God will protect us and will strengthen us so that we can defeat the enemy. After all, that is one of our purposes here on earth. To love our God with all heart and soul, and to defeat the enemy. Because we know the end...and in the end, the enemy loses, and God wins. I want to be on the winning team, so the strength training is necessary- often unpleasant, but still necessary. Just as real strength training for sports brings pain and discomfort- often injury. Yet, it takes dedication and sacrifice. And if we can be willing to go through all that for a game...for a conflict in sport. How much more should we be willing to dedicate and sacrifice for our God?