LIVING ABOVE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

By: Pastor Emmanuel Mkubwa. 

Scripture Ref: II Corinthians 1:1-10

Satan is out to destroy us. He creates havoc in the circumstances in our lives by bringing sickness and diseases upon our bodies, attacking our children and loved ones, causing strife in marriages, binding our finances, creating problems on our jobs, businesses and places of work so that we may lose faith in God. He gets hold of our minds thru’ fear, worry and doubt until one is unable to release their faith and walk in the victory God has provided for us.

Satan’s strategy is simply to steal, kill and destroy according to John 10:10a.

Even though Satan tries to use circumstances to defeat us, we need to understand as Christians that the word of God tells us in Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon that’s fashioned against you shall prosper”. 1 John 4:4 “Greater is he that is in you than he that’s in the world”. God has planned for us to have complete and lasting victory during our greatest trials. As a matter of fact, God never said we would never know pain, sickness, never face persecution or suffer hardships.

Romans 8:18, 31, 35-39 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

II Corinthians 4:8-9 “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed”.

Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all”.

II Timothy 3:12 “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world”.

Our faith in God must be tried but He has promised us total victory.

Story of Job

Job was tries in both the NATURAL (materialistic, human, flesh and blood) and SPIRIT world. The greatest trial was the spiritual world, the world of his faith. In chapter 40:8 Job condemns God for His actions to justify himself. Job got his eyes off God and on the circumstances. God dealt with him, he repented and God was free to move on his behalf. Repentance was the key to release God’s blessings once more upon his life.

Job 42:10-13 “And the Lord turned the captivity of Job and restored his fortunes, when he prayed for his friends; also the Lord gave him twice as much as he had before. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning”.

Acts 16:16-26 Paul & Silas are falsely accused.

Daniel 3:1-25 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow to the golden image.

Daniel 6 Daniel is thrown in the lion’s den because of standing for righteousness.

Our circumstances are God’s opportunities to show Himself strong and mighty. When we go through the valley of the shadow of death, He’s promised in Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.

KEYS THAT WILL ENABLE US TO FACE EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE SATAN BRINGS OUR WAY.

1. God’s ultimate purpose is to do us good. Jeremiah 29:11; 32:40-42
2. God is in control of your circumstance. Luke 22:31 Satan can’t touch you or your possession without God’s permission.
3. God places a limit upon the circumstances Satan can bring into our lives.

         I Cor 10:13. God knows our strengths and weaknesses and how much each                       

         one of us can bear.

4. Every circumstance that God allows Satan to bring into your life comes the provision for total victory. Gen 37 Joseph’s life….was betrayed and sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife and put in prison. At the end, God gives him victory.