“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “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. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” [Job 1:9-11 (NIV)]
You’ve probably heard people pray for a hedge of protection around friends or family members. Is it an impenetrable bubble that keeps tragedy and trouble at bay or a substance that acts like kryptonite against Satan and protects us from his temptations and deceit?
In Biblical days, hedges of loosely packed stones or thorny bushes were built around livestock and crops to protect them from wild animals and thieves. A hedge in Scripture often represented God’s protective care and we find mention of such a hedge in the book of Job. A wealthy and godly man, Job’s righteousness was challenged by Satan. Questioning the motivation for Job’s blameless behavior, Satan complained that God put a hedge of protection around the man and all his possessions. Wanting to prove that Job only worshiped God because of the blessings he’d received, Satan suggested that once God removed the hedge and Job’s blessings disappeared, rather than worshiping God, the man would curse God to His face! When Job loses his ten children and their families, his workers, his livestock and wealth, and then his health, it becomes clear that no hedge protected him from tragedy.
Satan, however, was wrong about Job cursing God! His righteousness and integrity weren’t because of God’s gifts. Job worshiped God out of love and not as payment for the blessings of health, wealth, and family. Although the afflicted man questioned God’s reasons while trying to sort out his dilemma, he never cursed Him. A hedge didn’t make Job invincible to Satan’s ploy; it was his faith!
Today, COVID-19 is putting us all to the test and, like Job, we find life incomprehensible. Job didn’t know the why of his troubles and we’ll never the why of this pandemic but, like Job, we know who is in charge! Satan thought people believe in God only when they’re prospering under a hedge of protection, not when they suffer loss, pain, or defeat. Are we fair weather believers and only willing to follow God if the road is filled with blessings? Or, like Job, will we stay faithful while experiencing the devastation this disease will leave in its wake? Much will be lost before the crisis passes and it probably won’t be returned two-fold as it was for Job—at least not in this world! Let us rest assured: full restoration will occur in the life to come.
Rather than building a hedge of protection out of rocks or thorny shrubs, let us erect one out of our unshakable faith in a loving God and our confidence that His ultimate purpose will come to pass. While social distancing, sheltering in place, and washing our hands may serve to protect us from this virus, only the armor of God will protect us from Satan!
Anyone can rejoice when things are going reasonably well. But when we’re facing adversity or sickness or hardship or death and then we rejoice, we are obeying God. God is on his throne. He loves you and is watching out for you. So rejoice in the Lord. [Greg Laurie]
God makes a huge dome for the sun—a superdome! The morning sun’s a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed, The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape. That’s how God’s Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith. [Psalm 19:4-6 (MSG)]
This, you see, is how much God loved the world: enough to give his only, special son, so that everyone who believes in him should not be lost but should share in the life of God’s new age. [John 3:16 (NTE)]
Jairus, the leader of the local synagogue, fell at Jesus’ feet. Telling Jesus his daughter was dying, Jairus begged Him to lay hands on her so she could be healed. Jesus went with him but, when He stopped to heal the woman with a blood disorder, news arrived that the girl was dead. Telling the distraught father not to be afraid and to keep believing, Jesus and Jairus continued on their way. Jairus had believed Jesus could heal his daughter; did he also believe Jesus could do something about her death?
When my “Weekly Wisdom” email reminded me that time is the price we must pay for intimacy with God, I thought of Cindy. A recent widow struggling to make sense of her new normal, Cindy wanted a closer relationship with God, but wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. Rather than reciting the same prayers over and over again, she wanted to sit down and talk to Him, as she would with a good friend.
Although I’ve prayed while folding laundry and washing dishes, it seemed almost sacrilegious to combine prayer with an electric toothbrush and Crest! Nevertheless, after asking, “What would happen if we all pray twice a day for peace?” my next “Abundance” assignment was to pray for peace while brushing my teeth!
