Beloved in Christ,
I greet you in the sweet name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Let us thank the Lord for having protected us all along, who have entered this New Year, as the apple of the eye.
We see harm coming over people in so many ways. It is in the form of natural calamities, acts of violence due to hatred, diseases, sins, accidents, etc. We read about such incidents in newspapers; we watch them telecasted on TVs. The Lord Jesus Christ has given us a promise. A part of it is “nothing shall by any means hurt you.” This includes so many things – being hurt by physical loss of life or property; or financial loss in investment in business or agriculture; or material loss; or by loss of peace in the soul; and so on. Such losses result in sorrows and tears. Some become orphans and do not know what to do. I know a family in which a five-year old daughter and a seven-year old son become orphans due to a vehicle accident. Such painful situations torment us.
Once we met a small girl in Sri Lanka. There were many wounds in her body. She told us that the wounds were due to bomb blast. She was singing a song and dancing to its tune. She didn’t even realize that she was an orphan. We could understand the disasters of war.
Hurting things can happen when we are engaged in doing something creative and beautiful, in constructing a building, or in making gold jewelry. Physical hurt of some of the organs of the body may lead to death. In printing, if the imprint is not good, the paper is lost.
Some, instead of living with faith and good conscience, cause harm to the ship of faith by disregarding faith. When there is no faith in one’s life, doubts and torture result.
We feel hurt and wounded in so many situations and have sorrows and tears. Some even take the wrong decision to commit suicide. Some yearn for death being disgusted with this life. Some lose their mental stability and balance and develop psychiatric problems unto themselves. But the Lord Jesus Christ does not want anyone to live this way. He can lead you to a life in which there are no hurt feelings. He will give you the strength and strong heart to overcome trying circumstances.
Reasons for Being Hurt in Life
1.By Sinning Against the Lord
“But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul ...” Proverbs 8:36
The sins of man are widely varied. The Bible calls them in different ways. Some are called iniquities; some deceit in the soul; some transgression. Read Psalm 32:1,2. The Lord does not regard the transgressions of some people but covers them. Some sins are done in the heart. Jesus Christ says, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). Knowing that he had sin in his thoughts, David pleaded for the forgiveness of his sins. In Psalm 51:4, he confesses, “Against You, You only, have I sinned…”
When Joseph was tempted, he did not give in but said, “How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9). Moses was annoyed and said, “And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the LORD your God — had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you” (Deut. 9:16). So saying he threw the two tablets of the covenant and broke them.
It is said in 1 Samuel 2:12, “Now the sons of Eli were corrupt; they did not know the LORD.” “Therefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.” They took by force the portion they needed. Not only that, “they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.” So Eli questioned his sons and warned them saying, “If one man sins against another, God will judge him. But if a man sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him?” But they did not heed the voice of their father, and therefore the LORD desired to kill them. So curse came upon the family and on their descendants. “And there shall not be an old man in your house forever. But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age.” (1 Sam 2:12-17;22-36)
They who sin against the Lord harm their very soul.
2. By Shunning the Warning of the Lord
“Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.” Acts 27:10
The warning came from Paul to the centurion against making the voyage. But his suggestion was disregarded and he accepted the suggestion of the owner of the ship, believing his words. Everything worked well towards their journey. But after some time, there was a terrible tempest. God is not like man to tell a lie. They could not proceed in the direction they wanted to. Then they did not know what to do. They had to struggle in the voyage. They lost all their hope. At this stage, Paul guided them giving them hope to eat and be strengthened to face the situation. They brought the ship to a halt by striking against the ground. The prow was struck and immovable. But the stem was broken by the violence of the waves. (Acts 27:9:41)
Once, a brother came to me before taking up a journey to a foreign country for a job and requested me very kindly to pray for him. In the prayer I revealed that he would come back and that he would have to travel even in a lorry in that country. As the man had made all the arrangements for the journey, he undertook the journey. In the end, it proved to be a struggle and lost a lot of money and was depressed.
In your life if you accept the word of the Lord, He will lead us daily and do miracles to have a life of prosperity. It is better not to go for advice than asking for advice and not heeding it. One of the names of our Lord is Counsellor. He would counsel us in all things, big or small. We will gain by it and be happy.
Many do not heed to advice and are confronted by death. This I have seen in my life. One person asked me to pray for a vehicle. I counseled him not to buy it. He said that he would sell it in a few days. But in a few weeks he met with an accident and died. It was total destruction. As said, they set aside the counsel to their own harm. There are so many people who disregard the counsel of the Lord and meet with destruction and damages.
3. By the Work of the Devil
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
It is the work of the devil to cause destruction against us. He would destroy all that we do. Once, an engineer resigned his job and started supplying meals to a canteen in a factory known to him. In a short time, the business developed and flourished. Everybody started praising his enterprise. At this stage, another man also started the same business parting from him out of jealousy. Now there cropped up a number of problems in the industry of the man who started first. In the meals supplied, there were seen cockroaches and lizards. He could not understand. Everything was done in a clean environment. Yet such things happened. Then he realized that it was the work of the devil.
Today the number of people engaged in bringing about disaster or harm through the use of evil forces has increased phenomenally. This is done out of jealousy and competition. There are those who blame the inauspicious timing of events or the position of stars or the inscription on their heads (fate), the bad patch of time in their lives, the entry of persons newly married into the family or curse and seek peace through propitiation of certain evil forces. They sometimes indulge in guessing out those who should have done it and do something against them using these evil forces.
We can see people bringing about evil effects using evil spirits.
4.By Natural Calamities
“….And suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” Job 1:19
Because of natural calamities, thousands of people die. The devastating effects of earthquakes, hurricanes, and floods are horrible. A family well versed in swimming went to a river to take bath not knowing that there was quicksand. They were all trapped and had a tragic end.
I know one of my own relatives who knew swimming. He was drifted away by the current of the seawater and met with a dreadful death. At times of floods all the crops are washed away and the farmers struggle. Thus loss of material and life are caused by natural calamities.
How to Inherit the Blessing of the Promise of No Harm?
1. Believers Obeying the Commandment of the Lord
“…They will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Mark 16:18
In the lives of those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He gave His life on the cross for our sake, that the sins are washed by His blood, that He did rise from death and that He would come again to earth to judge the quick and the dead, nothing pertaining to death shall harm them.
How is your faith in the Lord? When it is full you can see the wonders of the Lord. As the trust increases, no harm shall prosper against you. Three young Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, were appointed to manage the affairs of the Babylonian kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar had put up a statue at the plains of Dura and had issued a decree that all should worship it. The Chaldeans came to the king and accused that the Jews failed to do so – “these men, O king, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up” (Daniel 3:12). The King became furious. He asked them to bring them before him. The king said, “Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” They replied, “If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” The king ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more. They were bound and cast into the fiery furnace. The presence of the Lord came in their midst and was seen walking in the form of the Son of God. The king was astonished. He rose in haste and went near the furnace and asked the three “servants of the Most High God” to come out. They saw that on their bodies “the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.”
Yes, when you have total trust in the Lord, no harm will be caused to you.
2. Look Unto the Lord
“The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.” Psalm 121:6
In our lives we seek worldly pleasures and positions only. When a man trusts in the never changing power of the Lord to help him at all times and looks to Him for help, the Lord will help him. He will be saved from all disasters. David knew that the Lord was powerful to help him at all times and always looked to Him for help. He says in Psalm 34:5, “They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces were not ashamed.”
Today He shall lift us out of all trying circumstances by His powerful hand. We will be saved from all dangers. If you look to other places, you will meet with defeats and disaster. Look to the creator of heaven and earth, from where your help will come. You will be saved from destruction and harm. Once, I found myself in a situation at a check post where I had to pay a large sum of money as penalty. I looked to the Lord Jesus Christ for help. The officer who knew me enthusiastically sent us off. In your life also, look to the Lord for living without any harm or loss.
3. Life of Witnessing
“My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Daniel 6:22
Dear child of God, there are people remaining with us and working against us to accuse us in some way so that harm may come to us and thus they may want to do away with us as ineffective helpless people. If we live like Daniel leading a witnessing life, the name of the Lord will be glorified. We will also live without any harm being done to us in all situations. Some do not live so before God and men, and as a result are greatly troubled.
The risen Lord Jesus Christ asked His disciples to wait at Jerusalem. He asked them to be filled with the Holy Spirit and be strengthened to go into the world and to live as witnesses. In John 15:27, He exhorts His disciples, “And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
In this life, do we possess the characteristic qualities of Jesus Christ reflected? In Isaiah 43:12, He says, “I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses,” Says the LORD, “that I am God.” Daniel led a witnessing life in the place he worked and also before God. So God exalted him. Is your witnessing life powerful enough to draw others to Christ and change them? The witnessing life of a wife transformed her husband, a drunkard, into a singer for the Lord. The long patience of the sister, and her love made him accept Jesus Christ.
4. Life of Faith
“But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god” Acts 28:5,6
When Paul reached the shores of Malta, it was rainy season and was quite cold. So they made fire to make themselves warm. As he gathered a bundle of stick and put it into fire, a viper clung to his hand. Paul just shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. “No evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling…” (Ps. 91:10). He will protect His children as the apple of the eye.
Once, the bite of a snake caused problems for a long time to a servant of the Lord. They prayed and he was healed. Similarly, a small boy was bitten by a snake and was admitted to a hospital. He was vomiting blood. Many servants of God prayed for him. He recovered. No harm came to him. The Lord Jesus Christ will annihilate all the works of the enemy against and will remain your support.
5. The Authority of the Lord
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Luke 10:19
Jesus Christ has the power to protect those who have the authority of the Lord from all harm. When you are filled with the power of the Lord, no harm shall happen to you from the devil. Today let us accept the name of the Lord and walk in His ways. Let the Lord bless us with His grace which heals.
May the Lord bless us all!
In the service of Christ Jesus,
Bro. C. Ebenezer Paul.