God Gives Us Amazing Days To Prepare Us For The Bad Days From Satan

Do you ever have those great days that are followed by life punching you directly in the face? You have a great weekend and then on Monday your car breaks down, or you go to a weekend-long conference that was beyond amazing and then on Monday everything seems to go wrong? I think things like this happen to everyone. It just happened to me last week; we had a youth event at church that was beyond amazing and God really moved and did some cool things. My Friday and Saturday were beyond amazing, but come Sunday after church, Satan was trying to knock me down as hard as he could. Sunday sucked and was beyond a struggle, but at the end of the day God had given me two amazing days before which prepared me for Sunday. Satan wanted me to get mad and be angry and forget about all God did in the past two days, but it didn't work in his favor. If it wouldn't have been for Friday and Saturday, I don't know what kind of wreck I would have been on Sunday. God is good and has the most perfect timing and I was reminded of that on Sunday. Satan is going to try to tear you down, especially after you have been built up by God, but God is good and gives us strength and hope for days that feel like the worst and longest days. The days following the really good ones where God really did something awesome, where God refreshed and renewed you, those are the days when Satan will fight extremely hard to make you who you were before, to make it seem like nothing even happened during those days. When Satan comes at you on the days following those great days, remind him what happened during those days prior and remind him who you serve. Remind him that he can fight as much as he wants to, but you're on the side that has already won. Don't let Satan ruin something God gave you. The day may be difficult, but another day is coming and that day will be better.

Waiting

You know what sucks? Waiting. Waiting sucks, especially when you are impatient. The even suckier part is that anything of actual importance, you probably had to spend some time waiting for. Whether it was waiting to find out if you got the job, waiting to find out if that couple who came to look at your house on the market wants to buy it, waiting to find the "one", waiting for the baby to be born, waiting for your relative to come home from deployment, the list goes on; the point is, we are most likely always waiting for something; it is even harder when it is something of importance, but it is also worth so much more. Have you ever stopped during the waiting process and thought about all of the different reasons why you are in the waiting process? Maybe you are being prepared for what is to come. Maybe you are being molded into the person you need to be for what is to come. Maybe you are being strengthened for what is to come. Maybe you are not yet ready for what is to come, or maybe it is not ready for you. "Why is it taking so long?" "Why am I having to wait?" "Why can't I have it now? I'm ready." We have all asked these questions probably every time we are having to wait on something. Why rush something that was meant to be waited for? If we never had to wait we would never experience discipline, growth, responsibility, and patience in the way we do when waiting. There could be dire reasons why you are waiting. Take car accidents for example. Everytime you are stuck waiting in traffic from a wreck, say thank you; if you would have left your house a little earlier that day, that could have been you. All to often we take for granted waiting and how much of a blessing it is. Stop, slow down, and embrace the waiting process.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
“Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.“ Philippians 4:6
“David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.” 2 Samuel 5:4-5