When It Seems Like Life is Against You

If you’re like me, sometimes it seems like everything is going wrong and even life itself is working against you! Stress at work is off the charts; your financial problems are getting worse and your marriage and family life is in turmoil. And to make matters worse, it seems like God has turned a deaf ear to your immediate, desperate needs.

Jacob in the Bible experienced the same thing. It started in his mother’s womb, having to fight with his twin brother Esau, then being forced to leave home as a young man because he took Esau’s birthright. He also had to work 14 years for his wife Rachel because Laban tricked him into first marrying Leah, her older sister.

Jacob’s heart broke when Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin. Later on he thinks his favorite son Joseph was killed by wild animals as reported by his eldest son.

During a severe famine his finances are devastated and the Egyptians take his sons Simeon and Benjamin hostage in exchange for food. In Genesis 42:32-36 he makes this summation of the state of his life, “All these things are against me”. In other words Jacob is saying, “life itself is against me; how can I survive?”

These important steps will help you if you find yourself in the same position as Jacob:

#1. Don’t let your problems impress you more than the God you serve. Idolatry is when you have more fear and respect for something (your problems) than you do for your God. 1John 4:18 says, “There is no fear in love”.

When you truly comprehend God’s love and protection in the deepest part of your heart, fear of failure and destruction will lose its long-term hold on you.

#2. Create an atmosphere of faith by rehearsing what God has done for you in the past, believing He will do it again. We are our own worst enemy when we create a negative atmosphere by complaining and saying our situation is hopeless.

Hebrews 11:6 says, “It’s impossible to please God without faith”. It pleases God to deliver you from your current struggles. Give Him an atmosphere where he can work on your behalf. You have the ability to invite God into your impossible circumstances.

#3. Stop talking with the snake. Yes you heard me correctly! Many of us talk with satan and his gang more than we do with God. You can tell whom you’ve been talking to by your negativity, complaining and hopelessness.

Come into and agreement with what the Lord says about your circumstances…. not with what satan wants you to say. Matthew 18:19 says “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.” What an amazing promise! Let’s start agreeing with God from now on.

#4. Don’t judge a thing too soon. Don’t make a permanent decision on a temporary circumstance because God says that what you face today is temporary.

Maybe you didn’t have a good start but your finish is what counts. With God’s presence in your midst, temporary circumstance you find yourself in can suddenly become a blessing.

#5. Remember, God is working in it so don’t quit no matter how it looks or feels. Don’t grow weary in planting good seeds during trials. Galatians 6:7 says, “God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows that he will reap.”

#6 Know that the trials and tests we go through releases God’s glory. So don’t give up, give in, or back down. God’s deliverance from life’s problems is guaranteed. Jacob had Joseph, Simeon and Benjamin restored to him when it looked like life had defeated him. He also was restored financially.

He had moments of weakness but he finished strong in faith. God even named Himself “the God of Jacob”.

When all looks lost and it seems like life itself is closing in on you, remember it’s not over till it’s over and you are on the winning team. There is nothing you and God together can’t overcome.

Put these simple but profound principles into action and watch life turn around for you today.

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