Is this place bugged - pt 2

If you read "Is this place bugged" pt 1 you know that God is watching over us. Just in time He is always there, what a wonderful blessing. A lady in our church shared this verse with me
Deuteronomy 31:8 "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

What a powerful promise! Moses spoke these words to Joshua, just before Joshua led the people into the promised land. The promised land - the place where God wants us to be. As we move toward that place so many things come up that get in the way. Joshua had to do battle with the people of that land - and we do battle everyday as well.
These past few weeks have been especially trying. Drason is working about 60+ hours a week, he has had bronchitis, and a horrible cough, Macguines now has it and has been home from school for two days, Marshal shut his thumb in the door and it got infected so he had to have that lanced and drained yesterday , and on top of that yesterday I got a splinter under my thumb nail which swelled up and was throbbing by this morning. I went to urgent care and they had to remove part of my thumbnail to get to the splinter - yuck- it is still hurting, and now it is gross, too.
Despite our troubles there are numerous people in our church that are really struggling right now, job loss ,financial troubles, sickness, even the loss of loved ones. As bad as all that is, one might be tempted to look to the sky and say "Why me?"
And some people do just that. Last night three teams went out for visitation, our team had the chance to witness to a woman who has visited one of the church programs. After sharing the gospel and asking if she would like to pray to receive Christ, she said no. We shared a testimony with her and asked again, she still said no and cited as a reason that she had lived a life filled with trials.

I know that I sometimes take for granted that the Lord himself goes before me.

As we move toward the "promised land" so many things come up that distract us, that take our eyes away from the final destination. Nothing is by chance, it was not by chance that trials filled my own life as a young person, nor are any of the trials we face now by chance.
Ephesians 6 says:
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. "

As much as I know that this place IS bugged, in a sense, by our heavenly Father, it is also bugged by those "spiritual forces of evil". So when it comes time to step forward in faith we start to see some of those "flaming arrows" coming right for us. Be that an outward attack or an inner conflict, people following the Lord will be persecuted - the Bible says this - outright- all throughout the New Testament and illustrates it all throughout the Old Testament.
So how does a Christian cope? Jesus told the disciples the time was coming when He would return to Heaven and He ends John chapter 8 with this "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Yep, this place is definitely bugged.
Thank God!
Goodnight
Amanda