SATURDAY May 11, 2019

Crossing God’s Line of Grace

 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”
1 Samuel 16:14-16

God’s Spirit departed from Saul’s life. He had crossed the fine line of grace––sad. There was a departure of God’s Spirit from Saul and an anointing of His Spirit on David. God allowed a demon to torment Saul.  When that happened, he would become very angry. Saul’s servants believed the only way the evil spirit would leave was if someone was to play a harp––it would help calm Saul.

Understand, a Christian cannot be demon possessed, but they can become oppressed. However, if a believer refuses to submit to God and goes on to the point of rejecting God, they will become open to demonic influence. In rebellion, if they continue to reject the Lord, there is the possibility of crossing God’s line of grace (Matthew 12:31-32).

Do you remember the story of Job? The book of Job shows us that Satan is under God’s control. It gives a look behind the scenes when Satan had to present himself before the Lord after a time of walking back and forth on the earth.The Lord said to Satan:

 “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”  (Job 1:8)

God sometimes uses Satan to test a person’s life, to see how they react, and to prove their hearts. Job was righteous, but he would go through tremendous trials. Job passed the test–– he never sinned against God with his lips (Job 1:22). In the end, God blessed him (Job 42:12). When tested by the Lord, will you fail the test or pass the test?

God never uses anyone greatly until He tests them deeply.
~A.W. Tozer~

For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!