Job 1:6-12
One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from”?
Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”
“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”
The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
How many times have we felt like someone had cut a hole through or even knocked down our hedge…or “fence”. We all know what a fence is. We even know what they are used for. But for kicks….I looked it up. According to Mr. “Webster” A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., used to prevent entrance….or mark a boundary…..raise a fence…defend; protect; guard.
Hmmmm, pretty clear what a fence is designed to do. We also know how we feel when it is damaged or missing, whether it is our property fence or….our heart fence. It is the “heart fence” that I am going to talk about. Once we discover the problem, we begin to search within us…sometimes the damaged or missing fence would be our own doing.
For farmers a fence is of utmost importance. It not only keeps out the unwanted trespasser or animal, but it will also hold for safekeeping what you have on the inside. You don’t want your crops stomped. You don’t want your livestock injured or even stolen. And you especially don’t want them “wandering away”.
Whether you have only 10 cattle or 10,000, keep the fence lines checked. If you have hundreds of head of cattle…and thousands of acres of land, this would have to be an ongoing task. Checking the fence lines would never end. Daily you would see to the security of your surroundings. The stability of the fence is a high priority.
Our prayer lives are the same. Our Christian walk is the same. Our fence line is prayer. We go to the Father not only on a daily basis, but a “continual basis”. I remember when I first started working at Holmes County High School (a looooong time ago). The precious, “soon to retire”, woman who was training me, had given the me the daunting task of balancing the school bank account. Can you feel my pain? As I worked through the numbers, I realized quickly that I had a problem. She was sitting in the same office with me, but working on something else and I began to “talk to the Lord, forgetting that she was there, I spoke to Him as if He were leaning over my shoulder looking at my column of numbers Himself! She looked up from her work and asked me, “did you say something to me?”
I looked at her in puzzlement, “oh, sorry no, I was talking to the Lord.” She kind of laughed and asked me if I did that often. I looked at her with all sincerity, “all day long”.
I had realized less than two years prior to that new job that I could no longer go about my every day life, as if it were only my life. For through several life altering and heart sobering circumstances, I knew that if I were to continue on in the manner I had been, very lackadaisical in my Christian walk, then I would never be what my Father intended or wanted me to be.
Looking back, I ask myself, did my fence get lowered and my circumstances change in order to “see what I was made of?”….or rather did my happy-go-lucky life of “hit and miss prayer time” cause the fence to fall into disrepair? Could be either. Could be both. At this point in my life, the answer is irrelevant. The result is significant. The outcome of each circumstance irrevocably changed me forever.
If that is what it took to get my full attention on Him…then I would have to say it was worth every tear shed, every night spent on the floor in anguished prayer. I have to do a continual check on my fence line. I don’t want something coming in my life that the Lord does not invite in through the gate….and guess Who my gatekeeper is? Of course. Jesus Christ.
I also realized over the years that some “tightening up” has been necessary. As a fence is neglected, it seems to lose it’s strength. the wires sag a bit. Erosion takes a toll on the fence posts, causing some to lean a bit. Time we spend in His Word pulls that wire of our fence tight, it restores the ground around each post. As we spend more time in His Word and in prayer on a daily basis, the fence posts seem to even cement themselves into the ground. But the fence line still must be checked daily.
The enemy is more cunning with each passing day. He knows each of my weaknesses. He knows where the weakest place in my fence is found. I must continually ask the Holy Spirit to stand guard, apply reinforcement wire, “barbed wire” even to keep out the enemy!
In knowing my weakness, I know what I have to do. For me, I have to spend less time in front of the TV, and more time in my Bible. The last thing I do at night is “quiet time with Him”. I have also had to spend less time “on the computer”. I rarely “shop” online. If I am on the computer, most likely I am reading blessings from other Christian Women bloggers, or I am working on my Bible Studies, Laced with Grace post, or Internet Cafe` posting. I am trying to keep it under control. When I find myself spending too much time there…I simply stay away from it. Usually these days, I try and not turn it on at all on the weekends, unless I have a post that happens to fall on the weekend. I take a book and pencil with me everywhere though….for if the Lord gives me a thought for you—-which is always for me too….I am ready. I want to stand at the ready. Always willing to do what my Father requires. I keep my “work gloves” on….minding the fence.
In closing, I share this awesome word from Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
Sisters, as we stay in with God, should the enemy break through and flood our lives —-rest assured, our Father will lift up a “new fence” against him!
It has been my delight and privilege to meet each of you. Some of you have gotten to know me quite a bit. I love each of you and want you to know how you have blessed my life with your love for Jesus!
Go in God this week….check those fence lines!
Trusting Him,
Angie
Credit for this incredible photo goes to Joe—He willingly allowed me to use this awesome photo he took from some of his travels. Go here to see more of his spectacular shots!
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