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Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, Does Job fear God for nothing? Havent you made a hedge around him, and around his house, and around all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face. Job 1:9 WEB

Job was a righteous man who feared God. It also reads that God had built a hedge of protection around Job and all that he owned, and God blessed the work of his hands. There were many times when satan wanted to test Job, or sift him as wheat like Peter (Luke 22:31), but he could not get to him because of this divine hedge that God had put around him.

It was that hedge that I want to talk about. In a sense, God was proud of Job (1:8) and knew that Job could pass this test. God even told satan Have you considered my servant Job? There is none like him in the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil. To which satan sneered, "yea but take away his stuff and he will curse you to your face." God basically said, "test him and you will see", and then removed the hedge.

When the hedge was gone, satan went after Job and his family in full force, but that was not enough to break Jobs spirit. So satan came back wanting even more access, to be able to touch Jobs physical body. Skin for skin, all that a man has will he give for his life (Job 2:4) were the words that he used. Again, God gave him access through the hedge. The test was to see if satan could make Job curse God, and it got really bad. But in the end, Job passed the test and God restored double everything that Job had owned before (Job 42:12).

That said, not everything that we suffer in life is a test. Some things we bring on ourselves by making bad choices. Paul wrote Dont be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap (Galatians 6:7). Solomon wrote that whoever breaks a hedge, may be bitten by a snake (Eccl. 10:8).

God puts a hedge around each of His children, but just as a parent can warn a child not to touch a hot stove, it is up to the child to obey. If you dont believe this then why did God tell us to not commit adultery? It was because we can choose to commit adultery. We are not a mindless robot and we get to choose our path in this. When we choose bad things, the hedge is broken.

Stay the course and keep a positive attitude about what you are going through. When you fall, be quick to get back up and dont wallow there. Yea, though it seems like hell on earth, it is only temporary. Resist the temptation to get angry at God. Learn to be content in your circumstance like Paul (Phill 4:11). When this is over, the enemy will have to restore double of everything that he took from you.

Prayer: Father I pray that You repair the hedge around my life. I am sorry if I have broken it and ask that You forgive me of anything that I have ever done wrong. Wash me Lord, and I will be clean. Guide me and I will follow. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: Good morning, RHM family! For any who may not know, we have a free Christian radio station available on the website, via our friends at JIOS radio. Dennis Hubbell, who is a good friend of ours, leads the station and has kindly allowed us to play it here. Just go to the "Music" link on the website menu and click on the headphones there. It will open into its own window, so it can play while you do other things. Have a blessed day!