Some people act as if Jesus never went to the cross and defeated satan. They just sit back and take everything the devil throws at them. They say, well it must be God’s will for things to be happening the way they are. It must be God’s will for me to go through this trial or he wouldn’t have allowed it to come my way. And, the sad part of it is, they never come out of any of their trials.

Why in the world would God allow Jesus to go to all the trouble, and agony, of dying on the cross to give us a better life if He was going to turn right around and permit the devil to hit us smack dab in the face with trials and temptations? The answer is, He wouldn’t and He didn’t. God sent His Son, Jesus, to the cross to give us power over all the power of the enemy and Jesus accomplished that feat. So, why are so many still afflicted and burdened down? Well, for the most part, they think God is always trying and testing them.

I don’t know why some people think God is behind every nasty trial or circumstance that occurs in their life. Yeah, stuff happens. We can’t deny that. But just because stuff happens that does not necessarily mean God is behind it in some way. We need to discern what is truly going on in the spirit realm and not be so quick to accept everything that comes our way. For example, when someone gets sick that doesn’t mean God sent that sickness, or allowed the devil to send it, just so He can show off His healing power. God is not on an ego trip. He doesn’t get a thrill out of watching His people suffer just so He can come along like superman, when He takes a notion, and save the day. People need to use discernment and quit blaming God for things He didn’t do.

Those of you, who are having problems right now, don’t allow the devil to trick you into assuming that God is testing your faith. Christians often fall for this line of thinking. My husband told me once, "don’t ever assume anything." Now, allow me to say the same thing to you, don’t ever assume anything. 1^st John 4:1 says to try the spirits to see whether they are of God or not. Let’s read what it says.

This scripture makes it clear that we are NOT to believe (or assume) every spirit is of God. It says try the spirits to see if they are of God or not. Many Christians do not use discernment in this area. The devil has them believing they’re so spiritual that everything they see, think, or feel is from God. Have you ever seen anyone like this? I am sure you have. We all have. They have dreamed more dreams, seen more visions, and heard from God more than all the Apostles put together. They are in error and don’t know half the time who or what is talking to them. They simply believe every voice that speaks.

The devil uses people like this to give false prophecies and lead people astray. They don’t seem to give it a second thought that there is a devil out there and he is trying his best to trip them up. They don’t ever consider that maybe, just maybe, he may be the one talking to them. For some strange reason they are much quicker to believe that every voice they hear is God’s. But this isn’t true. The devil walks about seeking whom he may devour and he is running his mouth and talking to anyone that will listen. And, if he can talk any of us into accepting a trial from him, he will surely send us one.

I had a praying person to tell me one time that God had showed them a vision on the way to church that a trial was headed their way. But, instead of rebuking the trial they just assumed, since God showed them what was ahead, they were to accept it. Well, I had learned if God shows us, whether in a dream or vision, that something harmful was headed our way we have the right and power, through and by the Word of God, to stop it from happening. That, according to Mark 11:23, we could speak to any mountain (problem in our life) and command it to be removed and cast into the sea.

Since I had learned this, and it had been working for me, I decided to tell this person that God was showing them what was ahead, not so they could accept it, but so they could speak to the trial (the problem ahead) and command it to be moved out of their way. Simply put, they were supposed to change the situation in the spirit realm before it materialized in the natural. This person told me later that what I had shared with them had really been of great help. I know one thing for sure, when I learned the same information it helped me and changed my life forever!

With all this talk about trying the spirits and using discernment, you may be wondering how do I try the spirits? How do I use discernment? One way is lining everything up with the Word of God. If your favorite preacher says something that doesn’t line up (teaching something contrary to the bible or teaching something that is not even in the bible) then don’t receive it. Also, watch your thoughts. Don’t just dash off to church every time you have a thought and tell everyone there that God has been talking to you. Don’t be so quit to act. Give yourself time to pray and ask God for wisdom.

• God doesn’t harass us with trials and temptations.
• We need to quit blaming God for things He didn’t do.
• Try the spirits to see if they are of God or not.
• Don’t just assume everything is of God because the devil is a liar and he will try his best to trip us up.
• If you find you’re always being tried and tested, always fighting a battle of some kind, you can rest assured that God isn’t the one behind your trials. Instead, this is a clear-cut indication your trials have originated from the devil himself. Rebuke him and tell him to leave in the name of Jesus!