OVERCOMING AFFLICTIONS.

SERIES: WE SHALL OVERCOME.

TEXT: JAMES 5:13-16.

Afflictions are normal experiences of believers but God has promised and made provisions for the believers to be delivered from all afflictions. Prayer is the only scriptural medicine prescribed to overcome afflictions. Whatever the affliction, be it poverty, hardship, struggling with business, sickness and so on, do not get worried, but channel all your energy and time into prayer.

Satan is at work to rob you of your joy and peace of mind and if you lose the strength to pray, you may not be able to resist being taken away from the way of righteousness by afflictions.

In times of afflictions, God will do nothing except you invite Him to it-Matthew 7:7, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.”

It is important to ask or pray with faith in your heart, for the Bible says, “And without faith it is impossible to please God”-Hebrews 11:6.

Affliction is part of our christian experience. The moment you are identified with Jesus Christ, the enemy will begin to trouble you, but we have been given victory already through Jesus we only need to activate and enjoy the victory through prayers.

There are many example of people in the Bible who went through affliction and they turned to God and He did not forsake them.

In the same way, He will not forsake you also if you turn to Him all day and night in the times of afflictions, Jacob, Hannah, Jabez, Job and the apostles turned to God and He heard them and delivered them out of their afflictions. Let us learn:-

THE DESCRIPTION OF AFFLICTIONS.

• Afflictions can be described in many different ways.

1. Affliction is a programmed and sudden calamity by the devil.

• This comes with the purpose of uprooting your faith and confidence in God and to take you bound by the devil to fulfill his own purpose.
• When the devil attacked Job with sudden calamity of manifolds and later tampered with his health, it was meant to over through and uproot Jobs faith and confidence in God-Job 2:4-10.
• However afflictions are timed and do expire with time.

1. It is a continuous oppression and hard labor by the taskmasters.

• All forms of hard labor and maltreatment with commensurate reward, measured by the people in power and authority either in the physical or spiritual.
• After the death of Joseph, the new pharaoh turned the children of Israel to slaves with hard labor and afflicted them continually making life to become unbearable for them-Exodus 3:7-10.
• There are many christians suffering afflictions from the demonic task masters, laboring in pain and sorrow and have no reward or enjoyment for their labors.

1. All forms of satanic bondage and demonic oppression making people to misbelieve and unable to fulfil the purpose of God for their lives.

• Demonic attacks comes in different forms and manifestations through unknown evil covenants and curses.
• These attacks lead to stagnation, absence of favor and breakthroughs in life-Mark 5:1-6.

1. All forms of sickness and diseases that are prolonged and cannot be managed by medical attention.

• The devil does inflict people with the spirit of infirmities and make them not enjoy the people that Jesus Christ has given them.
• The woman who was bound with the spirit of infirmities for 18 years, until Jesus came to set her free-Luke 13:11-13.

1. All forms and manifestations of the devourer of income.

• The devil specializes in making people to gather and then attack them at the harvest time.
• Whenever you gather money to achieve good things and bad things always come to take the money.
• The Bible commands faithfulness to God with our tithes and offerings to enjoy our blessings without the intrusion of the devourer.
• The woman with the issue of blood for 12 years, her income was spent on physicians and was not getting better. Her case was double affliction. Affliction with sickness by the devourer-Luke 8:43-44.

1. Experiencing unexplained delay in one area of life or the other.

• The spirit of delay in life is an affliction.
• When expected blessings are ungodly delayed without unexplainable reason.
• Some have delay in making progress in life.
• Others have physical delays like physical growth, in going to schools, getting a job, getting married, having children, building a house etc.
• Hannah in the Bible experienced a delay in having children despite being the first wife of Mr. Elkanah-1st Sam. 1:1-6.

1. Absence of peace in the family.

• People can be afflicted with certain family storms which disturb family peace.
• This includes having troublesome spouses, difficult children. Children who cannot be controlled, frequent failures and disappointments, loss of lives and properties etc.
• One of the greatest affliction of Eli as a priest was his wayward children who caused him much pain and trouble in the service of God-1st Sam. 2:12-17.

THE DIMENSIONS OF AFFLICTIONS.

• Afflictions come in various sizes and degrees at various times and stages of life and for various purposes and they last for various durations.
• Most of the times, it comes suddenly and unexpectedly and therefore unprepared for. Some of the categories of afflictions include the following:-

1. Faith attacking afflictions.

• The afflictions against the three Hebrew men to bow for the idols of the king of Babylon or be destroyed in the fire and that against Daniel to stop praying to God or be cast into the lions den, were to shake their faith in God.
• But through the power and strength of God, they remained faithful and steadfast in the will of God and they were not disappointed-Daniel 3:17-21; Daniel 6:11-16.
• Whatever you are passing through, you must remain steadfast in your faith in God till the end, so as not to miss our eternal reward in Christ.

1. Peace disturbing afflictions.

• Some afflictions are just for disturbing the peace of the believer. This usually comes as a storm against one’s health, family, business or ministry.
• Jesus Christ arose and calmed the storm that came against Him and His disciples.
• We must hold unto Him in the storms, He will give us all round peace in the storms and valleys of life-Philippians 4:6-7.

1. Joy destroying afflictions.

• It is the work of the enemy to ensure that as believers, we do not experience the fullness of joy the Lord promised us in John 10:10.
• The devil will send sorrow in the midst of people’s joy from time to time.
• God used Elisha to end the sorrow of barrenness in the life of the Shunemmite woman, but few years later, the devil came to destroy the joy-2nd Kings 4:16-20.

1. Effort wasting afflictions.

• These are the afflictions that come against people’s harvest wasting their efforts and making them to labor in vain.
• These effort wasting afflictions can attack your children, your business, your finances etc.
• These afflictions prevent people to eat the fruits of their labors-2nd Timothy 2:6.

1. Life threatening afflictions.

• These are afflictions that come against the believer with the intention of killing the target, either immediately or at a predetermined time.
• A good example is the affliction of Mordecai and the entire Jewish people in Shushan through Harman-Esther 3:5-6.
• In the spiritual realms, arrows of death are shot against their target and have been programmed to kill immediately or at a later time through one or more mishaps or calamities.

1. Revenging afflictions.

• There are afflictions that come as a way of revenge from the enemy, especially due to the attack launch against their kingdom through prayers or other spiritual activities of great impact.
• For example the affliction suffered by Paul and Silas was due to the deliverance of the slave girl from the spirit of divination-Acts 16:16-20.

1. Covenant enforcing afflictions.

• When someone is operating under a curse or has an unbroken covenant with the devil, certain afflictions will show up in the life of such people, for the purpose of enforcing the terms of the curses or covenant.
• All the manifestations of the dumb and deaf spirit in the young boy was to enforce the satanic covenant against the life of the boy-Mark 9:21-27.

OVERCOMING AFFLICTIONS.

• God has given us a promise to deliver the righteous from all his afflictions-Psalm 34:19.
• We need to hold on to the promises of God and call Him for deliverance from our afflictions.
• Following are means of deliverance from afflictions.

1. Confession of, and repentance from sins.

• We must confess all known and unknown sins and repent from them. We need to equally confess our generational sins and ask God for mercy and pardon through the blood of Jesus-1st John 1:8-10.

1. Delight in His word and discover His promises.

• When you delight in the word of God, you discover His promises and provisions for answer to prayers and deliverance-Obadiah 1:17; Psalm 34:19.

1. Stand on the authority given you as a child of God.

• We have been given victory and authority over the devil and his agents-Luke 10:18-19.

1. Submit to the prayer of the church and the elders of the church.

• There is a cooperate anointing that is in operation when the church prayers together.
• Peter was delivered from death when the church prayed together for his release.

1. Yield continually to the Holy Spirit-Gal. 5:16.

CONCLUSION

• Afflictions are part of the regular experiences of the believers.
• In affliction we are encouraged to pray and be prayed for.
• God has given us victory and deliverance already through the works of grace at calvary.
• We are to activate and enjoy our deliverance through fervent prayers of faith.