"So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land." Job 1: 9-10

Everything seems to happen bad to some people for different reasons. Hopefully you never have to deal with all that Job dealt with, I certainly don't want to; but God allowed the enemy to only touch certain parts of Job's life at a time. The devil wasn't able to do anything against Job without the explicit approval of God and the removal of His great hedge of protection from around Job. I want to know for certain that God has His hedge around my life because life is too hard to face alone and I want to endure only what God wants me to endure because if He allows my struggle, He will deliver me from it and reward me as He did Job. Do you want God's hedge around your life?

These first verses in chapter 1 of Job are the keys to Job's amazingly blessed life. Job was rich, powerful, the most respected man on earth during his time and these first few verses in the book of Job openly reveal secrets to his immense success. Job was said to be a blameless, upright, and a man who shunned evil. Job had great character and he walked in the opposite direction of sin. He didn't allow himself to fall by being led into silly temptations; he shunned evil.

"For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy." Leviticus 11: 44

This means that we've got to make a conscious attempt every single day to live right. When the Holy Spirit tries to bring conviction into our lives then we have to repent of sins that we've committed and turn away from them. We have to learn how to deal with our temptations so we can walk in holiness.

A man went to the doctor complaining that he had broken his arm in two places. The doctor's reply: "Well then, stay out of those places." We've got to do the same thing. Stay away the things that we know tempt us and set guards around our lives that hold us accountable to integrity and righteous living.

God is no respecter of person's; He put a hedge around Job because God knew that Job wouldn't hop over it into the enemy's camp by being led into temptation. If you smoke cigarettes for 30 years please don't be surprised when you end up with cancer. Don't cry out to God and say "Why God, have you removed your hedge from me?" God's going to say, "You walked out the back door of My blessings I wanted to put you in, every day of your life."

This doesn't mean that Job was sinless because he asks God to pardon his transgressions and take away his iniquities in chapter 7:21. We shouldn't confuse 'upright' with 'sinless' for there are none who are righteous; but Job didn't seek sin, depend on sin, and tried to live a holy life everyday. You know when God is convicting you and you're being hard hearted, as do I.

I walked in sin to the point that every time I was in worship, every time I prayed to God, and every time I asked God to do something for me, He reminded me of the things I had not surrendered to Him yet. I had to get past the point of seeking forgiveness then falling and seeking forgiveness and falling again! Because this repetition even becomes a pattern of sin. It wasn't until I completely cut off the sinful patterns I was in that I began to feel the security and blessedness of God all around my life.

Now, of course that's not the end of my battles but I'm now committed to never walking in known sin patterns. I've turned away from the sin patterns of my life and am trying to live everyday as a living sacrifice to God. I don't mess in the areas that I messed in for the longest time, I've grown from that point; not because of me but because I've now got a hedge of accountability to my wife and other people that's so thick, it's hard for me to sin! Plus, I just don't want to sin in my heart; and that's what makes Job righteous. You've got to come to the point that you are just as fed up with sin as God is and you love Him more than sin.

This is why God was able to put a hedge around Job. Job was a man that shunned sin. Job repented to God and sought to continue walking in holiness even though his wife wanted him to curse God and die because of the impossible pit his life had fallen into. Job rose up early every morning to make sacrifices to the Lord for himself and all of his family just in case anyone may have sinned against God in their heart. This action proved that he feared God and wanted to please God.

If I can overcome bad habits that displease God and keep God's hedge surrounding my life, then so can you. If Job can shun sin and hate it as God hates it, then so can we! A sincere hatred of sin and a love and reverential fear of God will allow God to claim you as His own and place His hedge of protection around your life. He does this for all of His children that are committed to Him and obey His spiritual commandments.
 

About the Author

Anthony Obey is the publisher and co-compiler of the women's inspirational book series entitled Refined by Fire with his wife, Crystal Obey. There are currently 3 books within the women's series at http://www.RefinedbyFireWomen.com which includes inspirational testimonies and messages from 61 leading women around the nation. This message is inspired by the Refined by Fire Book series.

Copyright © 2006 Anthony Obey.  All rights reserved.