Have you ever wondered what makes one stumble in his/her
service to God? One would expect that as one is serving, things should happen
as expected and as planned, however the reverse is most times the case. The
mind of the natural human expects things to always go according to his/her plan.
Such carry this mindset into the service of God and get very disappointed and
even offended at God when certain things don’t go according to plan. The
reality is that we cannot serve God effectively with our human senses. The
reason being, many times, the instructions of God do not make sense to the
natural mind. If we refuse to let go of our minds and take on the mind of
Christ, the tendency is to take offence at God when certain things don’t go our
way. An incident happened in the
Scriptures to buttress this: “Now when
John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
and said unto Him, Art thou He that should come or do we look for another?”
Matthew 11: 2-3. The heart of John was exposed here: he may have been wondering
if he had pointed out the right person, if he had not run in vain and may not
be too happy about his circumstances (a natural feeling). Of a truth every
natural human has a right to be offended whenever expectations are not realized
in the manner in which they were set to be realized. However, the Lord Jesus
Christ sent back this message: “…and
blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” Matthew 11:6. The
question that readily comes to mind is at what point did John the Baptist began
to doubt the Person of Christ, did he not hear about the numerous miracles, the
extraordinary teachings? Remember, it was John that recognized Him by the Holy
Spirit and pointed Him out to the world. For us, the lesson to be learnt from
this experience is that whenever we lose sight of our purpose or calling, we
begin to doubt and question our source. John the Baptist that was said to be the
greatest of all born of a woman became the least in the Kingdom. Friend, when
you begin to doubt the efficacy of God’s word, you are in essence questioning
the existence of God: such a person is an unbeliever! That is why the Bible
tells us in Hebrews 11: 6 – “But without
faith it is impossible to please Him; for he that cometh to God must believe
that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Any
wonder why so many services to God are unrewarded? The Bible warns us to guard
and keep our hearts diligently as it affects and can corrupt whatever we lay
our hands on. The plan of darkness for this end time is to make God’s children
take offence at their Father and become ineffective in their service to God.
Friend, in all ways and at all times we must guard our hearts against the evil
seed that the enemy is spreading at this time so as not to take offence at God.
Therefore, may the Lord keep your heart in the circle of His love until He
comes in Jesus Christ name.
Have you ever visited a quarry site and considered the process the rocks are subjected to before they become dressed stones to be used? If the stones could talk they will have a story to tell about their experiences. As children of God we go through diverse experiences and we wonder if we will indeed survive them. Sometimes we wonder why our gracious and compassionate Father would allow such to befall us considering who we are in Him and what we are doing in His vineyard. The Scripture that should readily come to our minds in such circumstances is God’s assurance when He said: “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire and the flame will not burn you ” (Isaiah 43:2). This Scripture assures us that through the experiences of flames and waters, God is always by our side to see us through. Thus, it is necessary for us to go through the...
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