I will paint you a scenario….
In light of the current health climate, you hear that a regular member in your congregation is taking a sabbatical from church and proceed to assume they have been offended and left the faith. You get upset and procced to tell others the situation, causing discord in the church. All the while, not knowing that they received medical advice and were asked to abstain from large gatherings.
Have you made similar assumptions about another person or group of people? Sometimes we make assumptions based on limited information. These thought patterns or behaviours can result in a myriad of consequences and we decided to focus on 3; Defeat, Attack and Success.
DEFEAT
Looking into the book of Judges, we can observe the constant cycles of apostasy and deliverance. The people of Israel consistently sinned and created idols for themselves, ultimately then leading to oppression. In the years of suffering, they would pray to God for mercy and God usually sent a judge to rescue them.
In Judges 16 vs 16 – 20
Samson was one of the Judges of Israel. He was favoured by the Lord and was gifted with immense strength which came from his long hair. He grew strong and mighty but also started to sin. His enemies wanted to know the secret to his strength and employed the services of Delilah; a woman of ill repute.
Delilah pestered him day by day and Samson eventually disclosed his secret to her. After acquiring this knowledge she then shaved his head as he slept. Samson attempted to face his enemies not knowing that his hair had been cut and the lord had left him. Samson was eventually captured.
In this story, we can see that Samson started to deviate from the statues of God. He didn’t suffer the consequences straightaway, so he continued, and it ultimately led to his demise. How often do we sin because we think that judgement won’t begin right away?
Remember! We cannot overcome sin unless through the power of Jesus Christ.
ATTACK
In Judges chapter four, we learn of Deborah; a prophetess who was judging Israel at the time and the Lord was with her. She raised an army and went against an oppressor by the name of Sisera. Deborah had the upper-hand and Sisera fled away, leaving his men to perish. In verse 15 – 21, we learn that Sisera ran and went into the tent of a woman in hope of refuge.
He didn’t see her as a threat and even asked her to keep watch over him in case any men came. As he slept, this very woman drove a peg deep into his temple, killing him. This story may sound too far-fetched from our own lives. But the little things that we engage in (music, relationships, sex), that we think are harmless, have the potential to become strongholds in our lives.
If we look at music for example. Some music preaches the opposite of God's word, and we may listen because it’s “just music”. Yet, this has the potential to affect our mental health, sanity and can even dampen our ability to hear or see from God.
Truly I say to you, the “subtle” things can open us for attack.
SUCCESS
In the book of Matthews 13 vs 53 - 58, we learn of the many miracles that our lord Jesus Christ performed. His fame grew and many came from far and wide to hear him preach and to see him perform signs and wonders. Yet when he came to his own town; Nazareth, he was dismissed.
They could not see him as any more than the “carpenter’s son” and because of over-familiarity, they did not respect him but instead took offense. Because of their unbelief, Jesus did not perform any miracles amongst them. They missed out. Their lives could have been transformed by the teachings of Jesus Christ, yet, they chose to see him as a child and did not respect his wisdom.
Contrastingly, when you look at the disciples Peter and John. They were unschooled and ordinary men. In Acts 4, they were arrested by the Sadducees for proclaiming the gospel. They were taken before the rulers of law and the high priests to be judged for their actions. Then the Holy spirit came upon Peter and he spoke in such a way that they were marvelled. They had to acknowledge that these two men have been with Jesus.
This goes to show that nobody is “self-made”, many times we block our own success because we assume that the people next to us are not good enough. We don’t know that the person or people around us may be the gateway to our own success. Truly, there is great gain in humility; when we don’t dismiss others because of our assumptions of their ability.
We sometimes assume that it is foolishness to say “I believe in God and I am fine” because it is too little or doesn’t align with the standards and normality of the world. But we achieve greatness when we allow ourselves to be pliable in the hands of God.
God created you and only he knows your true limits and potential; so why not rest in the assurance of the all-knowing God who never fails or disappoints. Alternatively, there also awaits a path for those who believe that they are wise in their own eyes.
-A.
