I must not strive!

I must not strive!

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient”, (2Ti 2:24 KJV)

On my way from the Redemption Camp today a lorry driver was recklessly trying to push me off my lane for no just cause. I moved ahead of him and raised my hand to him to be more careful. Thereafter he deliberately broke my side mirror and tried to run away. Unfortunately for him the traffic on his side slowed and I moved ahead and blocked him. He suddenly stopped fearing the worse from me, but nudged by my inner voice I waved to him and moved on. Thereafter he stopped his reckless driving and even allowed other vehicles to come in between his truck and our vehicle.

As I mediated on the event the above scripture came to mind and I suddenly realised that strife led to my broken mirror. I should have let him have his way since and most likely I would have suffered no harm. This scripture verse is full of lessons.

Be willing to suffer wrong. Man cries for justice all the time. We expect life to be just. We expect others to treat us fairly and when there is an attempt to deprive us of our legitimate rights we stoutly defend ourselves. This shows up in traffic situations in our cities and in many other human interactions. When God say not to strive, He says to be willing to suffer wrong.  We must willing, at times, to let the evil go on with their evil even at our expense. This is especially in cases where nothing more than our ego will be bruised.

I know this will be queried by many believers especially in these days of ‘let all my enemies fall down and die’ prayers. However I invite you to study the Bible with an open mind and discover for yourself. Further reading: 1Cor. 6:7; Pro.20:22; Mat.5:39-41; Luke6:29; Rom. 12:17-19; 1Th 5:15; 1Pet 2:19-23; 1Pet 3:9

Be willing to let God defend you. Sometimes we strive so we can clear our names or claim our rights. Can you let God do it Himself and in His own way. I am learning to understand that

i.                     No man can really work against me except ME!

ii.                   No man can take what God has for me. If I don’t have it then God has not given it to me.

iii.                  I have only one person to contend with and He is my Father – Lord Jesus

Further Reading: Mathew 26:24; Rom. 8: 28, 31; Exo. 14:13-14; Num. 23:8,20, 23; John 3: 26-27; Psa. 118:6; Heb. 13:6

Be willing to let God deal with offenders Himself.  God is the best judge of mankind and when He deals with your enemies you may even beg Him to be merciful. See how God dealt with Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Vengeance is the speciality of God, let Him do it. If you tried you wouldn’t do it like Him.

Further Reading: Deut 32:35; Deu_32:43; Psa_94:1; Nah_1:2, Nah_1:6; Rom_12:19, Rom_13:4; Heb_10:30

If necessary let the Law take its course. There are those who try to take undue advantage of the believer. We must note that there will be times when we will let the Law of the Land take its course against evil doers. In this case we are not the one seeking vengeance but those who break the law must face its consequences. If a man commits murder, my forgiving him does not preclude him from going to jail! Further reading: Rom 13:1-5; 1Kings 10:9

Make up your mind not to be quarrelsome (another word for ‘strive’). It takes gentleness and patience to keep this commandment. Men will take you for a ride, let them do it. God will let you outwit them. Men will cheat you, let them do it. God knows how to recompense you. The ultimate aim of God is that we be lights to the world. Read. Isa. 53:7; Mat. 27:12-14; 

No More Scarcity

“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.”(1Ki 17:10-16 KJV)

There was a great famine in the land of Israel because Elijah the Prophet had called a drought upon the land. Now the Prophet himself needed a miracle to survive the farming. And God sent him to a widow who was about to cook her last meal. This God has a great sense of humour! He has unusual answers to complex problems.

When God decides to deal with your issues, you don’t expect Him to do it the conventional way, that is, according to your problem solving template. He is about to bring all your issues to an end. If you believe that, roar an Amen!

The Situation.

The widow of Zarephat and her son were in a precarious situation when Elijah arrived on the scene.

Emptiness: The Widow’s storehouse was empty. Her bank accounts were in red. She was about to cook her last meal. I have been in such situations before with my family on Mission fields when you eat that meal and then look up for what God will do. He never fails. On one such occasion as my wife drove the children to school with the last drop of fuel in the car, there was nothing they were going to eat when they returned from school, there was no fuel for them to go to school the next day. Before noon however, God roared to action as we cried to Him in prayer and without talking to any mortal divine supplies had come.

Are you empty right now, I prophesy into your life, your emptiness is over, receive abundance right now in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Helplessness: When you are empty but you have people you can run to or you have some alternatives then your case is not too dire. For this family, there was no option, no alternative. She was helpless. Thank God, He is the helper of the helpless. So if you are in a state of helplessness, you are the right candidate for Divine Help. I therefore prophesy into your life, Help from Above is coming your way right now in Jesus name. Receive it with a roaring Amen!

Hopelessness: They say ‘as long as there is hope, there is life’. However, a combination of emptiness and helplessness yields hopelessness. That’s when one begins to say ‘I think I should just die and forget my sorrows’. Praise God, He gives hope to the hopeless. In the name that is above all other names, you will not get to that point. And if you are already in the state of hopelessness, the Almighty God will surprise you today in Jesus name.

The Solution.

When Elijah arrived the scene, God moved to bring to and end emptiness, helplessness and hopelessness, just as He is about to do today in your life!

The Word: Many times am just awed by God’s way of dealing with difficult situations. He just spoke a word! Whether it is in the valley of dry bones, or at the tomb of Lazarus (dead and buried for 4 days), He just speaks and it is done. That’s why you need to take every word of God written or in the mouth of His servants seriously. Read, study, meditate and believe the Word of God. It is the key to whatever God wants to do in your life. Just that word ‘this food will not finish’ solved this woman’s problems with immediate alacrity!

The Work: The Word had effect for the Widow because she worked the Word. She took action. Do you believe, show me your faith by your actions! The word works for those who work on it. Many folks pray and even fast but won’t do the Word! We want God to move mountains, send earthquakes or do some magical things to solve our problems. However, His method is the Word. Search for the Word in your situation today!

The Wow! As this woman worked the word, she and her son were just wowed by God’s miraculous power. The food just refused to finish. Three meals a day, 24/7 until the famine was over! God does not need a fat bank account to solve your problems. He needs you to take Him at His Word and you will only find yourself screaming WOW! I decree into the life of every Word addict, as you work the Word, amazing results will follow you and your family in Jesus name.

Conclusion.

There may be famine or scarcity in the land, but God is ready to ensure that His children are well fed and preserved till He sends rain upon the earth. Just take Him at His Word. No more scarcity for you and all yours in Jesus name. Love ya!