Tuesday 26 July 2016

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;