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;
