GOD'S GUIDANCE

THE BALL AND CHAIN RELEASE

It is common practice in slave trade to chain slaves to restrict and monitor their movements. It has been said that long ago slaves were chained to rocky- shaped balls and hence could move as far as the ball permitted the chain, thus the saying - 'being released on ball and chain', depicting any controlling factor. God's word serves as a yardstick for us.It lays out for us the limits in life, and teaches us which way to go. Unlike slaves who have no liberty,we in Christ Jesus have great liberty. This is because we follow God's word ( Psalm 119 : 45), and also because we reside in the presence of the Holy Spirit - for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty ( 2 Corinthians 3: 17)

In this evil world where we have found ourselves , wrong is mostly exalted, and evil ways are at times applauded. God's ways often times are considered boring and prudish. We are in a free world, but not every path available to us must be walked on. To know where to go,or how far we can go with various things, we need to make a reference to God's Word, for it serves as the ball that tells the safety of any distance walked; The ball that designates safe and unsafe paths, and warns of steps that will lead to downfalls or doom. The Psalmist said of God's word: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path - Psalm 119: 105. We need God's word to show us the way we must walk in ,to avoid being devoured by the enemy. David cried out in Psalm 27:11 - Teach me thy way O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because of my enemies. Psalm 119 : 133 reads - order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. The liberty we have in God is the liberty His Word and Spirit has marked out for us. We are at liberty as long as we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8: 13 - 14 reads - 'For if ye live after the flesh , ye shall die. But if ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.'

There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end of it is death-Proverbs 16:25. In this life, we are continually faced with making decisions. Our daily decisions can make or mar us. In order to choose the right paths and make the correct decisions, we must allow the Holy Spirit to play His role as the guide in our lives. The ball was a guide to slaves as it subtly told how far to go, or where to actually walk in. The death described in the above scriptures : Romans 8 :13 and Proverbs 16:25 is not death in the physical sense, but literally it means a place of condemnation, error, doom and/or anywhere sinful actions can lead us. Slaves needed the guidance the ball gave, we as Christians imperatively need the leadings of God's Word and the Holy Spirit. As freed slaves of sin, we in Christ Jesus however must continue to be tied to God's word and be sensitive to the leadings and teachings of the Holy Spirit in order to be released to the right places and unto Godly things.

Dealing with Hurt

Bitterness is like poison. You will be mistaken to assume you can take it in, but not have it harm you. Gina Bello  

DEALING WITH HURT

It has never been an easy thing handpicking the pieces of a broken drinking glass or an egg. The human heart is no different when it is broken. Some of us can identify with that crashing feeling that comes with disappointments. Others are familiar with the emptiness of a love-lorn state. It hurts when someone we love dearly; trust so completely, and are totally loyal to betray us incredibly. Hurt can develop into fear; grow into anger, or stew into depression. It is essential to deal with any hurt feelings you may have.

Below are a few suggestions as to how to handle hurt:  
Face It ! To be able to come out of a hurtful experience and be wholesome emotionally and mentally, it is prudent to resolve to face the situation squarely. Running away from the hurt is evading reality. This does not aid recovery but rather jeopardises it.There's no need sweeping anything under the carpet. You have been hurt, and it is necessary accepting this. To live in denial is assuaging but is a deception of the highest order. One cannot run away from reality. Sooner or later the scales will fall off, and the dress rehearsal will end. You are on a live show, so do away with all airy fairy acting and see things as they actually are. Facing the hurt you are feeling is a majestic step towards recovery.  

Find Support No man is an island. We all need somebody to lean on in life. When hurt,getting a human shoulder to cry on, or a human ear to voice out your hurt feelings to can go a long way to make you feel better. It is healing to find someone you are comfortable with, and to actually let down your hair as you share your emptiness. So don't hold back. Cry when you want to, off load your anger and frustration, if any. All these are steps towards recovery. Contrarily, do not spend all your time, energy and future days looking for an understanding ear( some kind of agony aunt) to perpetually pour your hurt into.  

You Must Move On! You can also turn to God for support through prayer. He understands perfectly the language of pain and tears.  

Eschew Fault Finding and Bitterness It is not advisable to go on a fault finding trip. This may only compound your frustration and open the door for the entrance of bitter feelings. Avoid the temptation of drinking poison. Bitterness is a poison many people drink and amusingly expect the other person, that is the cause of their pain, to die instead. Don't be decieved - poison is poison! You will be mistaken to assume you can take it in but not have it harm you.
 
Improve Yourself Instead of planning a revenge, think of a lucrative activity or something profitable to invest your energies into. Do something worthwhile - improve yourself! A story is told of two young ladies who were spurned by their lovers, hence were broken hearted. One committed suicide right away. But the other wrote a song out of her experience that became a hit. She made a lot of money out of her situation by her great innovation. So you see, some misfortunes are blessings in disguise. Kindly take a cue from this story and channel your energy into a fruitful venture.

Study something new; or acquire a skill, or better still give back to society through voluntary work, for example. To climax it all, let us look at a Biblical character and learn from how he handled hurt. Joseph in the book of Genesis faced a situation in which he had every reason to be bitter. He had been sold by his own brothers into slavery. His brothers also feigned his death. Joseph obviously was hurt by their actions but he continued to serve the Lord and availed himself for God to use mightily, even whilst in prison. He did not allow the hurt he felt to consume him. He rose above it! When he had an opportunity to confront his brothers, he faced his hurt squarely by crying uncontrollably. However, he did not go fault finding, but rather made a significant remark - " You meant it for evil but God meant it for good." This statement was what Joseph's success revolved around. All through his hurt, I suppose he saw the brighter side of things. Hope stirred in his heart as he visualised the good that could come his way. He did not relent, but kept alive a flame of hope and a sense of purpose in life. This finally led to his exaltation, and is worth our emulation.

Dear one, if and when you are hurt, face the pain squarely and seek support. Do not go fault finding, but rather build yourself up and add value to your life. Make sure you do not wallow in bitterness, as in so doing you will imprison your progress. Bitterness is poisonous - do not drink it!

THE GUILTY JUDGE

Judge not, that ye be not judged - Matthew 7 :1 

A song writer once wrote - " We're quick to notice the faults in others, but the wrongs in our own lives we often deny." How very true this is! Many human beings do not like to be criticised, but are great critics themselves. When observing, it is easy to spot mistakes, loopholes and anything below perfection. However, only a few can actually swap positions with the one being observed and not produce similar or even poorer results. It is absurd and foolish for a man to say to his brother - 'let me take the speck out of your eye,' whilst he himself has a log in his own eye. What a cheek! Yet almost all of us are, or have been found guilty of this wrong doing. 

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 8 vrs 1 - 11, Jesus was confronted with a woman accused of having committed adultery. The accused woman was surrounded by self-made judges who were ready to stone her to death. Jesus, knowing all of the self-pronounced judges were themselves guilty , wisely asked the one without sin to throw the first stone. One by one they dropped their stones and retreated. The obvious reason being the dawning of their own sinful ways. I bet at that hour their minds replayed scenes of theft, adultery, lying, and the ugliest of sins they had committed in the past. Their own guilt stopped them in their tracks. The very judges of evil were guilty of evil doing! Jesus showed us in a profound way why we should not be quick at judging others.  

Matthew 5:7 declares - blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. We are all fallible, so must deal gently with wrong doers. Which man can say - ' I am without sin, or have never done wrong '?       1 John 1:8 puts it this way -" If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Whoever claims to be a spotless man with no blemish whatsoever, is described by the word of God as a liar, and permit me to add, is in pathetic denial. When King David committed adultery and murder, God sent his servant Nathan to him. Being wise, Nathan did not judge or rebuke the King upfront, but played back David's sin before him with a tale. David, like most of us, evaded mercy, and in a judge's robe was angry that someone had acted so inappropriately. He verbally sentenced the poor soul to death. Ironically,he placed a death sentence on himself. When the scales finally fell off his eyes, surprisingly, God did not place on David his own pronounced death sentence. He rather dealt with the king in mercy. 

As guilty ones, we need mercy. Therefore let us take off our garments as judges, and clad ourselves with mercy. As we emit mercy, mercy will be shown to us. The next time you are tempted to judge someone, remember your own short comings and the mercy you will need to be shown to you. Deal gently and mercifully with the guilty. For mercy will be measured out to you in the same measure you render it to others. Please reflect on this line of verse : Romans 2:1 - Therefore , thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou judgest doest the same things.

THE SELL–BY AND EXPIRY DATES

It is imperative to look at the sell-by date on food we buy from the supermarket. And even after buying a pack of canned foods for instance, and using part of them, it is inexcusable if after some days or months, we pick the rest up, with no inkling of its expiry date, and just use them. As our wild imaginations can fathom, the repercussions of such careless behaviour could be catastrophic – food poisoning, stomach upsets, and the like. The fact that a can of food from a pack was suitable for consumption some days back, does not necessarily make the rest of the pack consumable in the now. They may have exceeded their expiry dates. 

The same scenario applies to the Word of God. When God rained manna from above for the Israelites, He cautioned them to only take what was sufficient for that very day. When they disobeyed and took more than was needed, the extra manna had maggots in them at the dawn of a new day, and they stank - Exodus16: 15–20. These stinking manna were supposedly expired. Just like collecting manna on each new day, God wants us to come to His feet at the birth of each day, to receive a Word from Him to strengthen us on that very day. Yesterday’s word may be inappropriate for today, and may not actually solve today’s issues. We daily need brand new messages.

His ways are not our ways, and we cannot assume where He is directing us, or which instructions He has for us. His strategy for tackling seemingly same issues can differ on the scale of time. This can be seen in 2Samuel 15:17-25. The Philistines came up, seeking after David, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired from the Lord whether he should go after them, God answered in the affirmative. David obeyed and was victorious. However, for a second time the Philistines came up against David. He did not reach out for God’s old instructions and immediately go after the Philistines in the valley of Rephaim. Instead, he sought God afresh and inquired of what to do. To my amazement, God gave him a different instruction altogether – one of a strategic ambush. As David walked in obedience to this new direction, he triumphed! 

We need to walk closely with God, following after Him each day, and inquiring from Him every step of this pilgrimage. His word of direction about a matter or incident can differ from time to time. God’s directions can have a sell-by date. And like the rest of the pack of canned food, we must not simply assume they are edible. We must consult with the manufacturer by glancing at their expiry dates. In the same vein, God being our manufacturer has sell-by and expiry dates for His directions, and needs to be consulted all the time in our walk of life. Just as God later directed the Israelites to eat manna collected on the sixth day on the Sabbath – the seventh day (Exodus 16: 22-24), so will He let us know when we inquire from Him daily, if and when to fall back on a word of direction we received in the past. Till we do this, we will be prone to mishaps and stinking experiences as a result of relying on expired directions, or on messages from the Lord, which have passed their sell-by dates.

 

Don’t be careless in your walk of faith. Don’t ignore the sell-by and expiry dates! Buy a fresh word from the ovens of Heaven today!

THE MOST POWERFUL DETERGENT

I had a wonderful friend who was taken into glory at a very tender age. We had our good times, but as is common with most friendships, we had our bad days as well. Yet in the face of death, I sat down to ponder and to see if I could recollect anything I held against my friend. I had a sheet of paper in my hand, but believe me; there was nothing I put down on that sheet. As the cruelty of death stared me in the face, I realised that the love I had for my friend was all that remained, nothing she had done wrong mattered again. Indeed, LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SIN: 1Peter 4:8 

The love of God is so strong that it moved Him to send His only begotten Son to die for us a shameful death that cleanses us from all sin. God’s love has served as a detergent in the sinful lives of men. Our sin, as stains on us, are wiped off with the simple act of love that Jesus showed to us on the cross. 1John 3:16a declares

‘ hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.’ We live in a world where we often collide with offences. Some people deliberately offend us, whilst others offend us without even knowing. Offences can lead to bitter feelings which can defile us – Hebrews 12:15. The antidote for bitterness is having God’s love so fill our hearts that no offence can survive in our presence. If we allow God’s love to emanate from us, it will serve as a detergent that will wipe off offences and prevent bitter feelings. Just as Steven, we will be able to say of them that offend us – ‘‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.’’ And like Jesus, we shall say of them that persecute and cause us pain – ‘‘Forgive them, for they know not what they do.’’ 

The truth is, if we learn not to directly attack the people that offend us. If we will allow ourselves to grasp the understanding that they attack us in their ignorance, and perceive who is actually behind the offences – the power of evil – we will then learn to fight situations that offend us with weapons that are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Love is an example of such a non-carnal weapon. The love of God causes offences to become bearable. It covers multitudes of sin. When we get to a stage where we live in love, we shall feel less offended, and should we even be offended, love will enable us handle it appropriately. 1John 3:14-16 admonishes us to love our brethren as this depicts we have passed from death to life; that we understand Christ’s sacrifice for us; and have a deeper revelation of God’s love. 

In conclusion, we must lay our lives down for others, as Steven did by emulating Christ. Love is the key to opening this sacrificial lifestyle. It causes us to see beyond the evil men do to us, and equips us to show kindness in spite of offences. Love is not easily provoked, suffers long and bears all things.