The
Biblical basis
In Proverbs chapter
sixteen verse seven, the word of the Lord states, “When a man’s ways please the
Lord, He makes even his enemies be at peace with him.” (Amplified Bible).
Conversely, if a man’s way does not please the Lord, I dare to say that what
will happen to him will be the opposite, that is to say, his enemies will not
be at peace with him. I think this could be the reason behind curses and the
battle in a Christian’s life most of the times, though not always. Sometimes
Satan fights the Christian for no just cause just as it is in Job’s case. Read
Job 2: 1-8.
In
all honesty how many Christians are living sinless lives? How many are
blameless, and how many are holy? The bible says, “Without holiness, no man can
see the Lord.” Sometimes one may even be ignorant of the fact that he or she
has sinned. He that does not offend in words the bible describes him as a
perfect man. (James 3:2). But the Holy Spirit whispers into our hearts saying
my son, or my daughter, do you know that you have just missed the mark? Some
people gave that a coinage and described it as “the sins of the saints!” As
Christians many of us know that there are some sins that are obvious such as
are mentioned in the Bible. For example, the book of Revelations chapter one,
verse eight reads:
But as for the cowards and the
ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the
cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the
depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and
adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give
supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars those who
knowingly convey untruth by word or deed) – [all of these shall have] their
part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.
(Amplified Bible).
But what will one say
about a Christian who is being ruled by anger almost all the time? Even though
he or she may not blow up the top of the lid but in that quietness, gently
boiling with anger, sin is already recorded against such a fellow except he or
she repents and asks God for forgiveness. This brings to my mind the case of a
Christian sister who was bitter but she did not know until one remarkable day.
She attended a Sunday service at a church and having been convicted by the
Spirit of the Lord to amend her ways, she responded to an altar call for
re-dedication of her life to Jesus Christ. As she was sitting down in the
waiting room expecting to meet with one of the church counsellors, the Holy
Spirit confronted her with this reality. It was as if someone spoke to her
inwardly, “You are bitter against God.” The sister could not believe what she
heard. She was so disturbed and after meditating on that sentence for a while she
accepted that it was true and she broke down weeping. One of the counsellors on
standby saw her sobbing but he did not interrupt her. That was a good quality
of a counsellor. He allowed the sister to settle her case with her creator
unhindered. The lady in question quietly confessed her sin of bitterness
against God and asked God to forgive her.
Beloved,
I was that lady! I brightened up after the prayer and I beckoned to the
counsellor who had actually been watching the ‘drama,’ and I said to him, “Sir,
I am alright. I want to go home.” The counsellor asked, “Are you sure you are
o.k. or will you like to still meet with a counsellor? I put up a beautiful
smile and assured him that “all is well.” The counsellor prayed with me and I left
the Counselling hall liberated from the spirit of bitterness and I went home
rejoicing. Reading through this story, many questions may likely be racing
through the mind of the reader. How can someone be bitter against God? Is that
really possible? I understand your confusion. I was also taken by surprise. How
can I be bitter against my creator? But remember that the Holy Spirit searches
through the heart of man and He sees what is there even when it is latent, I mean
when it appears nothing is at stake.
Considering our story
let us imagine if Satan had struck the sister with infirmity, chains of
calamities et cetera, many would have
judged wrongly. Some people who knew her
closely might even vouch for her that the sister is living right with God, how
could such a thing happen to her? But the truth was that she was actually
‘swimming’ in an ocean of bitterness for years against her creator due to the
challenges of life she was confronted with. The accuser, Satan, actually had a
foothold to hold on to, confidently reporting to God saying something like this,
“Have you seen your so-called daughter living in the sin of bitterness? I have
every right to attack her. What do you have to say, Master?” This is just my
imagination! Thank God for the blood, the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. Some people may not be that fortunate to escape being struck by the
devil even though they are born-again Christians. Deep-seated issues must be
cleared with God’s mercy in order to scale through the accusation of the
adversary.
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