Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down while you're still angry.
Ephesians 4:26
**
I feel agitated in my spirit. I keep thinking about this lady and this valley that she is in. I keep thinking about offense, and the power of offense and the deadly results it renders when we flagrantly nurse it.I keep thinking about the verse in the Bible (Matthew 13:54-57) that talks about the Jews, amazed at Jesus and his wisdom as he taught in the temple, and how they were offended at him because he was a carpenter and they grew up with him and his siblings, so how could he possibly be teaching with such power and command.
And I think about how that verse says Jesus could not do any miracles because they did not believe.
Offense closes the door to the miraculous. Offense is poisonous; it removes us from seeing and experiencing the power of God to transform whatever that situation or need is; and we miss our promised land blessing(s). Offense resulted in unbelief. Jesus could not do “mighty” miracles, or “many” miracles because of their unbelief.
If you’re offended, how can you believe for anything good; or that the person/people you’re offended by can be or do good? They’re not any better than the resentment they’ve incited.
This lady is offended that God has seemingly left her, but she cannot see that God is blessing her. That without even employment, she still has a place to rest. That without employment she can still be out, eating, spending money. That without employment, she still has ability to use her resources to search for employment and accommodation. She has food. She still has money. She is not on the street. That, even without anything to her name right now, she still has more than enough. She is offended at the nakedness, but his glory is still covering her.
What she is looking for, praying for, God is able to do exceedingly above all that she [has] asked or thinks, but this is the path she must traverse to get to the good things prepared for her. Nonetheless, offense has come to take root. She knows God, of what He is capable of, but she can’t stand him, she can’t be around him. Her heart is unsettled at him unless he gives her what she wants.
But in order to steward what is to come, it has pleased him to purify her this way.
The waters for a mighty miracle have flowed into the basin, and they are before the Lord. But before the waters can be stirred, there’s a sacrifice required. And if she misses this opportunity to be transformed, she will forever live in regret; and the offense will swallow her up.
I’m considering the offense that I also am holding. The one that, in the past few months, has been challenging to release. Because when I think about it, my thoughts are un-Christlike, and my desire for vengeance is ungodly. And I keep reminding God of the injustice of it all. God is capable of mighty miracles. He is able to change the situation, he is able to transform, he is more than able to turn things around; he is more than able to fight for me. I have to hold my peace. I have to trust that ---what he revealed---- and because I prayed, he has answered, and has taken care of it.
Because I can’t physically go and do anything, or say anything. He didn’t reveal so that I could deal with the situation physically. I must entrust the situation to the One who is able, the One who judges righteously. I have to remember that he permitted me to know a little, but he knows things that I do not know. I must not hold anything inside, nor assume things, or allow what has been said—that which I’m privy to—to be a stumbling block to me and my expectation. “All things work together for the good of those that love him, and are called to his purpose.”* This will absolutely work out for my good. It is part of the miraculous works that will take place if I would release it and trust God, and not go ahead of myself and do what will please my ego, my pride. It’s not about what things look like to me, or to others. It’s not about how I’m perceived or what I look like to anyone. It is about what God says the situation is, the timeline is, the blessing is.
My destiny, my life, my expectation is not a group project. What God says is yes and amen. So, I will trust and hold my peace.
I want her to trust in God and hold her peace. I want her to be still. He will show himself as God. He is a covenant keeper and he will keep his word.
**
*Romans 8:28
