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Loose Him and Let Him Go!
The Lord made a definitive statement in Luke.17.1 — Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come…” Understand that offences come to everyone, from the articulate intellectual to the most formidable illiterate, the one common denominator among all social classes is that one cannot exist in this world without encountering various types of offences and disappointments, sometimes from the most genuine and honest sets of persons. The difference in people emerges in how they respond to the conflicts they encounter.
I have come to learn that when we say to ourselves, to God or to anyone that we can’t handle the conflict, we are in essence saying we can’t handle the promotions of life, for every promotion ultimately brings us into a higher level of exposure to conflict. Joseph had such staggering pressure, was exposed to enormous conflict and disappointments from his own family members and all was because of the promised greatness that his destiny commanded, If you can’t handle the pressure, you can’t function in the promise that is inherent to that level of promotion. Your ability to function in the promise is dependent on how you handle the many offences that will come. If you don’t want a flat tire, don’t drive a car, if you don’t want to work through marital challenges, don’t get married. Every promotion and advancement will of a necessity come with its own packaged offences waiting for your response to move to the next level.
Since offences are as organic to life as the need for water, the distinction between people is indeed how we handle those conflicts. Top level executives are employed based on their ability to manage conflicts and to mitigate the possible damages and liabilities associated with their organization. In effect, you must see the bigger picture or purpose and avoid the propensity to blind yourself by micromanaging and staring at minute issues until they resemble mountains. If we allow our reactions to reflect our pettiness and short sightedness, then we miss the larger opportunity to move forward and effectively grow into new and greater responsibilities. Too often we become ensnared by the traffic jam of conflicts and disappointments and find ourselves trying to drive forward while our eyes are affixed to the rear-view mirror. Forgiveness requires a daily practice rather than the pressure of crisis management.
As 2021 prepares to shake hands with 2022 and make her final goodbye, don’t step into the year with the extra luggage of offences and unforgiveness, release it for your promotion is here. When you operate from the position of victimization, you come into the future with the toxic waste from the past.
If you allow offense to have a free rein, it will eat up the opportunities you did not even know were waiting just beyond the test! If Joseph had decided to live in a state of offense, he would have been too traumatized to interpret the dreams of the Butler and the Baker which eventually led to his exaltation and promotion.
Can you have a car that never needs repairs? Or a house with no need for maintenance? Similarly any life worth living faces conflict with a variety of tools from which wisdom can be gleaned, a relationship improved or an opportunity revealed. When Jesus said that “offences will come” He offered us a warning that offences are an inevitable part of all relationships. Yet most people have no provision in their thought process that includes a healthy plan to function when the relationship, agreement, ally or staff person become dysfunctional. Repair the damage of past storms and confidently face the conflicts of the future, for like Joseph, the archers will shoot their arrows but you must maintain your strength in forgiveness and joy.
In the process of trying to forgive and forget, we discover that sometimes a minor offense can do more damage than a major trauma. Depending on our reaction and how we choose to behave in light of a particular offense, a small slight can end up swelling into a cancerous growth if it remains unchecked. Before we can proceed with healing and moving forward, we must separate ourselves from the power of an insidious preoccupation. We must let go of demanding that the wrong be righted, the loss restored or the offender be punished in the way we deem appropriate.
“You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfilment.” — Ps.66.12
What a Blessing! Whatever has happened to you this year that has brought pain and disappointments, write it off! Writing it off doesn’t mean you are weak, it takes a great deal of strength, hope and faith to garner the courage to move beyond the breach. Writing it off doesn’t mean you won’t be compensated by some other opportunity ahead of you, Many times I really believe that God compensates us with such incredible divine favour to balance what was done to us by others. Writing it off helps you gain a glimpse of what God did with our sins. We had a debt we couldn’t pay, God received payment from an outside source (Jesus Christ) and wrote it off even while we had not yet received Him.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Rom.5.8
Nowhere is there a more classic case of writing off a debt for an unapologetic individual than at the Cross where the ones responsible for the crucifixion didn’t apologise and yet the first thing Christ did with the unrepentant was to ask the father to “forgive them..” how could he do this with blood running down his face and hands? How could he do that while the guilty further exacerbate the crises by gambling for his garments while he bleeds.
He did that because he had bigger issues to deal with and he didn’t want to face a need to resurrect himself with any trace of bitterness draining his power. You also have to focus on resurrection and you can’t go on with the business of resurrection if you are going to remain focused on the details of your personal crucifixion!
Release him!
Release her!
Release your boss
Release your father
Release that situation that happened!
Loose Him and Let Him Go!
Step into the new year with Freshness, with Resurrection, with Power, with Grace and Glory!
Happy New Year in Advance.
Michael D.Olaniyi
@mdolaniyi
Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The Powerpoint Tribe
