Genesis 16:8 “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
Offence isolates. Withdrawal is the immediate reaction to offence. Harboring offence distances us from people and clogs the conduit of divine connection. “Offense cuts you off from God. We separate ourselves from the pipeline. I’ve never seen anything block the blessings from Heaven except offense” – John Bevere. It is good to withdraw intermittently to ingest and digest the pain of a disappointment, hurt or loss but isolation will disconnect the life-giving water that flushes out the toxin from our soul. The longer we hoard an offence the harder it will become to decimate. As for Hagar, she became proud when she found herself pregnant with a child hence, she despised her barren mistress Sarai (who was renamed as Sarah). Sarah in turn mistreated her. The offended pregnant slave girl eloped into the wilderness. However, the Lord God sent Hagar back to her mistress to be obedient under Sarai until she gave birth to her son Ishmael. If Hagar had wandered in the wilderness any longer, she would have aborted the child in her womb.
Offence is the forceps that aborts the purpose and plans of God in our lives. Many walk away from the mission and vision that God has called them to when they are battered by the cruel winds and the malicious waves of offence, insults or criticism. Offence is like stomach cramps during early stages of pregnancy that suffocates life out of our womb and the purpose out of our lives.
Reactions and Responses to offence:
- Exterminate: Reactions to offence will exterminate relationships, friendships and leaderships but a Godly response will kill pride and egotism. The offended Hagar ran away from her mistress but the Lord made her subservient and obedient to the same mistress until egotism was exterminated and His purpose was birthed. Re-examine the insult and all that was told and dismiss that which injures your soul.
- Embed: Reaction allows the poison to pollute the soul but response shields the soul from infections. Be cautious not to allow insults to embed your soul. The offence that takes root, bears bitter fruit and becomes difficult to uproot. Offence rehearsed and repeated implants and embeds itself deep into our soul. Reactionary indignation will sink into self-righteousness and fester offence whereas Godly response is repulsive to insults. Eject anger, annoyance and acidity from embedding in your soul.
- Exercise: Anyone alive on the earth will be offended, insulted or mistreated. There are no exceptions. The higher we grow the fiercer the attack will be. Treat offence like dumbbells to strengthen the biceps of your soul. We cannot love those who hate us until we have been first persecuted, maltreated and wronged. The simple exercise to overcome offence is to sincerely pray for the offenders. Jesus did not remind us to pray for our kit and kin, friends and family (we do that anyway) but He instructed us to pray for those who mistreat, persecute and offend us. Sincere heart-felt prayers for the offenders is the exercise that strengthens the biceps of our soul.
Offence that roots itself in the soul will abort the purpose of God. Uproot offence by praying for the persecutors and the offenders.
Matthew 5:44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
Prayer: Dear Jesus, may I be disciplined myself to pray for the persecutors; exercise to exterminate and eject offence from embedding into my soul. Amen.
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