Faith and Instincts

 

The craziest thing I learned last year was that the devil is very much involved as God is. The devil is not in charge but he’s involved. Do you know that the devil can give visions too? It was a very scary lesson especially in a time like this. In every thought and action, I’m caught in a fix of “is this God, or is this the devil via my instincts?” How exactly would God have me live? How does God want me to handle this situation? Will God be happy with this thing I’m doing? and many more questions.

I finally listened to Jackie Hill-Perry’s message on the book (letter) of Jude to the Christians. Yes, finally because it was sent to me sometime in 2019, but I convinced myself that I was too busy to listen at that time and I eventually forgot about it.

I would love for you to listen to it as well, and I pray that the Holy Spirit convicts you of the truth in the word of God, Amen.

After listening and indulging in my own bible study – because whenever you hear the word from pastors and preachers, it is best you go back to the word. Not because you want to confirm if what they said is in the bible, but because you want to really know the mind of God concerning that message. This brings me to the highlights of the revelation I received that night from the living word of GOD. I was just studying God’s word and He allowed me to experience life in His word. When I’m done organizing my notes, I’d share a detailed review of everything I received understanding of. But before then, these are a few things I would like to share.

1.      Study the word of God. Everything you need to know about righteous living is in it. The problem with most of us is that we’re constantly looking for quick fixes – searching for scriptures that explicitly tell us how to talk to people, how to walk, how to eat, how to dress, and so on. The truth of the matter is that we won’t find answers as direct as that, but e can definitely know the mind of God from His Word and the Holy Spirit will guide us to act right.

2.      Approach the word with a desire to know God, not for confirmation of what you think is right. We know that many false preachers take scriptures out of context and use them to back what they believe based on their instincts. They’ll tell you, “look it up in the bible, it’s there”. It’s there quite alright but is that really what that scripture is about. I used to be “them”, but having this understanding and changing my approach has brought more light into my life and walk with Christ. Based on what we’ve known and heard for so long as Christians, we read the Bible with a made-up mindset and we are definitely still lost. Do not just pick a verse and generate a principle for life, read the whole context – either the whole chapter or the whole book. This will give you an understanding of who God was referring to and why He was addressing them and how that message, lesson, or warning applies to you. Don’t go to confirm what you already believe to be true but you just need scriptural backing to prove that Christ said it.

3.      Be careful not to put your instincts in place of the will of God. For extreme cases, like where I find myself often – I’m like I know that scripture! I know who it was written to and why! I know what God said and so on. Hence, I convince myself that I know what God will have me do. This is a very tiny detail that accounts for so much in our walk with God. Self-righteousness is one of those holes in the faith that can only be seen when brought under the microscope of THE WORD. So you are asked to counsel a thief; as a Christian, you know that stealing is a sin and it is wrong, so you just lash out at this person because the person is indulging in sin. Yes, God frowns at sin, but at that very moment, with that particular person, are you really sure that God would have you lash out at that person? This is just an abstract illustration, but the point is that because we still have this flesh we have to renew our minds (instincts) with the word of God daily, hourly, and even every second so that we don’t give the devil any chance to influence our instincts.

So the devil is actively stalking you, waiting for that moment that you feel self-sufficient and he will reassure you with evil. Be careful to be fully equipped with the word of God and always allow His spirit to convict you of His will in His word and to guide you always. I pray that you understand from these few points that the devil is involved but not in charge, and it’s up to you to either give him the chance to influence and manipulate you or not. This means we have to be very cautious in the way we live and be constantly guided by God's Word and His Spirit.

To be continued…………