FOR YOURSELF, BY YOURSELF

Well hello there!

How are you doing today? We're just a few days away from the second half of 2024! I say make I ask you how the first half be for you.

 

Anyway, welcome to today's gist. 

I read a really jarring story in the Bible recently and I thought to share. 

In 1 Kings 13, we see God delivering a message to Jeroboam: Jeroboam had become king and had led Israel into more sin than Solomon did. The Bible talks about his intentional disobedience. It became too much and God sent a prophet to him, telling him that he and his lineage will be destroyed as punishment for his sin.

Jeroboam been want show who e be na, e point hand to the prophet say make dem arrest am, but as he stretched his hand out, the hand became leprous instantly. Immediately, he began to ask the prophet to speak to God on His behalf for forgiveness and restoration of his hand. The prophet prayed and the hand was healed. Jeroboam sought to 'reward' the prophet but the prophet refused, saying that God has instructed him not to tary in Bethel; in fact God's express instructions were that he should not eat or drink anything there and shouldn't even return to Judah from Bethel using the same way he came into Bethel. 

The prophet finished the assignment God gave him and left for Judah, using another way of course. An older prophet in Bethel heard what had happened and had a donkey saddled for him. He went after this young man who was jejely obeying God his thing. 

He found him resting under a tree and asked him if he was the prophet God had sent to Jeroboam. Uncle young prophet said yes he was. Daddy old prophet now invited Uncle young prophet to go back with him for refreshment after his obviously tedious errand. At first Uncle young prophet refused but when Daddy old prophet told him that God had visited him and asked him to bring Uncle young prophet back to Bethel, Uncle committed the first mistake that set him down the path of perdition –he believed Daddy old prophet and turned back to go to Bethel will him. 

As I read this passage, the question that jumped out in my mind was "Uncle, God had been speaking to you since, why did you not confirm with him first before you left?" And as I wondered about this, I realized that this problem was not just a 'then' problem faced by this young prophet and others in those days, it's a 'now' problem too! Too often, we're quick to receive 'Rhema' given to us by spiritual figures and authorities in our lives, most times without even stopping to ask God if the word is true and for us: we see a bandwagon going somewhere and we hastily jump on it, not even minding that this wagon may not be going to where you're going to, the people on the wagon and their spiritual maturity just automatically seems like enough proof that this is where you should be so you forget to confirm with God. 

That's exactly what our Uncle young prophet did; immediately the old prophet told him that God gave him a newer message with instructions, he followed. Again I asked myself why Uncle didn't see anything suspicious with the fact that God would just decide to suddenly 'change His mind' about the instructions, this same God who had told the Israelites that He is not man to lie or son of man to change His mind (Numbers 23:19a). 

He went with Daddy old prophet to Bethel where Daddy old prophet served him refreshment and while they were dining, God indeed spoke through the old prophet: He told Uncle young prophet that since he had disobeyed Him, he would not be returning to his house alive and would not get the privilege of being buried with his fathers. 

Now, Uncle eye clear! He stood up and went on his way, but God's word no dey fail: a lion found him on his way and killed him. Surprisingly, the lion didn't eat his flesh or anything, it just stood there guarding the corpse till news reached Bethel. Once the old prophet heard, he stood up and went to carry the new prophet from the road and brought him to be buried in Bethel, weeping for him and mourning him. 

This last bit of the story really got me angry! What did the old prophet stand to gain by what he did? Was he trying to show the young prophet shege because God bypassed him and used the young prophet? I was so angry because the old prophet just stood up and made himself devil's tool to cause problem in this young man's life for no reason at all! Then he had the effrontery to now mourn the man like he wasn't the one responsible for his demise. 

But even as I was angry at the old prophet, if that man dey heaven I go like tell am one or two when I reach, I realized that his plot would not have worked had the young prophet taken the time to properly inquire from God what the true position was. I mean, God had expressly spoken to the young prophet before, why did he not try to confirm from God again before standing up to follow the old prophet? He would not have died as he did if he had just taken steps to confirm that God indeed said what the prophet was saying He said. 

Am I saying that God cannot speak to you through people? No! Here's however what God will never do: He will never contradict Himself and His word, so if God has told you something, He will never send a contrary message to you through anyone, no matter how spirit filled they are, He is not a God of confusion after all! (1 Corinthians 14:33)

So what can we do? We can become like the Bereans, these people would always confirm the words spoken to them by Paul from the scriptures before accepting it (Acts 17:11); they knew that God is the source of all knowledge and would only accept as truth what they had confirmed came from God. 

And that's the life God wants us to live, a life of continuous sensitivity to Him that our first recourse is always to ask Him if He has indeed said a thing before we begin to run with it. The blessings of running on God's instructions are enormous, and the repercussions of running to where God no send you are also enormous. It will never be worth the gamble to begin to act before confirming from God whether He has indeed set you upon a path, we must learn to hear God for ourselves and move only at His instruction and leading. 

May God help us to get into the habit of confirming with Him first before we move. 

NLS HOT GIST: This is the last week of Court attachment for me, and other Law School students like me. After this, we'll be moving to Law offices that we have been assigned to, we'll spend time understudying there also. I for give detailed comments about wetin my eye don see for court but make dem no say I tell anybody secret, make I just say whatever you're doing, make sure you're keeping adequate and sufficient records of your financial dealings with others, and ask God to help you train your children well make dem no come disgrace you later. 

Well that's that about that as far as that is concerned, see you next week!

Love,

Achenyo. 

PS. How far your goals for 2024? It's a good time to review them don't you think?