Text: Matthew 23:12; Galatians
6:3; Ezekiel 28:2
Key Verse: “Therefore, as it is
written: let the one who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31)
One day a local evangelist
bragged during a crusade that his God was more able than all the other gods in
the town and the powers of the universe that the villagers worshiped put
together. Just then, a rainstorm started, threatening the
progress of the crusade. The evangelist lifted up his voice and declared with
confidence that if the rains fell, then he wasn't a man of God; he would stop
preaching!
Before he could finish his bluff,
the rains began to hit the crusade grounds so vehemently, apparently in
disregard to his declarations. The whole town left the crusade grounds to their
houses, shaking their heads in disappointment and dismay.
The evangelist, so distraught and
angry, packed his belongings and left the town the next day. On his way through
the next town, he checked into a local drinking spot and drank himself to
stupor. As he laid on the ground cursing God, an old seedy looking man tapped him
gently on the shoulder. "Man of God", the old
man began. But the evangelist quickly cut in, "don't mention the name of
God to me. He is fake. He is unreliable. I am no longer a believer in this God.
A God who chooses to disgrace his servants. Leave me alone!"
But the old man would not let him
be. He continued,"I am the fetish priest in the village you just preached
at. During your one week stay in that village, you destroyed all the charms I had made on the people for 45 years. Your prayers and your words always came
with some fearful fire and power. I tried so many times to eliminate you but I couldn't. My last chance came yesterday.
I had loaded my gun with gun powder
lying in wait on the mountaintop where I had a very clear view of you. My plan was
to shoot you from a distance since I couldn't get close enough to you due to
the fire around you. But just when I lifted the gun, the rains came from
nowhere, wetting my gunpowder and covering you in a cloud so that I couldn't
even see you. All I saw was a bright man holding a sword in front of you.
I was
so terrified. I concluded that your God was indeed all powerful and Almighty.
That is why I have been looking for you since then. I want to follow this your
God!" The ex-evangelist bowed his head
in shame!
Beloved in Christ, sometimes, it is
just wise for us to believe that our Father knows the way He is taking us. We
should just trust His leading. Let our boast be in the Lord, not in ourselves.
If we decree a thing and it doesn't happen, let us not see it as disappointment
or dishonor from the Father. Let us just believe that the Father wants his
perfect will to be done in all things.
Please share this if you feel it's worth
sharing. You just might bring a brother or sister in Christ back to light and revive his or her faith in the Lord.
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