“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.”
Matthew 11:12-14 KJV
“He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; And he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.”
Proverbs 16:32 KJV
The believer who cannot contain his emotions cannot endure persecution in a time to come. Beloved of God, to overcome, to tame and to truly walk and serve God in Spirit and in truth,will take a people who have learnt to subdue the flesh and are tuned with the Holy Spirit. The way of the Spirit is indeed life and peace.Today’s study on the journey to wholeness is to come to the point of accepting and taking full responsibility for our healing.
In our first scripture today, this verse is quoted many times concerning warfare. To which there is no contention, but to draw more lessons, let’s take another perspective. The kingdom of God as the bible says suffereth violence, and demands “holy anger”, perseverance, determination, courage, unshakable faith, and endurance to sustain. This means you are in full responsibility for every action and non-action. The friction, irritations, and aggravation others will cost, will not be counted for your failure, but you must take full responsibility for your reaction ,processing and functioning. The life of Jesus faced a lot of contention,even before his birth and from his ancestral lineage. From the time of the Israelites to the time of David, many were the attempts of the devil to eliminate every attempt of a savior. However, every attempt was proved wrong and yet the will of God prevailed. When you observe the lineage up to the birth of Christ, one most important lesson was that, none of the individuals were perfect but they learned the way of the Lord which was to their profit. Joseph, no matter the betrayal of his brothers, was raised to become the savior they did not imagine would arise. Yet his affliction never caused him to end his way to purpose through heartbreak, anger or rejection. As John, the one to prepare the way of the Lord, was prophesied to come in the spirit and power of Elijah, there was a point of weakness in John where he questioned are you the one or should we wait for another? In our time of weakness, it is easy to question the role and value people play in our lives. But one thing as believers we need to keep in mind is the race we are running is for a goal, when we are stuck in our emotions we are blindsighted from the real price. I press on Apostle Paul says, beyond the hurt, betrayal, aggravation, press on(Philippians 3:13-15).
Self-control is the main solution when it comes to emotional intelligence(Proverbs 25:28). One who can control his emotions is always one step ahead(2 Peter 1:5-9). Anger lies in the bosom of fools the bible says(Ecclesiastes 7:9). The way emotions deceive is to blind the one who holds on to them. If you are not Spiritually led, you will be emotionally led. Jesus speaks of the end time when men will betray one another(Mathew 10:21), but one thing He promises in the chapter and many others is the help of the Holy Spirit. The flesh is quick to act out of the haste in the soul, but if we can tame the haste in the soul through the doctrine of the spirit, emotions cannot have the upper hand(Galatians 5:16-17). When it comes to exercising this fruit of the Spirit, it takes making a choice, grace is made available daily but the power of our choices is what determines our prevalence in the kingdom(James 4:7-8).Hence when we choose to walk by the Spirit, learning to know his ways through surrender, is the best we can do to allow him have his way. So then the responsibility aspect to healing depends on us making a choice to follow that which does not grieve the Holy Spirit(Ephesians 4:30-31). Hence we need to learn the ways the Holy Spirit works through us, partner with Him and surrender to Him. Our focus should not just be the manifestation of his power, but also the demonstration of His fruits.
Be determined that the ways of the kingdom are not served on a silver platter, but it takes a people willing to exercise priesthood with diligence and endurance, by the help of the Holy Ghost through discipline and surrender. Not neglecting their responsibility to exercise intent to do the necessary work in this journey of healing.Good morning Beloved.