Nov 6, 2019 3 min
Have you ever been the object of ridicule, attack, or any form of unfair treatment? Of course, you have, but how did you respond? Did you nurse a root of bitterness and waited impatiently for a time of revenge? Did you revert into a shell of distrust and animosity? Did you develop a persecution complex, and a subsequent lens of suspicion through which you consistently view the actions of others? Perhaps, you appear to be coping on the surface, but beneath the surface lies a cauldron of seething emotions that threaten to rip apart your life.
There are numerous ways to respond to adversity at the hands of others; however, if your response is anything other than forgiveness, you have taken an offense. More importantly, you have stepped into a trap the devil sets for every Christian. Consider that the Greek word for offenseis skandalon, which refers to “the name of the part of a trap to which the bait is attached, hence, the trap or snare itself” (The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible). Therefore, when you take offense, you are allowing yourself to become ensnared in a trap. When you are trapped, you become immobile and therefore cannot move into the will and the plan of God. This is nowhere more clear than in the parable of the sower.
The parable of the sower illustrates the power of the Word of God to impact our lives in the greatest positive way. God has already declared, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). The principle of the power and veracity of God’s Word is established also in Numbers 23:19: “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” Clearly, there is power in the Word to bring itself to pass. However, no matter how powerful the Word, if you cannot connect to that power, it will do you absolutely no good.
There is one thing that is guaranteed to sever you from the power of the Word, even if it is already at work in your life. This one thing is listed in the parable of the sower: “And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended” (Mark 4:16, 17). Notice that the person in this parable was doing fine until tribulation came. Notice also that it was the offense, not the tribulation, that separated that person from the power of the Word of God. That means nothing anyone can do to you—no matter how bad—can separate you from the power of God (which we all so desperately need). It is only the offense you take from the injustice you experience that traps you out of God’s best for you. Imagine if Joseph had been offended at the apparent ill treatment he repeatedly received at the hands of his brothers. He would certainly not have prevailed as the one God used to minister substance to Egypt and to preserve his chosen people (a people from whom Jesus descended) during a time of gross famine.
The next time you are tempted to take offense, at what somebody says or does look beyond the offense to the trap the devil has set. The devil is not just trying to get you mad; he is trying to rob you of your destiny! He is trying to rob you from hearing and seeing God’s will for your life more clearly. Clearly, there is a cost associated with offense: a cost you can’t afford!
God bless you as you continue to hear and obey His Voice!
