Offended?

Today…in our world, there is a good chance that you have or can get…offended in Christ! 

 Did you know that Jesus warns us about feelings of offense??

 Aware that his disciples sometimes grumbled and questioned things that He taught, Jesus expounded on what it means to be offended in the promises of His word. 

BLESSED IS HE WHO ISN’T OFFENDED
IN ME…Jesus

You shall be blessed if, believing me to be the Christ of God, you follow me without staggering at anything you see, or annoyed at anything you are called to bear…for my sake. Mt11:6

 Do not allow yourself to be tripped up or ensnared and fall into unbelief—if it seems that His word has not been fulfilled according to your schedule and the way you saw it playing out in your mind! If you do—your mind will then begin to get attacked and flooded with questions about God’s faithfulness.

Impatient believers are those who are offended when they see God working miracles all around them but seemingly, not in their own lives. Also, impatience really is a form of unbelief. It’s what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God’s timing or the goodness of his guidance. It springs up in our hearts when the road to success gets muddy, or covered with large boulders, or blocked by a fallen tree.

The complete opposite of impatience is having a deep, ripe, peaceful willingness, either to wait for God where you are, or to persist…in spite of oppositions, at His pace. Impatient believers can become offended at what they believe as God’s slowness to answer their prayers, and over time, they will begin to feel neglected and captive.

In the scriptures, impatience is a form of spiritual laziness called slothfulness. (apathy, indifference— particularly bored with God) We are told to:

 Be NOT slothful, but to be followers of them who “through faith and patience”…inherit the promises.
(Heb. 6:12).

Today, God’s promises can try us at times, but if we don’t add patience to our faith during our trials, we’ll end up offended at God. 

SATAN’S AIM IS SIMPLE: TO ROB US OF ALL OUR CONFIDENCE IN THE LORD 

 We should not allow unbelief and accusations about who Jesus is…to take root in us!

 If we do, we will doubt who “we” are… and all that God has done in our life! We are instructed to follow Abraham’s example:

 After Abraham had patiently endured…he obtained the promise.

When we allow ourselves to be offended in Jesus, there is a danger of spinning out of faith completely! The longer we hold onto our offense, the harder it becomes to break through our prison bars of unbelief.  Remember this promise that our Lord spoke:

You shall be blessed if…believing me to be the Christ of God, you follow me without staggering at anything you see, or annoyed at anything you are called to bear, for my sake.

You won’t be disappointed! Promise!