Don’t Be Defined By Bad Experiences

CALL TO PRAYER

By: Stephen Osei Kuffour

Date: 07.05.2023

Title: Don’t Be Defined By Bad Experiences

And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”  (Judges 6:12-13 NKJV)

There was a time that the Children of Israel did evil in the sight of God, and He delivered them into the hands of the Midianites to discipline them. When the Israelites have toiled and sown on their Land, the Midianites will attack them and destroy the produce of the Land. The Midianites really oppressed the Israelites. One day, an Angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon and told him that the Lord is with him. He replied that if the Lord is truly with them, why would they go through all these suffering and oppression (Judges 6)?

Beloved in the Lord, the fact that you are experiencing a trial doesn’t mean the Lord has left you. He has promised never to leave you nor forsake you (Heb 13:5, Matt 28:20). Since the Lord is not a man that He should lie and is always true to His word, we are confident that He will always be with us (Num 23:19).

Maybe you have made some mistakes and backslid, and so you think that the Lord is angry with you. However, don’t worry! The Lord has not rejected you. That’s what the evil one wants you to believe. Today, if you should repent and run back to the Lord, His arms would be widely open to embrace you and use you powerfully again for His Glory (Luke 15:21-24).

There are many people who allow one bad experience to define or determine the rest of their lives. The fact that you are divorced, failed an exam or got pregnant out of wedlock does not mean you are a failure. The fact that you are in a garage does not make you a car.

I once heard someone say that her life was over because her fiancé had left her. Some even end up committing suicide because of a broken relationship. These people forget that they can love again. There are billions of better men and women out there. God does not define you by your experiences; neither should you.

God saw Gideon as a mighty man, but he saw himself through the mirror of his then experience: a poor and oppressed Israelite, whose clan was the weakest in Manasseh and was also the least in his father’s house (Judges 6:15-16). Your current situation may seem to contradict the promise of God for you. However, continue to have Faith in the Lord and He will surely fulfill His promise.

Beloved in the Lord, know that your current situation is not your end but just a journey and preparation toward the greatness that the Lord has prepared for you. You are who God says you are and not what your experiences say you are.

Prayer Point:

Let’s thank God for His Word today. Let’s ask the Lord to open the Spiritual eyes of all Believers to know who we are in Him. Let’s also ask Him to strengthen us to endure all forms of Trials, Sufferings and Persecutions.

God bless you all