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Your future is greater than the present affliction

Opinion & Analysis
Many times you are persecuted not because of what and who you are, but what and who you will become.

Many times you are persecuted not because of what and who you are, but what and who you will become.

Erasmus Makarimayi

Your potential and reserves inside you attract opposition. Satan always wants you to shelve your destiny. Your battles and warfare are not necessarily because of visible threat, but future capacity. The devil is better off dealing with you in your infancy than in your full blown capacity.

Your mature state makes the devil tremble. If you don’t open your eyes to see the bigger picture you will throw in the towel too early and miss who you could have been.

You have a bright future and high calling. Your future is greater than the present affliction.

The Bible makes it clear that we should be knowledgeable to avoid destruction. Hosea 4:6a says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Don‘t cry over your current situation thinking that your load is too much compared with who you are. You may view yourself as too insignificant to attract such warfare. Don’t you sometimes wonder why the devil comes with machine guns and all sorts of armoury to fight you, a little ant in your view? It has been repeated over and over again that the size of your warfare is an indication of who you are.

When the devil realised that Moses was going to deliver the children of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, he was wroth and decided to kill all male children.

Every time Satan perceived that someone was going to liberate God’s people, he sent his army to attack. It was prophesied that the Messiah was coming and the devil would check on every pregnancy to see if the Messiah was not in there. You would want to know that as soon as the pregnancy is conceived, it becomes visible to the devil.

Satan will try to cause miscarriages and still births. If he fails, he will cause some pregnancies to stay longer than nine months so that perchance the mother and baby may die. Others will be born prematurely. He can block the womb or cause fibroids if he senses that you will give birth to a great person.

Your real battle does not start when you become aware. It is only the grace and protection of God that keeps you. God can choose to hide you from the sight of the devil. You may wonder how the devil knows your future. A spiritual star always accompanies men and women of great contribution to the cause of humanity. You know the story of the wise men who tracked Jesus by His star.

Matthew 2:1-2 reads, “[1] Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, [2] Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” Now you appreciate why the devil wants to keep Africa bound. Satan is not happy to see Africa exploiting its resources especially now that the continent has been so much evangelised. He dreads to see its wealth being used in a Christian way. While the African issue is political it is even more spiritual.

You have to stop being childish and fight for your destiny. You have been crowned with greatness. Don’t look down upon yourself. Whatever comes against you should not distract you from your calling. If sickness, poverty or calamity strikes you, remain focussed and continuously aim at your goal. It may be a hard saying but it is biblical.

If it means you remain sick, unmarried or without all the riches you yearn for, let it be so. Remain on track for the prize. Paul remained on course despite affliction. 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 says, “[7] And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

[8] For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.” He probably prayed and fasted and did all Scriptural gymnastics but The Lord would not remove the thorn in the flesh until he realised that God’s grace was sufficient to lead a victorious life.

Sometimes you have to realise that the life in the physical world is so short compared with the life to come. Job 14:1 puts it thus, “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.” The other side is being born of the spirit where eternity is sweeter.

Get encouragement from Paul who remained steadfast and says at the end of his life in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Don’t miss what you could be. Don’t give a permanent decision to a temporary situation. Open your eyes and see beyond the horizon. You are going somewhere.

All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible