Human beings, I would say, are the most favoured of all creatures. We were created in the image of God and, like the Angels, we were made spiritual beings. But we were also given a physical form that allows us to have dominion over the earth. We were given instincts like animals, but added to us was the ability to reason and make decisions through the gift of freewill.
A pastor I know was asked, “Can a Christian have a demon?” His reply was, “Of course. A Christian can have whatever he wants.” When the believer asked this question, he had the common thought that once we are believers, some things just happen automatically. We assume that when we give our lives to Jesus, we are immediately the light of the world and untouchable.
Or in some cases we believe that the devil can have so much power that he can do whatever he desires even in the lives of Christians. The response from the pastor, however, showed a dimension we seem to forget. Life is made up of decisions that we make every second we are alive. Different situations come our way but it is our response to them that matters. What do we do about it?
We have turned a blind eye to this gift of freewill, as if it’s of no use, yet it is one the most powerful gifts we were given. No one can force on us what to do. Our instincts do not dictate the way we mould. God does not use us as His puppets, the same way the devil cannot use us, until we decide.
But do you see now how we walk around like we do not have the power to decide, like we are zombies? We forget that for us to be in this state we have DECIDED to be zombies. We have DECIDED to not have a say in what happens to our lives. When you do not decide, you have already made a decision. We would rather put the blame on something or someone else than take responsibility of the gift we have.
The Devil Made Me Do It
This is a phrase that was used from the first day sin was committed. God asked Adam why he ate of the forbidden fruit, Adam said his wife, Eve, made him eat it, and his wife blamed the devil. That way they made it look as if they had no choice. You would think Adam was tied down and the fruit was shoved in his mouth. Same with Eve, you would think the serpent placed her under a coma and moved the fruit down her throat. But the truth of the matter was both Adam and Eve took the fruit willingly, and with their own hands lifted the fruit up to their lips and partook of it.
Did God take their excuses and their blame game as valid? No. They both suffered the consequences of their actions. I often ask; on Judgment Day when you tell God, “The devil made me commit a sin,” will He look at you with loving eyes and say,” You are right my child. That devil is very cunning, sorry you had to go through that. Please enter the kingdom.”? I very much doubt that. The devil has already received his judgment. On judgment day, it’s your decisions that are going to be judged.
Eve could have made the decision not to entertain the serpent. She could have made the decision to wait until the cool of day to ask God if what the serpent said was true. She really had other options. The devil can deceive and trick you, but he can never make the decision for you. To give time to the devil is a decision you make. Acting on the twisted information he presents is also your choice. If you can only realise the devil is left with nothing else to lose, while you have everything to lose, you will fight him not only in prayer, but with the decision you make. God cannot make you decide, neither can the devil. What they BOTH present are choices.
Spiritual Curses
I believe curses are real. The Bible has many instances where curses and cursing are mentioned. Noah curses his child, Balak asking Balaam to curse the Israelites and Jesus cursing the fig tree, just to mention a few. In all these cases these curses were spoken. We are created in the image of GOD, so what God does we can also do. GOD created the whole world by the power of the tongue, by speaking so we, as humans, can also create environments and situations by the power of the tongue, for the power of death and life lies in the tongue as the Bible says. Therefore, when a human being speaks negatively upon one’s life, those words have the power to change the circumstances around that person’s life.
My question now is, can curses be used as an excuse? Can one go on forever and say I have a promiscuity curse that does not allow me to stay faithful in a relationship, as we hear so often. My conviction is no, that is not a valid excuse. It can be a reason yes, but not an excuse, because the same gift of the tongue is in you too, and if you are born again even better. You see, dark curses were usually words spoken and powered by the blood of animal or human sacrifices, unworthy blood, but you are speaking positively, powered by the undefiled, worthy and powerful blood of Jesus. You have to decide how you will use the tongue and the blood made available to you.
I believe in deliverance from the laying on of hands as well, but only if you decide to take part in it. The reason why we see some people who are always getting delivered from the same demon almost every Sunday is because we leave it all to the pastor. If it fails, we say the pastor is not strong enough. We push the responsibility to someone else so they can take the blame. Deliverance should also not be forced, or coerced on anyone. Just like salvation, it has to start with a fully convicted and committed decision on the part of the person being delivered. One should not be sweet talked into it because it looks like a good idea. That way, you are not just a spectator in your own deliverance story; you are conscious and aware of the way you act after the altar call; the places you go, the way you pray.
However, the decision does not take the place of prayer; it is rather the decision that leads you to a place of prayer. The Jabez story is a story loved by many. “Lord enlarge my territory.” We seem to take lightly the strength Jabez had to find from within to DECIDE not to have his life determined by his mother’s pain. He decided not to be known as pain, and that committed decision led him to the answer, the answer being to PRAY, and present his case before God.
Pray It Away
Ever faced a serious problem and you are told to pray it away? It can be frustrating sometimes because you WOULD HAVE prayed about it. I find praying things away a little easier when it is something beyond my control, like the economy or someone else’s life. But what if it’s something within my control, like addictions, lust or a failing relationship? Can one really just pray it away?
There is a phrase that says, where there is a will there is a way. Do you notice how it starts with your will? I believe prayer then becomes your light that shows you the way, and it then gives you the strength to walk down the path. And when the Holy Spirit has shown you the way and given you the strength, walking down the path still requires your will and your decision.
But this is how we usually do it, we pray to be better people in the prayer closet, and when we walk out, we do not DECIDE to take the steps that makes us better people. We think the prayer will just work like magic, and change our attitude. The Bible already tells us that faith without works is dead (James 2:17).
Prayer gives insight, strength and courage. It intensifies or magnifies what is already inside us. Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane used prayer to make him strong in something He was already willing to do. It was not like prayer would take over His will and make Him do what He had not made up His mind on. After that prayer, He took the steps that led Him to do as God had told him to do. Every step He took on that painful road was a decision He made to obey the Father’s will, as hard as it was.
Our decisions and actions should corroborate our prayers. We can’t pray to be delivered from the spirit of lust, and then decide to be in the company of people who fuel our lust the next minute.
Victim of Circumstances
The truth is, no one ever asked to be here, and no one determined where they started off their lives at. You were simply born into a poor family or a rich one. You just opened your eyes and found yourself in the arms of a hateful father. And as is life, many other things just happened to us beyond our control. It is quite unfortunate. It could definitely be used as a reason for whatever negative behaviour we might end up having, but unfortunately it is still not an excuse.
Bill Gates said,” If you are born poor, it is not your mistake, but if you die poor, it is your mistake.” I took this quote not only with regards to wealth but also the quality of life we live. An example, you might be born in a family full of hate and bitterness, but to die with it would be your decision. You had your whole life to live, and I truly believe opportunities to make things right would have presented themselves, but you DECIDE to hold on to the pain until the grave.
Most people like to dwell on the fact that life is unfair, but it is fair in the sense that it is unfair to everyone. While we like to debate on how others have it easy, usually determining this by material possession, we fail to count the blessings we have that they might not have, even the simplest blessing of knowing Christ. Then there are others who might not have it all, but are close because of the quality of decisions they have made, some of them pretty hard decisions, but the difference is they made them.
Choose to break out of your situations, to look for solutions and act on them, not only for you, but also for future generations. Your happiness matters, but guess what, no one can bring it to you. You have to work on it. And one sure way to work on it is deciding to do things God’s way.
The Choice Is Yours to Make
Life is made up of choices, that is what makes it tiresome sometimes- lol, but it is the only way to play this game. It was so in the Old Testament, in the law era (Deuteronomy 30:19), it is so in the New Testament, in our grace era (John 3:16).The gift of life is to whosoever chooses to believe Christ. When we choose to believe in Him, we now choose to be used by Him.
Now there are two choices to make, life or death. There is only one way to life and many ways to death. The way of God is straight and narrow. When you choose Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour, then every choice has to be all about Him. With the devil however, it is wide. It has so many options. Some choose him directly, some choose him by deciding not to decide, some choose him by disobeying God etc.
Both God and the devil can never force us to do something we are not willing to do. God is however more gentleman about it, as we always say. He comes clearly as He is and presents His offer to you. The devil on the other hand, is more cunning as he uses deceit and masks, which can make people think that he can work through your life without your involvement, but it is not so. The devil has no such right neither does he have that power.
Life therefore requires us to be more vigilant of the choices we make with every breath. Once you are fully conscious of the fact that you have to decide, you have to be responsible for your own life and your own happiness, and then you will be able to make the right decision – life or death.
We have been given a great gift of freewill. May we use it wisely, but most importantly may we use it often.
