Faith Murderers

You are bubbling, almost at evaporation point, with expectation. You’re brimming with world-changing ideas and teeming with mountain-moving faith on account of a word you’ve received of the Lord.

Off you go, bouncing and buzzing, graciously awaiting what God would birth through the light in you.

Then you speak with someone about this treasure you uncovered.

And right after that talk, you are unable to find all the faith that was nearly choking you. It’s as though it never existed because you can’t even trace the path it took as it left you.

Now, you feel downcast. You begin to doubt your God-given ability to accomplish what you once considered a rare opportunity from God. You even start to question God’s capacity to bring His Word to fruition.

All that faith is suddenly gone.

You calculate and wonder. Was it all a dream? Am I dealing with village people? Or did I lose it from a spiritual attack?

Yes, you did. You just suffered a spiritual attack, but not the black magic, spooky kind of attack.

Your faith just got murdered!! It just had life sapped out of it!!

They’re Innocent

Do you know the funniest part of this crime?

The offenders may not know that they had just killed something. They may be good people: your church members, your family members (remember Joseph?), your friends, and even your mentors.

Their sincere intentions might even be to keep you safe.

They may also have simply reminded you of facts. They may have simply shifted your thoughts to the prevailing realities of the economy.

How difficult it is to get a satisfying job.

How money does not grow on trees.

How exhausting it can be to receive adequate funding for a life-changing project in your country.

Or how you cannot have the happy marriage you deserve because everybody now cheats.

Things people have experienced, not necessarily anything out of the ordinary!

But do you know where their goodness went wrong?

These facts and figures contradict God’s Word and your realities in Christ. And, of course, they stifled your faith.

What To Do

Those people?

You may need to stay as far away from them as possible. Not malice, not bitterness, just build protective walls to protect yourself from them.

If physical distancing isn’t possible, then keep the object of your faith away from them because they will always have something to say to cause that pregnancy in you to become a stillbirth.

I say this, unapologetically too, anyone who cannot speak to you from the realities of God’s Word should not be given the privilege of speaking into your heart.

Little wonder Proverbs 4:23 warns us to keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Set immigration officers over the door of your heart. Else, you may never have faith long enough to birth your miracles.

An Ambiance of Faith

Jesus’s faith was laughed to scorn in Mark 5:40 when he said the dead girl was only asleep. But what did He do?

He walked them out of the room so that He could have the ambiance of faith needed to bring that damsel to life!

I say this, and quite unapologetically too, there are some people you should show the exit for your faith to breathe and live.

There are some discussions and engagements you must not entertain if your faith is precious to you. And you may need to learn to say ‘I’m quite busy today’ or ‘my schedule is packed already’ and not feel sorry for doing so!!

Knowledge Vs. Faith

There is also certain knowledge you must not have if your faith would live long!

John G. Lake, one of God’s Generals, recounted in one of his books how he had an Assistant of African descent.

One day, a woman brought her dead daughter to him and his Assistant so they could raise her. Having a medical background, John Lake saw that the girl’s neck had snapped. He knew how medically irredeemable the girl’s condition was, so he stepped out of the room, leaving his Assistant with the girl and her mother. Then, taking a comfortable position under a tree, he slept off.

At about 4am, his Assistant woke him so they could leave. The Assistant casually replied, “I’ve handed her to her mother when he asked about the girl. She is alive.” As though it wasn’t a big deal.

Indeed, raising the dead might not have been a big deal for Pastor Lake, but his medical knowledge killed his faith for that particular miracle. 

You guessed right, his Assistant was illiterate!

And hey, I’m not saying academic/professional knowledge is evil. I’m pointing you to how certain kinds of knowledge may be unhealthy for your faith, and you’ll need to put them in their place when your faith needs to shine!

You see?

It is your responsibility to keep your faith alive, not God’s. You have His Spirit, but you are the one to make efforts to constantly hear the Word and stay away from faith-murdering environments – and people, please.

I trust God to help you.

Do you want to do some reflection with me?

Here you go!

What/who is that with whom you always experience the slow death of your faith?

What can you do (every day) to feed your faith from today?