STAGES BEFORE A FALL- THE EXCHANGE PHASE

As you walk into my office, right behind my desk, there is a quote from the book, “Finishing Strong” hanging right on the wall. Written on it are these words, “Hold fast to Jesus. It is a long way from where you are to where you are going, and the devil is not in a hurry to get you”. (Paraphrased)

I remember my grandfather in the faith holding on to a book on sexual purity and telling pastors, “Get this book. It will help you”. He warned with a fatherly voice: “Do not go near the gold, the glory, and the girls of Zion”. Do not touch them. It was a piercing warning.

The truth about it is that we get tempted. We must ensure that we do not fall into the “Bureau De Change” of the devil. Judah got into the trap where destinies are negotiated:

Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

Genesis 38:16 NKJV

Every fall comes with an exchange. At the fall of man, man exchanged dignity, dominion, and authority for deceitful awareness. It was a thorough mess- death, sorrow, sickness, toiling, and pain took over the scene.

The trick of the devil has not changed. He tells you brazenly that it is an exchange. He told Jesus Christ at the temptation that “I will give all these if you bow to me”. The devil was willing to let go of the material world and its benefits to get a bow from Jesus Christ. He was willing to let go of the material to get the spiritual. Today, people throw away the spiritual so they can have a hold on the material.

If you do not know the game, know it today- it is an exchange. When you begin to drop in your devotion to the Lord, your tendency to bow to the devil rises.

Some have exchanged bodily fluids and lost godly virtue. The height that they got to by sacrifice has been lost by partaking in a sacrilege.

For instance, in sexual sin, there is an exchange: For by means of a harlot, A man is reduced to a crust of bread; And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.

Proverbs 6:26 NKJV

A man is reduced! If you look around you, you likely know men who have been reduced to barely nothing. They have lost their dignity. They have lost their voices. They have lost their resources. Others have lost leverage, pace, and relevance in life. Some have lost the fire. Why? There was an exchange.

What is the price of a loaf of bread? Take a crust of the loaf and think about the price. That is the value you get every time you commit sexual sin.

When a man makes such a graceless transaction, it takes only the mercy of God to recover.

We were passing by a property a while back. A new landlord had bought the property. They were demolishing the building that was on the land. By the time we were returning, the demolition was already completed. I thought to myself, “How long did it take to erect this storey building?” I then asked, “How long did it take to destroy it?” It is easier to pull down a life. It is easier to destroy a legacy. It takes more time, effort, and patience to build.

What have you started exchanging? Is your money now used to service illicit affairs? You do not know how much of a sinner you can be until you have money. Has devotion dropped drastically? How did the desire for a sexual touch overwhelm your desire for a divine touch?

There is a man reading this- Mercy can still speak. You keep telling yourself ‘I have gone too far’. Mercy can intervene. Cry out for mercy.

© temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa