BUILD VALUES BEFORE OPPORTUNITIES 

A dear brother who is also a minister of the gospel shared an experience that blessed my life: 

He had to counsel a couple who had infidelity issues. They travelled to his base to see him. When the session was over, the husband brought out a seed. He wanted to give it to his pastor. The pastor refused the seed. He said to him, “I do not need the seed. What I desire is a changed life and a marriage that works”. 

In my early days in ministry also, someone dear to me visited me. Some days after, he called that he agreed with his spouse that one of them would send their tithe to the ministry. I was already very excited. The next day as I prayed, God said I should reject the offer. Why? I was not their pastor and I had never pastored them before. If they want to sow any seed, it should not be their tithe. It was tough but I obeyed. I imagined what their tithe would do in a young ministry every month. 

To drive it home, one day I was refuelling our generator. As I did, a fly was dancing all around me. Suddenly, it flew into the open tank. That was the end. The Holy Spirit said to me, “Temi, not all open doors are yours”.

Beloved, if you are always led by opportunities and not by values built on scriptures, you will soon run into grave danger. Your life must be guided by scriptures and solid biblical values. 

Why? It makes it easier to recognise opportunities that are not for you. It makes it easy to know whether the timing of a “seeming breakthrough” was right or wrong. It ensures that you do not end up collecting Naaman’s seed and eventually carrying his leprosy. It will keep you away from the mesmerizing look of Mrs Potiphar and the desire of men to make a King out of you when God had not ordained it to be so. 

What you share as a breakthrough testimony, kindly ask yourself if indeed it is the Lord that opened that door. The devil can open a door to shut up a man forever! Was that door indeed the Lord?