We will always use the story of Peter when we illustrate the fact that we should keep our focus, be obedient and trust. Jesus told him to walk on water but he made the winds distract him. Our winds can come in different forms – people, situations etc…
There will be a lot of voices around us telling us to do things their way but Jesus is all we need to keep us grounded and on the right path. When we listen to every voice we become confused. Once we are confused, rest assured, we have left the will of God.
Not everyone has our best interest at heart and so I want to take time to write about the Holy man in 1 Kings 13. We see evidence that the ones who we think should have our backs can lead us astray.
The passage in point:
He asked him, “Are you the holy man who came from Judah?”
“Yes, I am,” he said.
15 “Well, come home with me and have a meal.”
16-17 “Sorry, I can’t do that,” the holy man said. “I can neither go back with you nor eat with you in this country. I’m under strict orders from God: ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop; and don’t come back the way you came.’”
18-19 But he said, “I am also a prophet, just like you. And an angel came to me with a message from God: ‘Bring him home with you, and give him a good meal!’” But the man was lying. So the holy man went home with him and they had a meal together.
20-22 There they were, sitting at the table together, when the word of God came to the prophet who had brought him back. He confronted the holy man who had come from Judah: “God’s word to you: You disobeyed God’s command; you didn’t keep the strict orders your God gave you; you came back and sat down to a good meal in the very place God told you, ‘Don’t eat a crumb; don’t drink a drop.’ For that you’re going to die far from home and not be buried in your ancestral tomb.”
This passage is a case in point of the Holy Man who did not stand on God’s word, but thought that a “prophet” (another man of God like himself) would mean him good. He decided to believe him against God’s orders. It is so easy for us to fall for a similar situation because we hold certain people in high esteem, but, understand that the enemy will put counterfeit people and situations in our midst. The Bible tells us to test all things. Also we are not perfect, and so even when we mean well we can still lead each other astray, which is why we must know where our focus should be.
So we need to not be impressed by people, neither their stature, but we need to know the relationship between ourselves and God and rely only on that. If God puts something in our heart we do not need the world’s approval. We need to go about doing God’s work like Nehemiah did when he rebuilt the Jerusalem wall. He kept his plans to himself until an appointed time.
Who or what is leading you astray today? Keep the focus!
