James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?
I’m sure you’re wondering what kind of topic this is and how the scripture correlates with it. As Christians, we are saved by faith and not by works but in our walk with God, there is a part we need to play to emerge as victors at the end of the day. Satan has a strategy in his quest to draw many to hell with him and his agents are also diligent in the actions they take. However, many Christians tend to be passive in their walk with God, particularly because of the belief that Jesus has paid for it all and so we must do nothing.
In this excerpt, I want to talk about certain character traits that evil people throughout the Bible exhibited which when Christians begin to apply positively would help us overcome the evil one and make every challenge surmountable.
1. Persistence/Perseverance
Gen.39:10-12 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by the cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.
Potiphar’s wife was keen on getting Joseph to do what she wanted. She had tried many times but failed. In spite of that, she still wanted to seize an opportunity to get what she wanted. A lot of Christians are prone to giving up at the incident of failure. If we do not succeed once or twice we think that it’s the end of life. To overcome the hurdles of life, persistence is key. In Matthew 4, Jesus, after a period of fasting was tempted by the devil. Satan asked him question after question and suggested things that Jesus should do just to make sure Jesus fell for the temptation. The devil didn’t stop at the first attempt. He persisted and when Jesus also persisted to stand for what was right, he conquered the devil.
Pharaoh was also another stubborn personality who refused to give in. When Moses told him the Lord said, “Let my people go”, he persisted to have his way with the people of God. It took ten plagues for Pharaoh to let go and even after that he still sent his armies to pursue them on their way. Finally, in Judges 14: 12-17, Delilah persevered in her attempt to get to know what the secret of Samson’s strength was. She continuously asked him till he finally let the cat out of the bag. If we would achieve anything, we must be willing to persist even when things do not seem to favor us.
2. Focus/ Determination In Gen. 37:18-20, Joseph’s brothers had an agenda to kill Joseph. They were determined to do just that and they had a plan that would facilitate the execution of the plan. Saul, before he became the Apostle Paul in Acts 9:1 was uttering threats and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. When he later became an apostle, he diverted that trait into his ministry and he made so much impact on the body of Christ. When we decide to do something and we focus on our goals with a plan, the results are amazing because when your mind is set on something, your eyes are blind to the obstacles that come your way.
In Esther 3:6, Haman was looking for a way to destroy all of Mordecai’s people. So he began making plans on how to get his desires accomplished. As believers, we must be determined to see the manifestation of the plans of God for our lives.
3. Sacrifice
A lot of Christians are not willing to sacrifice in order to succeed. To receive, you must give. This is a principle a lot of evil people work with. If someone wants to destroy you, they are willing to sacrifice all they can, just to see you fall.
In Esther 3:9, Haman was willing to give 10000 large sacks of silver just for a decree to be issued for the destruction of the people. Again, Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus, answered that he was willing to give 30 pieces of silver to hand Jesus over. This was recorded in Matthew 26:15. In Acts 23:12, a group of Jews bound themselves to an oath and decided not to eat nor drink anything until they had killed Paul. Finally, when the devil tempted Jesus, he showed Him the kingdoms of the world and offered to give them to Jesus if only he would bow to him.
These are attitudes a lot of evil people possess but many Christians lack. If we would channel these attitudes into positive things, we would excel in what we do.
The Word In Clarity 