Offense is conflict or resentment brought about by a perceived insult. That was me last year on 1/7/24. I was sitting in church listening to the Sunday morning sermon. I always have pen and paper ready in case Holy Spirit says something profound that I need to hear. The preacher made an accusation that sounded just like a direct attack on me. I looked down at my notepad to hide the vexing expression on my face. At the end of the sermon, the preacher said, "I feel a heaviness in the room." That was definitely me. My spirit had sunk below sea level, and I was deeply offended.
Yesterday, I was in morning devotion and stumbled across Psalm 119:165 in The Passion Translation that says, "There is such a great peace and well-being that comes to the lovers of Your word, and they will never be offended." Wow! That hit me hard, and in my heart I knew that I needed to be delivered from being offended by preachers.
Offense can come upon us as an unwelcomed visitor and take up permanent residence if we don't deal with it. It's been a year and a half since that happened and I've still not fully come to terms with it. None of us are perfect, not even the minister preaching the word of God. I blamed the preacher for targeting me, but I could've handled that a lot differently.
Three Steps To Take
- Decide that I'm not going to let this thing take up residence and fester in my heart. I will be delivered, and not let the enemy destroy me with it. Offense darkens that place in our soul, and the enemy uses it to bind our hands and feet from progressing.
- Be quick to forgive the offender, and let them off the hook. Jesus said to forgive them 70 times 7 (Matt. 18:22).
- Surrender the offense to God.
There may probably be other times when a preacher's words may cause me to stumble, but if I always surrender the offense to God, He will help me get back up, and revive and restore me to full throttle. Now unto Him that is able to keep me from stumbling... (Jude 1:24). From now on, before I hear a sermon, I will prepare my heart through prayer to God. I will pray not to be offended, and that He will open my spiritual eyes that I may see and perceive, and my spiritual ears that I may hear and correctly understand what Holy Spirit is speaking to me. I will pray that He'll minimize my flesh, and increase my spirit to accept what is being imparted to me, and let me be renewed, revived and refreshed by the sermon, and not angered, hurt, and frustrated.
The apostle Paul said to the Corinthian church, "I nursed you with milk, as a mother would feed her baby, because you were not developed enough to digest complex spiritual food." I don't want that to be me. I want to graduate from milk to solid food and mature in Christ Jesus. I want to be able to sit through any sermon and not become offended by the preacher, even if I don't always agree with everything that's being said.
1 John 1:7 (NKJV) If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son, cleanses us from all sin.
As of today, I am delivered and walking in the favor of God.
Dee Richardson, Voice of the Dove †
