12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Genesis 3:12-13
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Bottom line: Take responsibility for your life.
Teaching
Today, there are a lot of religious people in church, that believe their lives are where it is today either because of the devil, or their parents or a family relative, and so on. They always blame their failure in life on someone else or on the devil.
I will agree with them on the fact that probably they may have been in a better place in life if they were born into a wealthy family, or in a society that offered them better treatment. But the direction their life will take does not depend on their past, but on what they do with their present.
God does not consult your past to determine your future. He says in his word,
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, stop looking for who to blame and take charge of your life. You must learn to take responsibility for your present condition and take the necessary steps of faith to effect a change.
A lot of Christians also push all responsibility for their situation to God, and they exclude themselves from the equation. If you ask them, “what are you doing concerning your condition?”, 90% of them will say, “We are praying”. “So, after praying what did you do?” “Nothing”. There is the problem.
We remain in the same spot because we are waiting for heaven to move, whereas heaven is waiting for us to move!
We can see this mindset depicted in the Bible, from Old to New Testament.
Adam shifted responsibility for his disobedience to his wife.
12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Genesis 3:12-13
A lame man at the pool of Bethesda believed that he remained in that condition for a long time because he had no man (relatives to help him).
5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
John 5:5-9
Pharisees believed and taught the people of God that a man’s predicament was due to his parents’ sins.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
John 9:2-3
Your present condition is for the glory of the Lord to be revealed. Therefore, stop looking for who to blame and act. If your marriage, business, education, or project is not working, don’t blame God, or the devil or anyone else. Take the fault, take responsibility, and make it work.
All you need to do is act at the command of God’s word. Jesus says “Rise, pick up your bed and walk.”
Remember that heaven will not move until you move. You carry the presence of God in you.
Further Study
- Isaiah 60:1 [Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.]
- 2 Kings 7:3-20
2 Kings 7:3-20
3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
6 For the LORD had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king’s household.
10 So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.
11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king’s house within.
12 And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.
13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.
14 They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.
15 And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.
16 And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
17 And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.
18 And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:
19 and that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
20 And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.
Reflection
- Who have you been blaming for your failures in life?
- Are you ready to take charge of your life today?
- If yes, pray this prayer with me.
Prayer
I thank you Father because you have put in me everything I need to succeed in life. Thank you for your Spirit who leads me daily. I declare today that I am taking charge, and my life is moving on the right course in the name of Jesus. Amen.
