HOW TO TURN THE PAINS OF SEPARATION INTO PRODUCTIVE STRENGTH FOR GOOD

Rev.Michael Benson Ajayi 
 Gen 13:8-9 KJV “And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.”
     God permits separation, be it that of grown children leaving home to start a family of their own , family members separating  due to ideological differences , business partners separating to pursue personal dreams , spouses separating from each other due to irreconcilable differences (1Cor.7:15)and so on. Separation is not the will of God for his church (1cor:1:10) yet he permits it because of our safety .
    Jesus spoke of separation as being divinely influenced Matt 10:34-36 NIV says  “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn"'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother,a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—  a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'  The word ‘sword’ represents God’s word , therefore , the revelation of God’s purpose will trigger separations like that between Abraham and his nephew Lot. We should not always be quick to conclude that something is wrong with us whenever people leave us. Abraham never did. Such a conclusion gives Satan the advantage over our emotions. We should rather turn to God for strength. Under such circumstance, we could be very emotional and vulnerable thus leading to  trust issues. Trust should not be a problem because we are admonished to trust nobody but God (Jer.17:5-6)   
          We should recognize that our relationship with people  is determined by their visions whether good or bad. When their desire for something else is stronger than the passion to be with us separation is inevitable. The desire to fulfill a personal dream could affect a person’s relationship with you , they become less friendly  in the process   Prov 18:1 NIV  says “An unfriendly man pursues selfish ends;he defies all sound judgment. “  There is power in a dream, and God allows us like children in a play ground to experiment on life, that’s the bases of life’s adventure; it is for that reason that it is unwise to keep someone who desires to leave. Wisdom is developed through adventure. Many lives have been lost because of the unwillingness to let go .Each person runs according to the scope of their vision in life. Lot could only go as far as his vision permitted.  If he had a similar vision like Abraham , he would have stayed like Elisha did with Elijah despite the latter’s several attempt to send  the former away (2Kings 2:6)  The same could be said of Naomi’s daughter in law Ruth who was not deterred by the former's poverty and misfortunes and was rewarded at the end (Ruth 1:15-18).
      Abraham had a global vision based on divine mandate and covenant with God, Lot on the other hand was more obligated to meeting family demands. A parallel of this event is the separation of Paul from John-Mark : they had been missionary partners until Mark became overwhelmed by the demands of the work and he quit but Paul went on against all odds alone . When it was time for a revisit of old missionary fields Paul was asked to partner with Mark but he refused given the latter’s antecedence .Paul was given a replacement –Silas whose presence was a major source of strength based on his prophetic gifts .This partnership led to the strengthening of the church and this would not have happened if there was no separation(Acts 15:36-41 ). Separations should not lead to strife and those who leave us should not be viewed as enemies, we would eventually meet again. Lot was kidnapped   in Genesis 14 and it required Abraham’s help to save his nephew; and when Lot was to be destroyed in Sodom , Abraham came to the rescue through intercessory prayers.Let separation work for you and not against you.  Abraham became more prosperous through that separation because he refused to allow strife stand in his way of fulfillment of divine purpose. Separation always works out for the good of the uncompromisingly righteous .
Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me of my sins against you I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation I receive him as lord and saviour and receive healing in my 
heart  and grace to overcome rejection and turn my disappointments into testimonies of overwhelming breakthroughs in Jesus name.
Prayer /counseling +2348098536911,+2348035536911, email:michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com 
Picture credit :Werbefabrik/pixabay .com 

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