HOW WOULD ONE KNOW THAT A CHALLENGE IS AS A RESULT OF SIN?

 

QUESTION

How would one know that a challenge is as a result of sin? 

P.E.

Warri

 

Pst. Gavin’s response:

It is the Spirit of God in the believer that convicts us of sin. Besides, God has put conscience in every man to convict man of sin. However, some person’s conscience is either dead or inactive (suppressed) that it doesn't convict them anymore. 

If the cause of a problem is sin, God will always reveal it to the believer. It is actually on rare occasions will God reveal it to another person to tell the believer. That is, when the victim is not sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s conviction.

But beware of the voice of the devil that tends to speak guilt to your heart.

So, how do you know that the cause of a problem is sin? 

1. By the Holy Spirit’s conviction.

2. By exposing your heart constantly to God's word.

As you dwell and meditate on God's word, you will be able to relate what you read in God's word with what you are going through.

3. Praying to God to reveal the cause of the problem will also help.          

Mind you, sometimes, "small" sins (like unforgiveness, bitterness, greed, lies, et cetera) can lead to crisis in our lives. Not necessarily the “big sins” for such are obvious and besides, a child of God rarely commits such.

Let me share my experience on how "small" sins caused problems in my first year in marriage.

There were a lot of conflicts and misunderstanding in my first year in marriage that even little things that would have been overlooked would often lead to conflicts.

I never liked it and I blamed it on my wife, thinking I am a good person, besides I told myself, "I was only trying to enforce the right values in my home as the head of the family." But it was not helping matters.

Not until I prayed over this frequent misunderstanding in my marriage that did the Spirit of God begin to convict me of the sin of IMPATIENCE and INTOLERANCE that was in me.

If the Lord had not revealed this to me, one might think that it was the work of witches and wizards. But thank God, the cause of the problem was unveiled.

So, I took a practical step to work on myself and overcame it. Although it took me time, thanks to God, I am no longer where I was. This step really helped my marriage greatly.