Divisiveness
It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. Jude 1:19, ESV
One morning, I woke up with the word divisiveness in my spirit. I sensed that the Holy Spirit was leading me to pray against this spirit, as I could see it taking hold of our country, and it is not of the Lord.
Divisiveness: a tendency to cause disagreement or hostility between people; a tendency to provoke dissension or discord.
In the passage below, Jude—the author of the book and the brother of James and Jesus—writes to believers about the discord happening in his time. He says, "I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ, our only Sovereign and Lord." (Jude 1:3-4, NIV)
There was so much deception at that time that Jude went on to explain further how to recognize those causing divisiveness: "These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage. But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. They said to you, 'In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.' These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit." (Jude 1:16-19, NIV)
God never leaves us without a solution for handling problems and strengthening ourselves. Jude concludes with this encouragement: "But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. Be merciful to those who doubt; save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh." (Jude 1:20-23, NIV)
Our role as believers is to intercede with love for our brothers and sisters. Jesus made it clear that in the last days we would face deceptions, but we are called to love others, pray for them, stand for righteousness and guide them back to Him in love.
Key points:
Pray for your brothers and sisters as discord, divisiveness, deception, hostility are all apart of Satan tactics. We are not to be distracted by them.
Equip oneself with pray at all times and meditating on the word of God will provide all we need to discern the truth.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19, Isaiah 55:11
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