Put them off

Put them off!

If you are like me, you probably feel sometimes your progress is not as fast as you had envisioned, and every step forward is a battle, and that sometimes it feels like your are regressing! Could the problem be what you have on?! If it is, then ‘Put it off’!

And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. -1 Samuel 17:39

The armour David had on, was an impediment and he couldn’t function in it. The best thing he did was to put it off! I wonder how many impediments we have on us that are delaying our progress. Let’s put them off child of God! Could it be your pride, or your fear of failure, or your guilt and shame, or your grudges and lack of forgiveness? We have assayed to go, to progress with them on us and it hadn’t really worked!

Few lesson I learnt and want to share with you from this verse:
1. Keep doing what got you through difficult times, the tried and tested:
God was there with David during his encounters with bears and the lions, and David was certain that the same God would be with him in every battle and during difficult times. He says he cannot use the armor because he has not proven it, meaning he is not used to it.
He definitely did not use this armor when he killed lions and bears, why should he use it this time against this big Philistine? He could not risk relying on the unproven when his life was at stake, can you? Have you?
The same God who had given you victory and success in the past is the same God you should put your faith on at all times. He is the same yesterday, today and forever more. He is an unchanging God, tried and tested God! Put off what is not proven, nor tried and tested.

2. Someone else’s protection may not work for you:
Saul was convinced that the armor would help protect himself in battles, maybe it did. He was also convinced that it would protect David against the blows from the giant. Though Saul meant well, David’s protection was not in the armor but in God, the same God who protected him against lions and bears. Have you ever bought oils, wrist bands and water from your church or traditional healers hoping same would protect you? Most African, South African specifically, are familiar with the so-called ‘safety belts’ most traditional healers give to their clients promising that same would protect them against bad spirit or witchcraft! I personally won’t use these because am comfortable with my protection in God. I can’t condemn you for using them, but as for me, I’ll stick to the tried and tested. Your traditional healer might die tomorrow but my God would be available until eternity. So, Put off the protection that was not meant for you, it is not going to work!

3. Play to your strength
An armour was too heavy and impeded David’s mobility and agility. His strength may not have been in outwrestling the giant but was in outpacing him. His strength probably was not in sword fight, but was in his accuracy with the slingshot. If his game plan or fighting strategy was to fight the giant from within an arms length (or sword’s length ), the armor and sword would have been the best things to have, and he would likely have lost the fight. However, he knew that his strength and winning formula was in God and in his agility, the same way he defeated lions and bears. So, put off their ways of doing things, God has a better way for you! You have a different kind of strength, a different kind of competitive advantage, God!

So, I encourage you to do this at all times…Put off your impediments and rely on God at all time and remember victories you won through Him! Just like my Apostle use to say; Have chronicles of you victories, breakthroughs and testimonies. These would be encouragement and reminder during difficult time, to you and those around you.