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Family can hinder personal relationship with God

People in the service professions, such as ministry, medicine, law, school teachers and police work, seem to have the greatest stress in their personal family life. Abraham’s greatest trials and problems came from his family. His root problem and pitfall was allowing family influences to hinder him from obeying God completely in order to fulfill God’s personal word to him.

In Genesis chapter 12, verse 1 in the Amplified Bible, Scripture states “Now (in Haran), the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself (for your own advantage) out away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.”

The part of this Scripture that made me laugh was “for your own advantage.” Sometimes what your family is thinking and doing is not what God is speaking for you to do and this creates hindrances in God’s timing for your life.

Abraham’s greatest trials came from his family. In a nutshell, family influences hindered him from obeying God completely.

Love of family, pressure from relatives and sense of obligation to parents caused him to take his family with him. He settled in Haran for several years and stayed there until his father died, before moving into the Canaan ministry God had for him.

Again a family member, his nephew Lot, caused a split in Abraham’s followers and the ministry broke in half. I watched a senior pastor bring his son into a thriving ministry of 500 people and in several years the son destroyed the ministry and brought it to nothing.

Problem No. 3 occurred in Abraham’s life when his wife, Sarah, influenced him to take Hagar as a surrogate mother. That produced an Ishmael ministry that persecuted and opposed Isaac and is still operational to this day.

What you are seeing are family influences that showcase weaknesses that reveal character flaws. One of the interesting things I’ve seen in life is man’s rise in positions and stature that reach the pinnacle of achievements and then plummet to shame and destruction. Know why? They had talent, charisma, anointing that got them to the top, but no character to keep them there.

Character is the one thing we make in this world and take with us into the next. Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone. Character is what angels say about you before the throne of God. Reputation grows like mushrooms. Character grows like a mighty oak.

I have a question for us all. If you were an employer trying to hire an efficient, honest and competent employee, would you hire yourself at your salary? If you had to live with someone just like yourself for the rest of your life, would you look forward to it as a wonderful opportunity and privilege?

One more question. Is how you treat your pastor in public the same way you treat your mate at home? Many people have a great reputation at church, but no character at home. Character is really a fruit. Do you have good fruit or bad fruit?

I heard this story not long ago. A woman had a dream where she wanders into a shop at the mall and finds Jesus behind the counter. Jesus says, “You can have anything your heart desires. Astounded but pleased, she asks for peace, joy, happiness, wisdom and freedom from fear. Then she adds, not just for me, but for the whole earth?”

Jesus smiles and says, “I think you misunderstood me. We don’t sell fruits, only seeds.” Mountain tops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the wind and rain of the valley; especially the Ohio Valley. Amen.

(Stead is pastor of the Healing Rooms of the Ohio Valley.)

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