The resilience of an intercessor – Part 1.
12 March 2023 | The Nigerian Guardian.
Pastor Austen C. Ukachi
“They said, ‘we will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone, and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.”’ (Isaiah 9:10 NLT)
Resilience is the quality of being able to bounce back from adversity, defeat or hardship. Resilience should be the biblical norm for Christians because the Bible says we shall through much tribulation enter the kingdom. Again, Proverb 24:10 says: “If you faint when under pressure, you have need of courage.” (Proverbs 24:10 TPT)
Godly resilience enables us to be undeterred from our mission, regardless of the opposition. A resilient Christian does not give up in the face of adversity. He will always find a way around any obstacle that gets in his way and refuse to be stopped when it comes to achieving what he wants out of life.
An intercessor should be resilient; he should never give up or falter when situations are not favourable. He realises that we are in an imperfect world where there are lots of challenges and where men yield themselves to evil practices and try to frustrate the plans of God. He believes that the victory of evil people is only temporary because no one can thwart the purposes of God. Therefore, the intercessor forges ahead in faith.
From the human standpoint, the presidential elections have come and gone, but from God’s perspective, it is not yet over. At least in the mind of those who lost, especially the ‘Obidients,’ it is not yet over. A battle may have been lost, but the war for righteousness, honesty, and transparency is still on. Isaiah 9:10 describes the resolve of a people to rebuild from scratch what has been ruined. “They said: “we will replace the broken bricks of our ruins with finished stone, and replant the felled sycamore-fig trees with cedars.” (Isaiah 9:10 NLT). The results of the past elections should not deter us from praying. We must resolve to persist in prayers for Nigeria until a new nation is born.
Proverbs 24:16 could be seen as the theme verse for the resilient: “Though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes.”
Samson showed resilience when the odds were against him. When the Philistines arrested him, they shaved his hair, plucked out his eyes, chained him and confined him to prison. They thought that Samson was completely finished, but he began to regain strength when his hair began to grow again. Judges 16:22 states: “However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.” Once his hair began to grow again, he prayed to God for renewed strength, and God answered him. Then he braced himself up for revenge. “And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars, which supported the temple, and he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. Then Samson said: “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the Lords and all the people who were in it. So, the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life,” Judges 16:28-30 NKJV.
I urge those who feel disappointed at the results of the last national election to remain calm and not relent in prayers. We should borrow a leaf from the resilience of Samson. The election results should not make us give up on hope and on our vision to see Nigeria transformed.
• Contact:pastoracukachi@gmail.com
