In our Focal Scripture, after visiting Jesus, the wise men were warned by God not to return to Herod. Returning to Herod to give feedback seemed like a courtesy they should fulfill, but God said no. It looked like a harmless idea that they shouldn’t be afraid of, but God thought otherwise. God was ahead of Herod, and carefully steered the wise men out of Herod’s trap. The wise men listened to God, and stayed safe.
Friend, as 2021 shuts down and makes way for 2022, hear this: keep your eyes open to what God is showing you, keep your ears open to what God wants you to hear, let your spirit man be awake to receive the signals of the Holy Spirit, and be discerning enough to know when God is telling you to stay off what you may ordinarily want to get involved in. Be careful not to do what God expects you to avoid. Discernment is key.
What if those wise men were not discerning enough to understand what God was saying to them? Just maybe, they would have ended up in Herod’s trap before remembering that they were warned ahead of time. If you fail to heed to God’s signals, you just might wake up one day to realize that everything God warned you against has already happened to you. If you fail to see, hear and discern, avoidable tragedies may locate you.
God was faithful enough to warn the wise men not to return to Herod. If you stay connected to God, He will be faithful to warn you of the things, associations, discussions, trips, activities, transactions, etc. that may become a snare to your destiny if you get involved. If you are sensitive to the Spirit of God, you will get adequately warned against the traps the enemy is setting for you.
Don’t be spiritually blind; spiritual blindness and numbness is no virtue in God’s kingdom. Dare to discern, and you will escape the traps of the enemy.