Recently, I have been experiencing more opportunities to be offended than I have in any previous time. Others I have talked with say they are experiencing the same thing.
I learned years ago that offense blocks the anointing, so I was shocked to see how often I am tempted to take the bait. As I sought the Lord, He reminded me of a word I wrote five years ago on offense. He told me to revisit it.
The Lord had been speaking to me about tactics the enemy uses to keep us from our promises; He had highlighted offense. At that time, I had noticed I wasn’t hearing Him clearly. It had gotten to the point where I wasn’t even trying to spend time to hear.
I was doing ministry, and God was answering my prayers for others, but personally my hearing was blocked. I was concerned and sought Him. He woke me the next morning at 2 a.m. and said, “You can’t hear if your heart is hardened.” That puzzled me. I didn’t think my heart was hard; He must have been telling me this cute little phrase for someone else.
I was reminded of His emphasis on offense, and I searched the Scriptures.
“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matt. 5:29-30, KJV).
Those are strong words; whatever offends, get rid of it. The apostle Paul even goes so far as to say that if eating meat would cause a vegetarian to stumble, he’d forgo the meat (1 Cor. 8:13, my paraphrase). Why is it so important? Isn’t offense just a little indignation? That isn’t so bad compared to other sins, right?
To read the rest of this prophetic word, click It’s Time to Dismantle the Fence of Offense. {eoa}
Alane Haynes is an author, speaker and apostolic/prophetic teacher. Alane has authored four books: Moses — Shocked in the Desert: Learning God’s Ways So We Can Enter the Promised Land, birthed from a prophetic dream and written from subsequent nights of being awakened by the Holy Spirit to “write what I tell you”; an accompanying Moses … Study Guide; Called Unto His Presence, a compilation of Holy Spirit-inspired poetry; and Too Many Voices: My Journey from Confusion to Clarity. Alane’s prophetic blogs have been featured on the Elijah List, Spirit Fuel and other platforms.
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