Let’s be honest: Who likes to be confronted? I know I don’t. If you do, please share with me your secret to such a great level of humility. I’m not there yet.
Confrontation makes us uneasy. It stirs and brings to the surface the areas of our lives we would rather ignore—areas that, if we had our way, we could live just fine without ever having to deal with face to face. All of us have those areas.
Perhaps, like me, you may think, I can’t relate to people like David or the Samaritan women. I’ve never murdered anyone, and I’ve not had five husbands. But let me ask you this: Are you completely and entirely fulfilling God’s design—God’s purpose—for your life? Is there nothing whatsoever hindering you from being mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually fit to live life and fulfill God’s assignment over your life?
What are those things that hinder you from moving forward? What are those things that cause you to plateau and settle into the seat of yesterday’s success?
Like David, the Samaritan women, and many others in Scripture, despite the discomfort, we too need to be confronted. Unlike the accusations of men and women, God’s means and reasons for confrontation are never meant to accuse, belittle or destroy. When people confront us with selfish motives and accusations, we are left feeling confused, abused, battered and betrayed. But when God confronts us—and yes, He still uses people to do so—it carries a level of conviction that stirs within us the need to confront truths we would rather ignore.
God’s confrontation comes with a level of conviction that awakens and reveals areas that we had been privy to but failed to address. When this awakening takes place, you can do one of two things. You can ignore it and continue to live life attempting to hide behind the daily façade of an everything-is-just-fine type of life, or you can be honest with yourself and allow for a transformation to begin.
Like David, whose lineage leads to Jesus Christ, and the Samaritan woman, who ushers in the message of a Savior to a city of Samaritans, your message, too, can transform your family, your church, your city and the people you come in contact with.
Let me go further. When you surrender to God’s conviction through confrontation and allow His Word to stir up a revelation that leads to transformation, you open up your life to a level of peace and transparency you never thought possible. No one can accuse someone who has been transparently honest and forgiven. When you have nothing to hide, you can rise up, move forward and live out your God-given assignment.
So next time you are confronted and conviction sets in, don’t run, don’t hide, and don’t ignore it. Free yourself through acknowledgment, honesty and repentance. The success of your assignment depends on it.
Reina Olmeda is senior pastor of Third Day Worship Center in Allentown, Pa., alongside her husband, Rev. Charles Olmeda. She has a bachelor’s of science degree in clinical psychology and a master’s degree in professional counseling. With a passion to see women rise up to the Lord’s standards for their lives, she has worked with abused women as well as young women in crisis and is a sought-after speaker. Reina resides in Bethlehem, Pa., with her husband and two daughters. Her book may be purchased here.
