Offense creates a fence.
This week I wanted to share something with you that I believe God is asking me to be more aware of...
Offense creates a fence.
That is, if someone has done something to offend you, it can easily create a barrier in your life that does more than cause a breakdown in a relationship—it can fence you in.
In the spirit of complete transparency, I didn’t think I was holding offenses toward anyone, but God highlighted that I may have picked up someone else's offense.
Now, I believe that we are to turn the other cheek (as Jesus would say), and I do my best to live that way, but if I am honest, when I believe there is an injustice, I take offense to that.
The cool thing is, God uses all sorts of things to communicate with us in ways that will really resonate with us, and I am no different. It started about two weeks ago as I woke up on a Monday morning thinking about something I witnessed two years ago during a hunting trip.
As my friend and I were driving back to our camp one evening, a few nights before the season opened, we saw a calf elk by itself in a fenced livestock area without the ability to jump over it.
As the scene unfolded, the calf wandered up and down the fence line trying to join the rest of the herd which had already made its way up the hillside. Eventually its mother and a few of her friends made their way back to the field and rejoined the calf inside the fenced area. I'm guessing they found their way out from where they came in because the next morning they were gone.
I love remembering past adventures, but it seemed strange to me that I woke up remembering this image, so I proceeded downstairs to pray, and I asked the Lord if he was trying to speak to me.
This is when he reminded me that offense creates a fence.
For the rest of the week I prayed about this thought, and asked Him some good questions, and He gave me a little more to chew on each day.
I realized that the little calf was stuck.
It had come to a place where, although it had all that it needed to survive within that boundary, it wasn’t free.
The fence wasn’t going to kill it, but it would hinder it from living a fulfilling life. It would keep it from roaming about with its family, and doing what an elk is supposed to do.
I asked God what the key was to getting free, and two things came to mind.
1. Grow up and get over it.
Now, that may sound harsh, but here's what I mean:
The small calf couldn’t physically get over its fence because it had not grown big enough to do that yet. Immaturity can keep us stuck.
People who have matured don’t hold on to past offenses or pick up others that aren’t theirs. When you grow up, you can surely get over obstacles that you couldn’t when you were younger. Old offenses are hard to remove. We may not always receive the resolution we're hoping for, which is why it’s usually better to make peace with past wounds so they don't keep us from reaching our potential.
The fence that the calf was stuck inside had trees, brush, and grass that had grown up around it over the years, and removing it would have been quite the chore. Getting over the fence (or our offenses) through forgiveness, is sometimes a better solution than trying to resolve an issue that may have been our problem due to a misunderstanding anyhow.
2. Mature people can help set us free.
In this case, an older and more capable elk crossed over the fence in order to help the calf find its way out. It seemed to work. Isolating yourself and refusing help from others can keep you stuck in the same place. Having people in your life who you trust can help you get free.
My final thought is this.
Not far from the calf was a gate. Now, I know elk can’t undo gates, so this is really only applicable to us as humans, but the gate would have been the easiest way out. The Word of God refers to Jesus as "the gate," and when all else fails, Jesus can always provide a way out.
Who knows? He may even be standing at the door of your life right now, knocking, wanting to come in and show you the way out.
I know He is working on me in this area. I was a little surprised, but I know He wants the best for me. Plus, He needs free people to lead others to freedom.
If you are feeling stuck at all, this may be an area you can ask God to help you with. That’s where I'm at; asking God to help me be aware of the things I'm picking up that aren’t mine to carry. Things that may get me stuck in the future or keep me from moving forward.
Blessings,
Dean