22/06/2021
*THEME: THE SCAR THAT SENDS ONE TO THE SCRAP*
*TEXT* : And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me , a messenger of Satan to buffet me , lest I be exalted above measure .
*( 2 Cor 12 :7- NKJV*)
Idi Amin Dada Oumee became President of Uganda after overthrowing Milton Obote in 1971.
The full title he gave to himself was as follows : *“ His Excellency, President for Life, Field Marshall Al Hajj Doctor Idi Amin Dada , Victory Cross(VC), Distinguished Service Order( DSO), Military Cross( MC) , Lord of all the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular. *“
Incidentally , the brutal dictator who killed hundreds of thousands of people during his reign,was overthrown in April 1979. This was after troops of the
Tanzanian , President Julius Nyerere captured Kampala. The self proclaimed Field Marshall Idi Amin ran to exile after his overthrow and died in Saudi Arabia in 2003 .
*The bold scar from the stigma and disgrace of his defeat , humiliation and exile forcefully brought upon Idi Amin was the fact that he was flesh and blood after all* . *The fall of Amin and the resulting scar it brought on him , sent him down the steep scarp of self imposed divinity to the scrap of humanity where he belonged* . *The scar brought upon Idi Amin the awareness that he was human and not the master of all that he surveyed, as he had made himself and others to accept and believe* .
The Apostle Paul had been granted access to certain deep spiritual visions and revelations in the course of his ministry .
It took a period of fourteen years before Paul recounted his particular experience to the third heavens or Paradise , where he had been lifted to , and saw and heard things he was not permitted to share .
*God understood that human as he was , these unique experiences had the potential to possibly introduce elements of pride in the life and ministry of Paul. In order to balance these divine capacities and enlightenment with his clear humanity , God allowed a thorn in Paul’s flesh to worry him for sometime* . This thorn persisted and remained in his flesh despite the Apostle’s constant prayer for deliverance . *In effect the thorn in his flesh had proved to be a scar which had brought Paul along the steep scarp of Divinity , to the scrap of humanity where he actually belonged* .
Creation cannot be trusted with power and glory beyond a certain limit, without possible misuse of that status . Man for example has a deceitful heart which is desperately wicked and cannot be understood by any one ( *Jer 17:9)*. *God has therefore placed a system of checks and balances within human nature to bring him under control when the need arises *.
*The scars that we incur from previous and current experiences , therefore serves as a reminder that we are children of dust* , feeble , and frail
*and created to rely on God alone for survival *.
The LORD knows our frame and remembers that we are but dust( *Psalm 103:14)*. *However , when one gets elevated and promoted beyond a certain limit , the tendency in the human architecture to look within and ascribe glory to self is very great* . When king Herod sat in glory , he accepted the praise that he spoke with the voice of God and not man , and died for that ( *Acts 12:21-23)*’.When king Uzziah became powerful , his heart was lifted up to his downfall and destruction ( *2 Chron 26:16)*. When Nebuchadnezzar raised himself after seeing the work of his hands , judgement came upon him , and he was transformed into a beast ( *Daniel 4:28-34) *.
*The LORD thus places certain limits in the form of visible scars to remind people He blesses profusely to continue to remain down in humility*. *The daily routines of sleeping , eating , sweating , tears , fatigue and the approaching death are all tell tale signals that we remain human despite how well packaged we appear to the world* . *The LORD has been gracious to leave within the human system, several pieces of evidence , that we are indeed created mortals supposed to look up to Him as the Creator for life* . Never make the mistake of setting aside God when He blesses and endows you tremendously.
*Let the signs of your own humanity serve as indelible scars which should give you the following principle in life : “the higher I go up in life , the lower and lower I get before the God who created me *“ Shalom
*PRAYER FOCUS*
Dear God and Father of mankind , forgive our foolish ways in forgetting that we are but dust and nothing before you . Let even our sweat and tears alone be sufficient reminders that we are weak and nothing before you . Amen
With Loads of Love Unfeigned, From
*Apostle Dr Abraham Ofori-Kuragu*
Tel: +233-242515740
Email : aokuragu60 . Com
