I was blessed by her ministration that day. There is no doubt that the hand of God is upon her. But something baffled me when I met her off-pulpit. Her level of anger and irritation is beyond this world. I wondered, “Can someone be this ‘spiritual’ and at the same time not be able to manage emotions?”
Friend, beware of soul diseases. True spirituality must reflect in emotional stability. The operations of God’s Word and Spirit must be allowed access to our emotional lives, too. The word of God must penetrate the soul and spirit as it discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).
Most of the pitfalls of highly spiritual and anointed people had to do with how well they managed their emotions. The true test of maturity is in the ability to put your emotions in subjection to the spirit (Proverbs 25:28). Healthy living must be understood in the context of the tripartite nature of man; spirit, soul, and body (3 John 1:2). Don’t be spiritually healthy and emotionally sick.
Perhaps a lot of people have celebrated the “no nonsense” trait of Elisha that would not tolerate abuse by little children. To them, it serves those “innocent” children right that the bears came out of the bush to consume them (2 Kings 2:23-24). What we fail to realize is that this incident also speaks of how Elisha faired emotionally despite being anointed.
While it is normal to blame Gehazi for being greedy as to go after the stuff from Naaman, we also need to take another look at the reaction of Elisha; he cursed Gehazi out of anger (2 Kings 5:20-27). This does not speak well of the heart of a senior leader who needs to give allowance for people’s mistakes. He would rather carry his anointing to his grave than impart it to Gehazi (2 Kings 13:21).
Beware of soul diseases; anger, pride, jealousy, lust, unforgiveness, etc. Soul diseases have more impact on your overall well-being than the worst of physical illnesses. In fact, they have been proven to be part of the causes of physical sicknesses. Did you notice that Elisha eventually died of sickness (2 Kings 13:14)? He lacked emotional stability. Really, most people fail, not for lack of spirituality but for lack of emotional health.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria