Thou Shalt Trust Thyself in The Last Days (Article)
- Oct 31
- 5 min read
The Bible teaches we should trust ourselves and the giftings we carry to lead us back to Christ. We should trust our feelings and emotions to discern truth in all things. These statements are NOT true. In fact, it’s just the opposite. However, many in the Body of Christ are choosing to march to their own drum beat living in this final hour. Why? Leaders in the Body of Christ who are called to be Shepherds over the flock (the children of God) have failed them to the point where the sheep no longer desires to follow the voice of the Shepherd. Indeed, the sheep has opened the gate in which they believe to be “freedom” praying those who were left behind find the gate to freedom as well.
This is understandable but very dangerous.
Marching to your own drum beat means ‘to go your own way; live according to your own beliefs and disregard popular opinion.’ In other words, you're following your own principles; leaning to your own understanding due to harm that may have occurred from Shepherds who were assigned to lead you onto the path of righteousness.
We are living in the time of what the Bible would call the “Great Falling Away”. This is also called the Apostasy [the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians] found in 2 Thessalonians 2: 3.
1 Timothy 4: 1 - 3 Amplified Bible
Apostasy
4 But the [Holy] Spirit explicitly and unmistakably declares that in later times some will turn away from the faith, paying attention instead to deceitful and seductive spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 [misled] by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared as with a branding iron [leaving them incapable of ethical functioning], 3 who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from [certain kinds of] foods which God has created to be gratefully shared by those who believe and have [a clear] knowledge of the truth.
Not all Shepherds have fallen away from the faith to be led by seducing spirits, but many have, and God is revealing this truth all across the Western Church.
Truth? We can’t get around what God is doing in this final hour. He is shaking the church, exposing the filth within His body. This makes me think of how we are living in the last days in which God is looking for a spotless bride.
Ephesians 5: 25 - 27 “25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
This scripture is not just for the Shepherds in the Body of Christ. This is for the entire Body of Christ, the Church as a whole. Therefore, we must be careful with opening the gate to “freedom”, marching to our own drum beat due to harm from Shepherds who are called to be holy and without blemish.
We need a Shepherd to lead us. We need The Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ to always lead us no matter what situations may occur.
John 10: 1 - 5
I Am the Good Shepherd
10 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. 5 A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
Note in verses 4-5, Jesus making the statement of how the sheep knows his voice and they will not follow a stranger but will flee from him.
If a Shepherd becomes a stranger, it’s okay for you to flee from him. There are checks and balances that the Holy Spirit will alert you to that would eventually lead you away from the flock (congregation) but we must hold on to the voice of the Good Shepherd and resist from marching to our own drum beat.
At times, Shepherds have wounded their sheep severely and some may start to wonder if they can trust God at all. God understands this. He knows us so well that in His love and grace, He comes to cover us even more during our injured state.
From Shepherds, Leaders, and Friends in the Body of Christ, someone will cause us harm one way or another. We don’t have to look for it; we just have to keep our hearts open to love and forgive. Forgiving does not mean staying and be abused. Forgiving is a form of protection against bitterness for your own heart.
In all of this, always remember the Good Shepherd is the door to true freedom.
John 10: 7 - 11- 7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Isaiah 48: 17 -Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.
Psalm 2
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Selah,
Kathryn
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