Snatch and grab ministry

Sometimes marriage, deliverance, healing and counseling ministries have elements of snatch and grab. Be willing to do it all for the glory of God.

For instance, you get a woman crying to you about her husband going to divorce her due to her fault of sexual immorality. You then pray with her and strongly correct her behavior patterns by preaching the word of God to her. With much prayer and courage you can then approach her husband in presence of elders of the church and see if its possible for him to forgive her and for her to never break his trust again. And God willing they’d both reconcile with each other and live a happy married life. However in the midst of getting back with each other, they don’t thank you! Don’t worry, you’ve just done a snatch and grab operation. Though they didn’t thank you, Jesus takes note of what you’ve done in his honor and will surely reward you for this.

You might deliver a man plagued with evil spirits but since he’s a man of repute he won’t even acknowledge you as the servant of God as he feels his image must be maintained. Never feel bad about that. Simply give thanks that you in the name of Jesus could deliver him from trouble and pray that such a man someday understands the value of his deliverance. There’s no need to be resentful. Just go on to the next person who need rescuing from demons.

Sometimes you might have prayed for a person who is in a dying condition and she got well. Today if she walks by you in church she doesn’t say a little hello to you. Again you snatched her out of the fire. She’s not yet truly thankful but that doesn’t mean you get bitter. Thank the Lord you could work with such a forgetful person and yet God healed her when you called on to his name.

I sometimes have counseled people who were in trouble. They used my advice to make themselves better but never bother to contact me again. I’d still come to know that they were blessed. I felt what is the use of me helping them. Then I realized this goes beyond people. This is my service to the Lord God that I help his people and that’s what matters. This is what made to make a choice that I won’t stop giving counsel to people who come to me for counsel that is consistent with the Scriptures.

In terms of snatch and grab, it’s not about your glory nor your fame, it’s about the Lord God and how you serve him. Receiving thanks and compliments shouldn’t be on your mind. Your desire instead must be that God works through you and in you for the person whom you are rescuing from sin and death.

We are greatly encouraged to snatch people of the fire and of course we are to keep due diligence in the process. Please read the below verses:

²⁰ But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹ keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. ²² And have mercy on those who doubt; ²³ save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Jude 1:20-23)

Though the following verses are not a command, I’d still like to mention it as the Lord takes a lot of interest in those he plucks out of the fire and how he wishes that they are sanctified. Please read the following:

3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. ² And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” ³ Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. ⁴ And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” ⁵ And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by. (Zechariah 3:1-5)

Christ be with you as you snatch people out of the fire!

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