Destiny diverters do not come up to you and say, ‘Hey there, I am here to destroy your life’. They are smarter than that – or so they think. Instead, these nosy people position themselves on the way you take, so that you ‘accidentally’ bump into them. ‘The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out on those who pass by, who go straight on their way’ (Proverbs 9:13-15). Folly’s strategic position makes them have a clear view of who is on which road. Seeing those that are taking the good road, they dash there in order to divert them. ‘Now in the streets, now in the squares, at every corner she lurks’ (7:v12). ‘With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk’ (v21). That is the thing about destiny diverters, they know how to camouflage their true intentions. No wonder Jesus warns, ‘Watch out for false prophets (teachers, preachers, and Christians). They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them’ (Matthew 7:15). Destiny diverters are experts in pretence, because they have mastered the art of false impressions, seduction, mannerlessness, and whoredom from their coach, Folly, who is ‘the Great Prostitute’ (Revelation 17:1), the devil. For ‘Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve’ (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). Indeed, ‘God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands’ (Isaiah 25:11).
No one plans to fall prey to these filthy people. In fact, they at first seem like angels who come at the right time, say the right things, and make you feel the right way. But destiny diverters know the right time to pounce (or so they think). They target one at their most vulnerable moment. They pique their interest, sooth their sensitivities, elevate their esteem, and tickle their fancy. They also love playing victim to evoke pity. ‘All at once he followed her like an ox going to the slaughter, like a deer steeping into a noose till an arrow pierces his liver, like a bird darting into a snare, little knowing it will cost him his life’ (Proverbs 7:21-23). Once a victim is trapped into the hands of the wicked person, they are slowly but surely destroyed. How? You may ask. They are dragged away from their right path. At first, it is not apparent because these confused people make it seem like they are on the same path with you. But it is merely to come and get you away from it. Before long, they display their folly. They give senseless advise, relay dark stories of the wretched examples they have made of their lives or of others, create doubt, spread lies and gossip, and give insidious suggestions. With ecstasy, they blind-fold you and within no time, you are lead away to dark alleys. ‘Having put him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his hair, and so began to subdue him. And his strength left him . . . But he did not know that the Lord had left him’ (Judges 16:19, 20). All destiny diverters have a common goal: to make you ‘fall from your secure position’ (2 Peter 3:17). These faithless people are assigned in every area of one’s life, targeting especially your spiritual life. For, ‘If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all‘ (Isaiah 7:9). So, destiny diverters want you to miss your blessings in marital life, finances, personal development, and eternity. Whatever area you can think of in life, be sure destiny diverters are targeting it as you walk in the way of life. ‘Was it not because of marriages like this that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women’ (Nehemiah 13:26).
Once these manipulative liars have successfully managed to steer you from your path, destruction is inevitable. One’s virtues are slowly stripped off. ‘Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding in the prison’ (Judges 17:21). Destiny diverters gouge out your eyes. In other words, they try to kill your vision and put you in the slavery of sin. These accursed people put before your eyes pleasures, falsities, and all manner of blinding distractions. ‘Come, let’s drink deep of love till morning; let’s enjoy ourselves with love!’ (Proverbs 7:18). They spend all their efforts to prevent you from focusing on the important things that matter. They make you drunk with ‘love’, drunk with alcohol, drunk with religion, and other trifling poisonous ‘pleasures’ until you are rent blind. For, ‘The eye is the lamp of your body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness’ (Matthew 6:22-23). So, destiny diverters target your eyes, because once they can remove them, darkness sets in. No one can find their way in darkness, and so they remain where they are. They remain confined in a prison, and become slaves- ‘for a man is a slave of what masters him’ (2 Peter 2:19). Solomon experienced this, and so reflects, ‘I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and hands are chains’ (Ecclesiastes 9:26). Solomon who was surrounded by a myriad of them, came to see that just one destiny diverter is lethal. He also notes that, ‘The man who fears God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare’ (Ecclesiastes 7:26).
The only way to escape the snare of destiny diverters is by shining Jesus Christ’s light. Destiny diverters who are God-haters do their work in darkness, and so abhor the light. ‘Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed’ (John 3:20). So, by maintaining a close relationship with God through prayer, fasting, and the Word, we absorb God’s light. ‘And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit’ (2 Corinthians 3:18). That is why for those who are close to Him, Jesus asserts that, ‘You are the light of the world’ (Matthew 5:14), and when we radiate the light of God, destiny diverters lose their power. One by one, they begin to back off. God brings them into confusion and causes them to make mistakes so that their true colours are revealed. ‘The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven’ (Deuteronomy 28:7). In fact, the more we increase our knowledge of God and strengthen our relationship with Him, we find that our views and theirs begin to clash. ‘For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a Believer have in common with an unbeliever (or a religious)? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?’ (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). So, we avoid such characters because they are under control of the devil. ‘They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the Lord I cut them off. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me’ (Psalm 118:12-13). Indeed, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ (v26).
Escaping from the trap of destiny diverters leaves people with varying degrees of scars, depending on the duration of the stay. Losses may have been incurred in terms of time, money, well-being, or all of them plus more. In fact, some have even lost their lives. ‘Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death’ (Proverbs 7:26-27). These lethal and worthless people are found everywhere. ‘Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness. Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras’ (Deuteronomy 32:32-33). In short, they ‘belong to (their) father the devil, and (they) want to carry out their father’s desire’ (John 8:44), ‘to steal and kill and destroy’ (10:v10) any good thing. Their poison causes them to vex others, and they do so without any guilty conscience, for that is what they are trained to do. But these delusional cowards are mere talkers. For, ‘A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but in his heart he harbours deceit. Though his speech is charming, do not believe him, for seven abominations fill his heart. His malice may be concealed with deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly’ (Proverbs 26:25-26).
When destiny diverters are exposed for who they are, they are found to have no substance and no life (presently or eternally). For such people ‘are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish’ (2 Peter 2:12). But their pride puffs them up, shamelessly making them forget that the Serpent’s food is ‘dust’ (Genesis 3:14), and that God alongside His children has ‘crush(ed) your head’ (v15). So, ‘The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you’ (Jeremiah 49:16). God even asks, ‘Will your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it . . . I will put an end to your uncleanness‘ (Ezekiel 22:14,15). For ‘the wicked are like the troubled sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked’ (Isaiah 57:20-21). Ultimately, such people ‘will be paid back with harm for the harm they have caused’ (2 Peter 2:13). In fact, ‘Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping’ (v3). Jesus even says, ‘Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come’ (Matthew 18:7).
‘Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they weary themselves with sinning. You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,’ declares the Lord’ ~ Jeremiah 9:4-6
‘In his wrath the Lord will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them. You will destroy their descendants from the earth, their posterity from mankind. Though they plot evil against you and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed; for you will make them turn their backs when you aim at them with drawn bow’ ~ Psalm 21:9-12
‘The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again’ ~ Isaiah 14:20
‘Go down, sit in the dust . . . sit on the ground without a throne . . . Your nakedness will be exposed and your shame uncovered. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one’ ~ Isaiah 47:1,3
mulyale mutisya 