Title: The Siege of the Shining One
Subtitle: Why Your Success Is a Mirror Some Cannot Bear to Look Into
Scripture: "My soul is in deep anguish. How long must I wait? They charge at me with swords, like lions greedy for prey." (Psalm 57:4, paraphrased)
The Morning the Assegais Were Sharpened
I was sitting on my veranda in Akasia—you know the view, just there where the last pretentious walls of the suburbs give way to the thorny bushveld—when the news alert buzzed. Another bust in Stilfontein. More zama zamas surfacing from the deep . The government is deploying the SANDF now, sending soldiers with rifles into those holes because the criminal syndicates have made the rule of law look like a suggestion .
And as I watched the report, a woman from Carletonville was being interviewed. Her son was one of those trapped in the labyrinth. She wasn't crying about the illegality; she was crying about the system. She said, "They told my son there was gold. They gave him a sack and a shovel and sent him down. Now he is either dead or he will be arrested for trying to feed me."
I turned off the television and opened my Bible to Psalm 57. And suddenly, the connection was electric.
David is in a cave. Saul is at the mouth. David is not the aggressor; he is the anointed. But because he carries a future kingship in his spirit, the current king wants to pin him to the wall with a spear.
Beloved, your growth will always be a threat to those who have chosen the comfort of the cave over the climb of the mountain. Saul’s spear flew not because David did wrong, but because David shone bright.
The Law of the Uncomfortable Mirror
Let me give you a Harold Mawela principle: An insecure man does not attack your mistakes; he attacks your successes.
Think about that. If David had failed miserably, if he had been a lousy shepherd, a coward in battle, Saul would have kept him around as a court jester. But David brought Goliath’s head. David made the women sing. David became a headline.
And that is when the spear left Saul’s hand.
We are seeing this play out in our South African politics right now. As Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni briefed the press ahead of the SONA, she spoke about fighting organized crime and "decontaminating" systems . But here is the tragedy: often, the people trying to clean the system are the ones the system tries to eat. The moment you shine a light into the dark corners of corruption, the cockroaches don't just scatter—they charge. They have their own spears. They call you a sell-out. They leak your private messages. They send the zama zamas of public opinion to dig up your past.
Your victory is his verdict. Your light is his conviction. Your promotion is his demotion.
The Paradox of the Pit and the Palace
I remember a personal story from my early days in ministry, right here in Pretoria. I had just started the "Morning Power" podcast . It was small, just a seed. But the seeds were sprouting. People were listening in Diepsloot, in Soshanguve, even as far as Cape Town.
And then the spears came.
Not from the world—from the church. A prominent pastor in the region, a man I looked up to, began to subtly undermine the work. He didn't critique the theology; he couldn't, because it was solid. He attacked the method. "He's too young." "He's chasing social media fame." "He's just an internet pastor."
Do you know why he did it? It wasn't because I was wrong. It was because the Holy Spirit was confirming the word through technology, and technology threatened his territorial model. He was Saul. I was holding onto the hem of David’s cloak, wondering when the spear would whizz past my ear.
Understand this immutable law: They charge at you with swords not when you are down, but when you are rising.
Just last week, we heard of the passing of Bishop John Bolana in Gqeberha . The Deputy President himself paid tribute, calling him a "spiritual giant" and a "nation builder" . Did you notice the language? Bishop Bolana was respected across society because he built, not because he bulldozed. Yet, I guarantee you, in his decades of ministry, there were moments when his own colleagues in the Bantu Church of Christ questioned his vision. There were moments when the assegais of jealousy were sharpened against him. Why? Because a true shepherd casts a shadow that covers the flock, and that shadow sometimes blocks the spotlight that the false shepherds crave.
Don't Shrink, Shine
We have a water crisis in Gauteng right now. The taps are running dry . The government is begging us to use water sparingly, not to fill swimming pools, to report leaks.
But there is another drought in our nation. It is a drought of confidence. We are afraid to fill our spiritual pools because someone might accuse us of wasting grace. We are afraid to let our talent flow because the municipality of mediocrity might issue us a fine.
Do not shrink your stature to soothe his conscience.
Do not dull your shine to make their darkness feel more comfortable.
Imagine if David had thought, "Well, if I play the harp too well, Saul might get jealous. Maybe I should just strum a few chords, keep it quiet." No! David played until the evil spirit departed. Your gift is the exorcism for the environment.
The Siege of Stilfontein and the Soul
The zama zamas are deep underground. They live in darkness because they are hunting for something valuable. They are willing to risk death, disease, and imprisonment just to bring up a little gold .
Spiritually, the enemy operates the same way. He sends his zama zamas—thoughts of doubt, spirits of rejection, memories of past failure—to dig tunnels into your mind. They burrow deep, trying to find the gold of your identity so they can steal it. They try to keep you underground. They try to keep you in the dark hole of insecurity.
But hear me, prophetically: The SANDF of Heaven has been deployed!
God has sent His angels to pull you out of that hole. He is stationing His peace as a guard around your heart. He is declaring that the illegal mining of your destiny by the enemy is over.
Let your light break forth, and let God deal with the shadows.
You don't have to fight Saul. You don't have to throw the spear back. You just have to keep shining. You just have to keep climbing. You just have to keep writing, keep preaching, keep building, keep parenting, keep loving.
The Alliteration of the Anointed
For the grammar lovers, let me give you a line to hang your hat on:
Don't Drain your Dam to prove you aren't a threat to theirs.
If your dam is full of the living water, let it overflow. If your neighbour's dam is empty because he dug it in the sand, that is his structural problem, not your hydrological fault.
The Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is our "All in All" . He is the Source, the Sustainer, and the Fulfillment. If He is your source, what can Saul do to you? If He is your sustainer, what can the critics say about you? If He is your fulfillment, what can the zama zamas steal from you?
A Prayer from Akasia
Let us pray.
Father, I lift up the reader right now. They are in a cave. They can hear the footsteps of the enemy at the entrance. The spears are flying. The gossip is spreading. The accusations are mounting.
Give them the courage to grow while others grumble. Give them the faith to flourish while others fade. Give them the wisdom to know that the shadow of their shine is the conviction of the critic.
I release their reaction to Your righteous hand. I declare that no weapon formed against them shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against them in judgment, they shall condemn.
Let the water of Your Spirit flow from their belly, even in a time of drought. Let the gold of Your nature shine through their character, even in the darkness of the tunnel.
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, who faced the ultimate spear on the cross and rose anyway, I pray. Amen.
Stay in the light. The shadows will sort themselves out.
—Harold Mawela, Akasia
https://podcasts.apple.com/gh/podcast/the-shadow-of-your-shine/id1506692775?i=1000750083457
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