TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Monday 28th June 2021)
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.” Hebrews 11:23 KJV
WELCOME TO THE 179TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS.
God has been faithful and merciful. He has been patient and kind. He has been so tolerant and gracious towards us. He is the only person who does not give up on us, that is why His treasures are always available to make us what He wants us to be irrespective our failures and frailties.
It is important that we appreciate Him for giving us another week.
As we transit from one day to another, one moment to another and one season to another, we must not forget, as my 1987 pastor used to put it then in songs, “for us the righteous, a better day is drawing nearer, coming bye and bye.”
My greatest expectation remains, the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ or my home going to meet Him once I finish my course or complete my race. That is what I live for and look forward to daily.
I live for a better reward in the next life. I live for the next life, not this life. My pastor taught me that in 1987 and I also saw it in the lives of our apostolic fathers, as they transited through one season of their lives to another.
Life is designed to take men through all kinds of transitions, either good or bad. It does not matter the kind of transition one may be going through, what matters is if he or she is spending his or her days with Christ at the center of their lives.
There are things that happen to a man that human energy cannot help him to go through them. Sadly, we are right in a season of such things. Yes, a season of transition-periods that human strength cannot help any man to withstand.
In such moments we must remember that by strength shall no man prevail. We must not forget that such transition periods require divine energy to go through and come out well.
If Christ is at the center of our lives and we call on Him during the periods, He will rise, rebuke the storm for us and bring calmness to our lives. That was what He did when He was in the boat that had His disciples in the days of the Bible.
The boat ran into a storm; waking Him up was what saved the day. Though from His response, it is clear that He expected them to do what He did instead of waking Him up.
THE TRUTHS BURIED IN THAT ARE FOR ANOTHER DAY!
Sometimes the waves of life can be very scary. In one moment you up, singing hallelujah. In another moment you are down screaming for help! I think the best preparation for the storms of life that Jesus gives His sheep, is the preparation to withstand or survive the impact of any thing life may bring our way.
We are not expected in the kingdom to go down under any kind of storm as kingdom citizens. We are expected to remain strong in God’s will ways or word. That is why the Bible says;
“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Proverbs 24:10 NKJV
The difference between the unsaved and the truly saved is usually seen in how the storms of life leave them. If we are truly saved, the storms of life will leave us better, but if we are not they will leave us either bitter with God or the life He has given us, His servant or the Church we may be attending, our loves ones or any other person who truly care for us.
For the parents of Moses in our devotional text, it was a trying period.
Their Son Moses was born in the midst of one of the worst attacks that hell ever lunched on the nation of Israel – the killing of male Children. It was a painful transition period for the nation of Israel.
Fear and anguish was every place a male child was born. So as soon as Moses was born, fear came into the hearts of his parents – the fear of losing him to the sword of the executioners. But the Bible says in the midst of that fear they saw something – something that took the fear away and made them unafraid of the King’s command. The text says;
“By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.” Hebrews 11:23 KJV
WHEN FEAR WAS IN THEIR HEARTS, THEY HID HIM FOR THREE MONTHS.
But when fear left things changed. He ended up in the palace of the very king that wanted all male children dead. Favor from God covered the Child and took Him to the house of His killers to raise him for God.
God’s favor, grace and mercy will always keep us through the storms of life in mysterious ways. The only thing that will be required is that we keep the eyes of our faith open.
What helped Moses’ parents through the perils of the transition period they found themselves was the eyes of their faith – it enabled them to see something beyond the ordinary in the life of their Child.
The eyes of their faith saw something in the child that killed the fear they had for His life.
That teaches me that when I am going through a painful season of life, a trial or trouble period of life, the eyes of my faith should remain wide open. I should not listen to the pain and whatever the enemy may be using it to say to me. If I do, it will blindfold me and keep me in darkness. I should keep the eyes of my faith open towards God watching for a word, vision, or revelation from Him.
The importance of this was seen in the prayer of Jesus for Peter when Jesus saw what was lying just ahead of Peter. The Bible says;
And the Lord said,
“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” Luke 22:31-32 NKJV
Jesus did not pray that the shaking should not come on Peter. That would not have worked because life is so imperfect. In fact, the imperfection of life makes shakings and transition periods normal occurrences so long as the earthly life is concern.
Jesus only prayed that his faith fails not. In other words, He prayed that his eyes of faith should remain open in the midst of the transition.
I believe that is the prayer that He still prays for us today when we go through painful seasons of life – like the pain of the season of losing a loved one, going through divorce, facing the reality of a crashed hope or failed expectation, or going through the emotional pain of terrible disappointment.
IN SUCH MOMENTS, JESUS DO PRAY FOR US TO KEEP OUR FAITH ALIVE AND WELL, BECAUSE THAT WILL BE THE KEY TO OUR RECOVERY.
I have come to realize that sometimes bad things happen to good people, like they happened to Paul on the Island of Malta. But God will always make a way for them in the midst of it all.
Concerning Paul, the Bible says;
“But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”
But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.” Acts 28:3-6 NKJV
If you read the chapter that preceded this, you will realize that it was the faith of Paul in the midst of a raging storm that saved everyone and brought them to this Island. And here was the devil again coming against the very man whose faith saved the entire passengers and crew of the ill-fated ship.
The people called him a murderer when they saw the snake on his hands but God made sure His faith saw Him through. When that happened they changed their minds and started calling him a god! That brings us to a very important aspect of this devotional word.
How does one stand in the midst of a storm or painful transition period? There is only one way to stand, and that way is to stand on the power of the prayer knee not on the contemplations of a worrying heart. If we do not stand on the power of the prayer knee in the midst of a storm or a perilous transition period, we may not have our eyes of faith opened to see what we need to see to come out strong.
When we go through storms, our hearts naturally become weakened and filled with worries. The only place we can draw strength during such moments is in the place of righteous prayer.
YOU SEE THAT IN THE LIFE OF PAUL IN THE MANY SEASONS THAT HE FACED TROUBLE.
In one of the seasons, he fasted for 14 days. But it may interest you to know that he did not just set out to fast for 14 days. He started fasting and praying for help perpetually, and on the 14th day of the journey an angel of the LORD was sent to help him. The angel came and released the faith he needed in the storm to come out well.
Don’t forget, faith comes by hearing or seeing into the spirit realm. Paul both heard and saw into the realm of the Spirit of the LORD after the angel spoke. Here is how Dr. Luke recounted what happened.
“On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss.
And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
Therefore, take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.” Acts 27:19-26 NKJV
It was what Paul heard from the angel of the LORD that was sent to him while he was on the prayer knee that gave him the faith to say all he said to the entire people who were on that ship.
Heaven would later confirm the word by bringing all on board safely to the island of Malta.
If we do not know how to retreat to the prayer closet in the midst of storms, and seek the face of the LORD for help, we will not receive the divine energy we need to come out well. The story in the scripture above tells us what to do in very hopeless situations. It tells us what to do when great tempest beat on us, and all hope that we would be saved is finally given up.
David had similar moments in his days and his prayer in the midst of the storms gave him the faith he needed to go through the season.
The Bible says he cried to the LORD from the end of the earth (meaning the end of human strength and energy), and requested that God leads him to a rock (revelation) higher than him (higher than his level of knowledge in the midst of the storm).
If we are serving the same God that they served, then we must learn to do exactly what they did in their days of adversity when we face the pain of the transition seasons of life.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY.
“HEAR MY cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the end of the earth will I cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and fainting; lead me to the rock that is higher than I [yes, a rock that is too high for me].
For You have been a shelter and a refuge for me, a strong tower against the adversary. I will dwell in Your tabernacle forever; let me find refuge and trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear, revere, and honor Your name.” Psalms 61:1-5 AMP