THE CRY OF THE SPIRIT DEVOTIONALS – BY RICHARD E. S. TAKIM

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Monday 29TH March 2021)

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:26-27 NKJV

WELCOME TO THE 88TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS!

We give glory to God for giving us life and health to be alive today. Many are dropping dead like leaves but His mercies have spared us the ordeal. If you have no reason to thank God for this morning, you are an ingrate.

The Bible says, the Spirit of the LORD has made us, and the breath of the almighty gives us life. This is the times to walk in divine will and heavenly wisdom. That is why we will be visiting a well of truth dug in time past on the wisdom of doing the word.

For instance, it is wisdom to be in divine will, and foolishness to be in what looks like divine will but not really it. The most secured place to be on the face of the earth is being in divine will. It attracts constant supply of grace and the “Unction” to “function” from the LORD.

Satan will prefer having us in what everyone sees as divine will, but in spirit and in truth not really God’s will for our lives. Yes, he knows outside God’s will he can be in perfect control of a man’s life.

So as we re-visit this well, my prayer is that you will find something refreshing in Jesus precious name. Amen!

FROM THE NUMBER OF MAN TO THE NUMBER OF GOD.

Six in prophetic terms is the number of man while seven is the number of GOD. Man was created on the sixth day and GOD rested on the seventh day. Six also represents humanistic philosophies and secular humanism, while seven represents completion or perfection.

God wants us to move from the number of man which is the source of our problems, to the number of GOD which is the solution of our problems. So many lives – marriages, finances, careers, families, businesses and etc. – are built on the sand of humanistic philosophies or secular humanism.

Humanism is the common way of salving problems without involving God. It is based on the wisdom of men and remains the bedrock of all problems of mankind. Anything we do that removes God from the equation is built on “sand” and will either destroy or be destroyed at the end.

The Bible says anything built on sand will be destroyed by the floods, winds or storms of life. But that which is built on the rock will survive the floods, winds, and storms of life.

Sand represents human or demonic wisdom, but the rock represents the wisdom of God. It comes from the number seven while sand comes from the number six.

Anything we found on the sand of human or demonic wisdom (marriages, families, jobs, businesses, finances, faith, careers, ministries, etc.) will not stand but whatever is founded on the rock of God’s wisdom will stand. That is the core truth of our devotional text today.

You see, the floods, storms and winds of life are not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when.” They are not conditional but unconditional.

No matter how prayerful, anointed, supernatural, or aligned you are with God, they will come. No matter how much you know and apply to your daily life, these things are inevitable; they will happen. They are normal occurrences of an earthly life.

BUT THE DIFFERENCE IS IN HOW THEY LEAVE YOU AFTER THEY MAY HAVE HAPPENED TO YOU.

Will they leave you standing or flattened? How the storms of life met us is not always as important as how they left us! If we are rooted in the rock, they will not leave us flattened.

Yes, if your marriage, finances, faith, career, business, ministry or etc. is built on the rock, the floods, storms and winds of life that come against them will leave them standing. But if they are not built on the rock of divine wisdom, the same forces will flatten them down.

For instance, I have heard of marriages that came under the storms of adultery, and persistent unfaithfulness from one of the spouses involved standing after the storm. It left them better, healthier, stronger and blissful. I have also seen some flattened by the same storms. In some cases, the couples remained together but trust was lost forever and peace became a thing of the past.

The difference between these two marriages was in the foundation and how each was running; one was founded on the rock of divine wisdom and was running by the same, but the other was founded on the sand of human or demonic wisdom and running by the same!

The difference between marriages, finances, businesses, faith, health, expectations, jobs, ministries, visions, plans, provisions, and whatever concerns life that is standing after the storms, floods, or winds of life, and the ones flattened, lies in where they are founded – sand or rock.

One major rock of divine wisdom to found any aspect of your life on is the rock of doing whatever the word of the LORD says. Our devotional text today says

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall”

Doing whatever the word says to us, especially at an immediate present, is one way of building our lives on the rock. Don’t forget, when you build your life on the rock, the rock will take care of you in the midst of any storm.

IF YOU DO WHATEVER THE WORD SAYS, YOU WILL BE IN DIVINE WILL.

Being in divine will is the most secured place to be on the face of the earth. It attracts constant supply of grace and the “Unction” to “function” especially in the midst of terrible storms, floods, or winds of life.

No storm, flood or wind of life can throw down a church, ministry, or minister founded in God’s will. No such evil forces can successfully through down a marriage, family, or financial life founded in God’s will. Being in God’s will attract a constant flow of the Holy Spirit that sustains our lives even in the midst of a storm of life.

Look at what happened to one of the apostles of Jesus Christ.

The Bible says he was caught up in terrific storms, floods and winds of life. Not once, not twice. His life was constantly in jeopardy. One day he turned to God in prayer for help, but hear what the LORD said to him;

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

Being in constant jeopardy will do nothing to you if you are enjoying constant flow of God upon your life. It will not destroy your life because of the sufficient grace that will be made available. I have seen these actualized in my life for over 25 years. However, constant flow of God is a blessing of being in divine will, not in your own will.

Whatever storm of life that hit you in divine will may hurt but will never take you out. Whatever wind or flood of life that comes against your life in divine will may throw you down but will never uproot you; the constant flow of God will always take you up again.

That is why the righteous falls down seven times and rises up again. And many are the afflictions of the righteous but the LORD delivers them from them all. You see that all through the scriptures!

As we bring this devotional to a close, I want you to understand that your faith, prayers, or fasting will never eliminate or stop the storms, floods or winds of life from rising and hitting you. No! But you can survive all of them and come out stronger if you will apply the wisdom of being in divine will to your daily life.

April is our month of divine wisdom. And one aspect of God’s wisdom to seek this month is the wisdom of always being in divine will no matter what you are going through. That is where redemption and constant flow of GOD is guaranteed!

May this day speak blessings into your life, in Jesus precious name! AMEN!!

YOU CAN MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;

“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in you; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on you be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.”

“Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and your loving-kindnesses, for they are from of old.”

“Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to your mercy remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.”

“The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.”

“For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.”

“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Psalms 25:1-14 NKJV