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

TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL (Sunday 4th April 2021)

“Then someone told David, saying, “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” And David said, “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!” 2 Samuel 15:31 NKJV

WELCOME TO THE 94th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF HIGHER HEIGHTS!

The enemy love playing with our minds, but God is always and ever ready to get our minds secured from the schemes of the enemy by filling us with His word. We give God the glory for bringing a word in season to us each and every day through this platform.

When the enemy play with our minds, he plants thoughts in us that exalts themselves against the standards and values of God. When we follow them we end up committing sin, iniquity or trespass. God’s word is aimed at pulling down everything in us that exalts itself against the knowledge of GOD.

This morning we are going to travel back in time to drink from another well of truth that was dug five years ago. It is my prayer that you will find a word in season to establish your thoughts on in Jesus precious name. Amen

WALKING IN DIVINE WISDOM.

You see, the Bible has no kind words for foolishness because it is the greatest tool in the hand of our enemy. When we walk in foolishness, Satan does not need a weapon to attack us because we have already given him one to use against us.

The wisdom of men and that of the devil are dangerous, but walking in foolishness is dangerous than they all.

Though God sees these two classes of wisdom as foolishness, foolishness simply means an absent of wisdom. It has a way of aggravating one’s problems.

If your problem is just the devil, then an ounce of prayer can deal with it. But if it is coupled with foolishness, then you need more than prayer to deal with it. The Bible gave us many things that foolishness can do in the life of a person.

A passage in the book of Psalm reads;

“My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness. I am bent and bowed down greatly; I go about mourning all the day long.

“For my loins are filled with burning; and there is no soundness in my flesh.” Psalms 38:5-7 AMP

This scripture as about the consequences of Personal foolishness!

You see, life can be full of wounds and hurts. Wherever your life is hurting is a sign of the presence of a wound.

For instance, Poverty and lack are economic wounds. Ill-health is a physiological wound. There are emotional and spiritual wounds. This scriptural passage made it clear that personal foolishness can make the wounds of life loathsome and corrupt.

IT CAN MAKE THEM UNBEARABLE.

When foolishness makes the wounds of life unbearable, you see the people going about mourning all the day long. You see a man’s life filled with burning and soundness taken away from his flesh.

Personal foolishness is indeed a killer weapon of war in the spirit. If your life is going down because of personal foolishness, no amount of deliverance prayer can pull you out.

If personal foolishness is the reason for your marital crisis, until you start walking in divine wisdom, no prayer can save you. If personal foolishness is the reason for your being single, no prayer can get you married until you start walking in divine wisdom.

If personal foolishness is the reason for your financial crisis, you will need divine wisdom and not prayer to come out of it. Whatever is rooted in personal foolishness cannot be solved by even the most anointed or powerful prayer. That is why a combination of sound teachings and prayers is the greatest help we can find in the Kingdom of God.

Our devotional text today made it clear that when David was in crisis, he pleaded with the LORD to turn the counsel of one of the wisest men in Israel who was among those who conspired against him into foolishness, the LORD answered and that defeated the conspiracy and saved his life.

Foolishness can be used by the LORD to defeat your enemies; it can also be used by your enemies to defeat you.

It’s very clear that one could be very knowledgeable and intelligent but foolish. Intelligence and knowledge on their own cannot save any man. That is why most of those under oppression are very intelligent and knowledgeable people.

Foolishness manifest in certain respect as the improper application of knowledge and intelligence to a given situation.

YOU CAN THEREFORE BE INTELLIGENT, KNOWLEDGEABLE, OR EDUCATED AND FOOLISH AT THE SAME TIME.

For instance, jealousy is an act of foolishness that can ruin a marriage, a family, a ministry, a career, or an economic life unredeemable. I have seen very educated, intelligent, and knowledgeable people feeling very jealous, consequently bringing the wounds of personal foolishness upon their lives.

The Bible says;

“The foolishness of man subverts his way [ruins his affairs]; then his heart is resentful and frets against the Lord.” Proverbs 19:3 AMP

I believe God is using these devotionals to urge us to carry out a Check on our lives. What is it that is ruining our affairs? Is it really the devil or our personal foolishness? I believe the Spirit of wisdom will further speak to you on these things.

For most of us, the foolishness in our lives today as adults was the very foolishness God designed proper upbringing to take away. But because there was none, we were left to grow with it. And now, it has become our personal destruction. The Bible says,

“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.” Proverbs 22:15 AMP

I have come across many who are foolish as adults because the rod of discipline was not applied on their lives as kids to drive it away. It’s really sad, because some of such people will never be free from wounds inflicted on them by their personal foolishness.

What the rod of discipline ought to have driven out of you as a child will be very difficult to be driven out of you as an adult. God may have to allow sufferings to drive it out of you as an adult.

But I have also seen people that suffering could not even drive their personal foolishness away. They kept living in it in spite of what they were going through until there was no remedy. The Bible indeed said;

“Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.” Proverbs 27:22 NKJV

My advice to parents at this point is this; do not over love your kids. Use the rod of correction to drive their foolishness away else, they will live to relate it. I pray that the peace and mercy of the LORD carry out a surgery within us using these words as a catalyst in Jesus precious name. Amen!

MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!

“For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).” 1 Corinthians 1:21 AMP