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

TODAY’S DEVOTION (TUESDAY 4TH OCTOBER 2022)

For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

“He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,

So the LORD alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.

“He made him ride in the heights of the earth, that he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty rock;

Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs; and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the choicest wheat; and you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.” Deuteronomy 32:9-14 NKJV

WELCOME TO THE 277TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF AMAZING GRACE!

We thank the LORD for bringing us to another day. We believe this is one of the days He fashioned for us long before we were formed in our mother’s womb. We shall therefore, rejoice and be glad in it.

Day unto day we have seen His mercies; new and fresh every morning. Giving those of us who broke or hurt our lives with bad decisions the opportunity to start again.

To start with, I want to state that I do not think it is a good thing to give up in life so long as you are still joined to the living.

One, fresh decision in a new day is what you need to begin a journey into a new and blissful life. It is what you need to unlock a greatness that have been away from you all your life.

Yes, one fresh decision in the right direction is all you need to experience the change you crave for. That decision could be a decision to repent of all your sins, iniquity, or trespass, or a decision to break down some old habits that have not blessed you. Because if we keep doing what we have always done, we will keep having the results we have always had.

Fresh decisions will be required for a change in life. It could be a decision to accept the LORD into your life afresh, or some other kinds of decisions that must be made.

Fresh decisions will be required for a change in life, it all depends on the change you are looking for.

We have said this repeatedly that what our lives are today is a product of the totality of the decisions we made yesterday. What our lives will be tomorrow will be as a result of fresh decisions we will make today.

We must understand that decisions are very powerful. They have so much power in them that if we do not walk in sound wisdom, we will create unredeemable problems for ourselves, because of our decisions.

And if a man’s decisions are responsible for his problems, there is no amount of prayer, fasting, or whatever that can solve his problems. The problem a collection of decisions created, will require another set of decisions to be solved. That is the secret.

THAT IS WHY, IF WE CAN GET OUR DECISIONS RIGHT, WE CAN GET OUR LIVES BACK ON TRACK.

If we can allow the LORD to lead, instruct and guide us, the enemy will not be able to keep us in ruins for too long. Our redemption will break out suddenly, and things will begin to work in our favor. There so much we miss in life if we do not allow the LORD to lead us.

David said,

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:1-3 NKJV

This Psalm is full of truth. Understand that Where you lie down in life is a function of who is leading you, or who have been responsible for all your decisions.

If your life is broken in any aspect, it is the person leading you that will determine if you will be restored or not. If the LORD is the one leading you, you will not lack restoration or whatever you need. He will make sure you lie down in green pastures. He will make sure you are restored in any area that you may be broken.

That is why, one of the most powerful decision one can make in life, is the decision to be guided and led by the Spirit of the LORD. That is one decision that can change one’s life forever.

However, you will need a healthy relationship with the Spirit of the LORD to get there.

Today is the 4th day of our 31-Day journey of faith with the Cry of the Spirit (or the word of the LORD) on the Holy Spirit. Our vision remains to improve our walk and talk with the Holy Spirit, and to come to the place of maintaining the healthiest relationship with the Him.

Being led, instructed, guided or directed by the Holy Spirit will place us beyond the reach of our enemies. It will unleash His creative ability in our lives. However, knowing Him remains the secret to hearing Him. Knowing Him will help you follow Him properly. It will help you not to follow the counterfeit.

The first thing to know about the Holy Spirit was revealed in Genesis chapter one. That we saw yesterday. We saw His dynamic ability to restrain darkness and create what God says.

WHEN YOU KNOW HIM, YOU CAN TAP INTO THAT ABILITY AND BRING ORDER TO YOUR LIFE ON EARTH.

It may interest you to know that the Holy Spirit loves putting a man’s life in order that is why He instructs, teaches, directs, and reveals. And until He puts our lives in order, God the Father cannot put a blessing upon us.

Our devotional text says;

“For the LORD’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

“He found him in a desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.

As an eagle stirs up its nest, Hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, Carrying them on its wings,

So the LORD alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him.

“He made him ride in the heights of the earth, that he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty rock;

Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, With fat of lambs; and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, With the choicest wheat; and you drank wine, the blood of the grapes.” Deuteronomy 32:9-14 NKJV

From this scripture, it is clear that order must come first before blessings.

Jacob was found in a howling wilderness and encircled by the LORD. The vision was to put his life in order so that a blessing can sit on him, to make His wilderness fruitful field. So, the LORD began to instruct and to keep him, and did that until there was no foreign god in him.

Then it continued until the blessing came and he began to ride on the high places of the earth. Friend, if you want to be blessed by the LORD, order must come first. God will never bless chaos.

Even in Genesis chapter one and two, it was clearly demonstrated that God will never put a blessing on us if our lives are not in order. He did not put a blessing on the earth when it was void, and without form. He only put a blessing after putting things in order.

I reiterate again that the greatest passion of the Holy Spirit for us is to put our lives in order. It’s to take us out of churches, associations, unions, habits, lifestyles and etc.that are lawless in nature, and to bring us to God’s will and ways..

HOWEVER, MUST HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM FOR THAT TO HAPPEN.

His directives, instructions, directions and teachings are geared towards encircling us and putting our lives in order.

I studied some of the great men and women in God’s kingdom, past and present, especially those who left indelible marks on the sand of time (some of which we are still using as pathways for living today), and discovered that what made them what they were was the leading of the LORD.

He was their shepherd, who put their lives in order through the directives, instructions, directions, and teaching of the Holy Spirit, and blessed them to be men and women of generational impact.

In other words, the Spirit of God (in their lives) was allowed to carry out one of His major assignments in their lives. They allowed Him to led and instructed them in the ways they should go, and they responded positively until there was order in their lives. God said in His word;

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

Do not be like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding, which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.” Psalm 32:8-9 NKJV

This scripture is one of living verses of the Bible that will keep helping us till Jesus comes.

When it comes to living a peaceful and fulfilling life on earth, there are ways we should go, and there are ways we should not go.

We must understand that, because there are seven aspects of life. Each aspect can be destroyed by a decision taken in the direction of ways we should not go in life. And the major work of the Holy Spirit remains putting our lives in order by guiding us in way we should go.

That is why when you cultivate and maintain a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit, you will lead a blessed life on the face of the earth. And in case you are having problems in an aspect of life, it will be put in order, leading to restoration and healing.

Finally, I want you to understand that there is something called “Holy Spirit led decisions and directives.” If we follow them, we will not have problems. If He guides and instruct us, being the eye of God and all of Him, our lives will be in order, even in a chaotic world, and we will lead peaceful and successful lives on earth.

YOU SEE, MAN WAS NOT CREATED TO SUCCEED ON EARTH BY LEANING ON HIS OWN UNDERSTANDING.

Our own understanding can create chaos in our lives, leading to fatal decisions. Only His instructions and directives bring order to our lives.

Come to talk of leaning on our own understanding, a lot of us have been destroyed because of that. The pride and arrogance in us will not let us humble ourselves and do away with our own understanding. Often, we are wise in our own eyes.

Leaning on our own understanding has destroyed us much more than devils had. It has ruined lives even beyond redemption. We forget that our understanding is too poor to handle certain issue of life.

There is our understanding of past experiences of life. Some of us have depended on that to make decisions. But we forget that our experiences (knowledge of the past) are not enough. At best, we can stand on them to judge the present and speculate the future.

Speculation is not revelation, speculation is assumption. It is never an accurate knowledge of the future. So, with even amazing speculations, we still have no better view of the future.

And do not forget that any decision that is taken without a perfect knowledge of the future will ruin our lives. If we want to succeed in life, we must not make decisions hoping for a better future. We must make decisions knowing that a better future will come out of our decisions. Hallelujah.

When we make decisions hoping for a better future we are leaning on our own understanding, and it will not always turn out well.

You may not agree with me but I want to submit to you that if you sit down to check your life, you will discover that your life problems were created by the decisions you took, leaning on your own understanding.

You took them hoping for a batter future. And that happened because you lacked a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit.

FOR INSTANCE, ONE WILL LEAN ON HIS OR HER OWN UNDERSTANDING TO GET MARRIED TO SOMEONE THEY SAID THEY LOVE.

Most times, their wedding will be glorious and celebrated to the highest Heaven. In some cases, they will not even care about a ceremony or a wedding, depending on their own understanding of what is marriage.

Some will not even care about a bride price, they will just start living happily and joyfully together, thinking that is it. Enjoying their companionship and making babies, in some cases.

But after a while, what they celebrated and displayed as their joy and happiness will become a pain in their neck.

Friend, You will end up with a broken life if you make decisions leaning on your own understanding. The ugly scenario will not just play itself in your marriage, but in your finances, career and every other aspect of life, even your spiritual life.

The Bible says,

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV)

But how many of us are doing that? Very few!

We submit to our carnal desires and expectations and make decisions based on that, and end up with broken lives. Most times we do that pretending to be submitting to God.

But the Holy Spirit is here to help us. If only we will be willing to have a healthier relationship with Him this month; if only we will be willing to tell Him: “LORD, guide my life and put it back in order. Order is what I need. Put my life back to order. I am ready to listen and be instructed. Use the prophetic hearing aids in my life to guide me until order is restored. I am ready and willing LORD” Amen.

Do not forget, one of the many reasons for a healthy relationship with the Holy Spirit is to put our lives in order. That is one of the reasons for leading a Spirit filled life.

Until our lives are in order, God cannot command His blessings upon them.

May the mercies of the LORD be with us all, in Jesus precious name. Amen

LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR US TODAY!

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.

Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:15-20 NIV