TODAY’S DEVOTION (FRIDAY 24TH MAY 2024)
“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Revelation 14:12-13 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 145TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
One major thing we need, in order to walk with God successfully, is patience. The patience of the saints is a major virtue in their walk with God.
It took me time to understand that if I am dealing with God, I must not be in a hurry. Whatever I am expecting from Him, requires that I patiently wait for it to happen, so long as I am in His will. Even if I want Him to increase my ability to resist sin, Satan, or the evil influences of this world.
There are things God does instantly, but there are some we just have to wait, grow up, and become strong for them to happen. The patience of the saints is key to the victory of the saints over sin, Satan and the evil and corrupt system of this world.
I grew up to realize that the most blessed people in the Bible are people who patiently walked with God. From Abel to Enoch, from Abraham to Jacob, from Joseph to Moses and to all who walked with God, patience was not an option but a necessity.
Concerning Abraham, the Bible says;
“And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”
And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Hebrews 6:11-16 NKJV
Our fathers stepped into generational blessings by patiently enduring divine processes that were pathways to the blessings. What we see as generational blessings, is actually a result of their stepping into God’s designed path for them, in His redemptive plan for mankind.
They stepped into it, and patiently followed the LORD, and obtained promises.
OURS CANNOT BE DIFFERENT.
To become part of God’s redemption plans, to play your own role and be blessed the way they were blessed, you will need to be patient with God. To break from certain yokes of life, and step into the freedom you so desire, after finding your foot in God’s will, ways, and plans, it will require patience.
To grow from a weak Child of God to a strong Son of the Kingdom of God, after finding a good church to be feeding spiritually from, you will need faith and patience.
To develop strong roots in Christ, you will need to patiently follow the LORD for a season of life.
To be refined, sanctified, purified, and made pure for the LORD, you will need to patiently follow all the Bible processes that allows that to happen. You will not need to be in a hurry.
People who are always in a hurry, do not achieve anything significant in God.
The Bible says the ways of God are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. And that as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are His ways and thoughts higher than ours.
Patience will help us align with His ways and thoughts. It will help our thoughts melt into His thoughts and our ways disappear into His ways. That was what happened to Enoch. The Bible says;
“Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.
After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” Genesis 5:21-24 NKJV
It takes faith and patience to walk that long with God.
Enoch walked with God faithfully and patiently, until his thoughts melted into God’s thoughts, and his ways disappeared into God’s ways. That was the first way God took him. God took him that way first, before taking him away from the earth.
THAT IS THE PATTERN OF REDEMPTION EVEN FOR TODAY.
God would have to take us first by our thoughts melting into His thoughts, and our ways disappearing into His ways.
When God take us that way, we will no longer live a life of sin because sin is a product of us, not God because He is Holy. It is a child of our thoughts, and a product of our ways.
But when our thoughts melt into God’s thoughts and our ways disappear into God’s ways, what will be coming out of us will be righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; an outbreak of God’s kingdom, power, and glory.
We will grow and step into the next life without falling back to moral corruption.
Yes, like the righteous men who were here before us, we will step into the next life without dying the death of the wicked. We will just sleep and wake up in the arms of the LORD, because to be absent from the body is to be present with the LORD.
I reiterate again, that doing the right things with the LORD with patience, will help our thoughts to melt into God’s thoughts, and our ways to disappear into His ways.
When that happens, what will be coming out of our life will shake the foundations of hell, transform us completely, change moral climates, and bless the lives of countless of people around us.
We will come into the realm of peace and prosperity that will live longer than us. Above all, the words of our mouth, and the meditations of our heart, will become acceptable in God’s sight.
Friend, the blessings of being patient with God, especially after doing all He asked you to do, is huge. Our devotional text this morning says;
“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.”
The essence of the Christian life is to cultivate and maintain a walk and talk with God that keeps His commandments and the faith of Jesus. That is one of the products of walking with God patiently. It is a child of the patience of the saints.
THE VISION IS TO GIVE US ETERNAL REST FROM OUR LABORS AT THE END OF OUR DAYS ON EARTH.
As we bring this to a close, I want you to understand that the patience of the saints is a requirement for their walk with God. A life of patience is at the core of the Christian faith. That is why whenever we become hasty, and impatient with God, we ruin things.
After you have prayed, wait patiently for the LORD to answer.
After you have fasted, wait. Wait patiently for the LORD to change things. For so many, not waiting is the reason for not winning. They will do all the LORD put in their hearts to do, but do not wait for the results.
Friend, after you have done the will of God, stand.
Stand in faith and patience until the fruits of your obedience begin to shoot out. Do not use haste to destroy the process. Hold on to the will, word, and ways of the LORD, even if nothing seems to be happening. Someone said, “the haste of a fool is the slowest thing in the world.”
I have hastily done things in life that time has proved very wrong. Things that if I were patient with God, I would never have done them, because time would have spoken into my heart the needed wisdom to apply, and I would have made better decisions.
The Bible says,
“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” James 5:7-8 NKJV
This scripture speaks of how the famer waits for the crops after he has done his part. In the same way, after we have done our part, we are to wait for the LORD to send His rain and do His part in our lives.
WE ARE NOT TO BECOME HASTY AND IMPATIENT WITH THE LORD!!
Abraham was impatient and Ishmael was the result. Today that error is still causing so much problems on earth. Haste will make you do things that you will regret later. Cultivate the attitude of righteous waiting. It is those who wait upon the LORD that win in life.
The Bible says the LORD will renew their strength and they will begin to mount up with wings as eagles. That is what the patience of the saints does to them. It gives them eagle wings to fly out of the circumstances of life.
Understand that we are very close to the coming of the LORD. A lot is happening that if we do not embrace the virtue of the patience of the saints, we will begin to do things hastily and lose out.
Sometimes the life of a believer is tried in what is called “the trials of faith.”
The trials of faith are a necessity for the believer, and require patience from our end for them to fulfill God’s intended purpose in our lives. There is a way the trials of faith help us in building a strong life and a Godly character.
So, do not be hasty in anything even if when facing the trials of faith. Keep your walk with the LORD intact and let Him remain your fear and your dread. That is the message.
If you wait in the will, way, and word of the LORD, you will win all your wars.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
“Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.
Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.” Psalm 37:1-11 NKJV