TODAY’S DEVOTION (FRIDAY 4TH AUGUST 2023)**
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 216TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
We thank God for the gift of life. We slept and woke up because the LORD kept us. To Him belong all the glory, in Jesus’ precious name.
Yes, we must keep counting our blessings, child of God. We must keep counting our blessings and not lose sight of what the LORD has done in and through our lives. Oh yes, no matter what might be happening to you, keep the faith by counting your blessings.
Do not lose sight of the great things the LORD has done in your life or through your life, no matter the cloud that might have surrounded you. Give God thanks and rejoice because that is what the LORD commanded. The Bible says, ***
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NKJV)
You have to learn to rejoice even when there is nothing to rejoice about, as your physical eyes might tell you. What I know is, when God says rejoice, it’s because there is something in His throne which might not have come to your natural senses, to rejoice about. The Bible says glorious things are spoken concerning you, or City of God. So, there is always something in God’s throne to rejoice about no matter the darkness around. That is how to live by the faith of the Son of man.
It is not a coincidence that the LORD spoke to us on living by faith last Sunday. The just are designed to live by the faith of the Son of God, not by what their natural eyes, ears, or senses tell them. If we go by what our natural senses tell us, we will all give up in life and retreat somewhere.
A generation of Just men who will not live by the faith of the Son of God, will perish.
There are so many ways one can live by the faith of the Son of God. Rejoicing always is one way. Following what the written word says, no matter what the war may be, is another way. If we do not rejoice always and follow what the word says in the midst of trials, temptation, persecutions, bitter and false accusations, and all that, we will never see God break out against the enemy.
The just shall live and survive by the kind of faith Christ demonstrated; a faith that placed Him above the storms of life, including the temporary success of Satan over Him, when He was killed and buried. That faith was rewarded by His resurrection on the third day.
We can learn from the story of Jesus that every seeming success of Satan over your life is not permanent but temporal. Do not make it temporal by any carnal reaction.
KEEP THE FAITH, THE FIGHT, AND THE FIRE BURNING.
The Bible says;
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV
This scripture made it clear that any success of darkness over light, or Satan over the works of the LORD, is temporal. It is not permanent. It says, anything Satan may have done, and placed before you or dark men to see and celebrate over is temporal, and not permanent.
God designed that, the seeming success of light over darkness be temporal, because there is a decree that says, *“light will shine in darkness, and darkness will not comprehend it.”*So, no success of light over darkness is permanent. It is just that people take such success as permanent, because they do not know the decrees of the LORD that govern things in the Spirit.
When you take the seeming success of darkness over light as permanent, you begin to worry and walk in the flesh. But God’s word says we should not; we should be anxious for nothing, because it is temporal. We should rejoice always. We should just do what the word says. The reason is because if we do not, we will end up making what ought to be temporal permanent with our carnal reactions.
You do not respond to the seeming success of darkness over light, with carnal reaction. You respond with word-based actions.
Understand that there is no way that the just can overcome the enemy by looking at the temporary success of darkness over them. They can only overcome by looking beyond it. The Bible says by looking at the things that are eternal, because whatever they see with their natural eyes is temporal.
FRIEND, THE BIBLE AND EVERY BOOK THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND IT, IS THE ONLY BOOK THAT CONTAINS THINGS THAT ARE ETERNAL.
That is the book to meditate on and walk in when the enemy seems to be succeeding against you. I have come to realize that, sometimes, when we face the issues of life we go looking for prophecies from prophets, instead of standing on what the more sure word of prophecy, the Bible, has already said.
The LORD has been speaking to us from the start of this month on worry. Yesterday He said to us, “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God.” He said when we do that, His peace which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts. That is one way to act when the enemy seems to be succeeding against you, if you will not make His temporal success permanent.
Sadly, many of us do not do that, hence making the temporal success of Satan permanent against us. I have come to realize that, one of the challenges we face as believers, is the challenge of allowing the temporal success of the enemy to be permanent.
That is why the LORD says we should not worry, but commit everything to Him in prayer, and He will respond by sending His amazing peace into our minds. Without His peace in our minds, we will respond carnally to the temporal success of the enemy over us, and make it permanent like many have done already.
Oh, how much we need His peace to guard our hearts from the perils of darkness, generated by the temporary success of Satan over us! Oh, how much we need His peace to guard our hearts instead of our worries filling our hearts, when darkness succeeds over light temporarily!
Obviously, Satan knows how much worries can paralyze the righteous and make them do things that will make his temporary success over them permanent. He will create so much of it these end times to make that happen. That is why we must also be committing everything to the LORD in prayer.
He will move people to lie against you, and God will be watching as they prevail for a season. He will manipulate people to misunderstand you, and accuse you of things you never did, or natures that you are not. He will make you fail in a business venture you so thought you will succeed. He will plant people around to truncate your journey towards greatness.
HE WILL DO SO MUCH TO FRUSTRATE EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE IN YOUR WALK AND TALK WITH THE LORD.
He will try to destroy, kill, and steal through persecutions, discouragement, and disappointments. He will do so much to throw you into the ocean of worry, so that you can help him make his temporary success over your life permanent. But the word of the LORD to us remains one, “be anxious for nothing,” no matter what he does!
When God says “be anxious for nothing”, it means He is in control, and in perfect control, no matter what the enemy might have done or is doing. So, do not respond in the flesh and make the enemy’s success permanent. Trust God and keep walking with Him.
Keep the faith, the fight, and the fire burning. Be worried about the next assignment of God for your life, the next strategy He wants you to engage, and the next thing He wants you to do with your life.
Sometimes, the temporary success of darkness over your life is a sign of the close of a particular season of God for your life, and the announcement of the arrival of a fresh season. That is why you should not act in the flesh, and begin to worry over what may have happened or may be happening.
It could also be a sign for the end of a particular assignment, or an announcement for change of strategy in the pursuit of your assignment. Every warrior in the kingdom of God will always experience a season when darkness will seem to be prevailing over them.
Isaiah had his on time when darkness prevailed over him for a season. His own was because he lived among a people of unclean lips. For me, darkness had prevailed over me in seasons when people I dwelt with did not give me the support I need, especially during intense warfare.
If you live among complacent people, folks who are at ease in Zion, that is what happens. They will not be able to stand with you when you need their support. In addition to living with a people of unclean lips, Isaiah was also mourning the loss of his uncle. But from the content of the 6th chapter of his book, it is clear that he did not react to any of those things in the flesh. He committed them to God in prayer.
THE RESULT OF HIS PRAYER WAS WHAT CHAPTER 6 OF ISAIAH CAPTURED.
The Bible says one day he saw the courts of the temple of Heaven where His prayers where being sent opened. He heard seraphim shouting “holy, holy, holy” to the LORD. Then one encounter after another happened, until he got to the encounter captured in our devotional text.
The word says;
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 NKJV
This scripture tells us what goes on in the Throne room, especially while we are going through unpleasant things on earth.
God will never organize a pity party for you when the enemy succeeds against you for a season because there is always a Cry of the Holy Spirit in the Throne Room asking, “whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” when we are facing the temporally success of darkness over our lives. That is why for us in God’s kingdom, we do not faint in the day of adversity, we keep the faith, the fight, and the fire burning.
We treat Crisis, as turning point events, that comes to elevate us to hear fresh things in the Spirit’s realm; fresh mandates, fresh strategies, fresh visions, fresh actions to take, fresh turns to follow, fresh directives, and fresh ways God wants to work through us and in us.
Isaiah was elevated to hear His own when he refused to worry over the happenings, but by prayer and supplication, made his request known to the LORD. You are the next on God’s list.
As we bring this to a close, I want us to understand that there so much in the Throne Room of GOD that He wants to do with your life on earth. Know that God may be doing one thing with your life, but when that season comes to an end, Satan will succeed against you so that you might press into God’s Holy Spirit and Holy Word, and find the next thing He wants to do with your life.
Friend, God has spoken to us this morning, and I admonish that you let that guide you.
Whenever the enemy achieves a temporary success over you at any time, enter into the council of Heaven, and let God infect you with the next burden He has in His heart for you to carry on earth; instead of sitting down to worry and become anxious. The early church did that too.
The dark spiritual fathers of that age got James killed by the sword of Herod, Peter was to be the next, but the church responded by prayer instead of worry. If you read Church history, you will realize that the result was the establishment of the Church at Antioch, and the expansion of the move of God in Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
Understand that, every temporary success of Satan over your life is for your expansion, not your expulsion or extinction. Then spend your time getting anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication, make your request known unto God. Amen!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY
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.” Psalm 37:1-10 NKJV