TODAY’S DEVOTION (MONDAY 20TH JANUARY 2025)
“So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” Daniel 2:16-19 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 20TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF VICTORY.
Glory be to God for the successful meetings we have had for 19 days, with its climax yesterday. We bless the LORD God for filling our hearts with His word and pouring His grace upon us. I just hope all who attended the meeting will walk in the newness of life that the LORD has given us.
Grace is not a product of this age, but a product of the age to come. That is one revelation we saw in the Holy Scriptures.
We need it to unleash our divine destinies in this sin age. We need it to impact this sin age while living outside it. We need it not to be part of this world while living in this world. We need it to serve our generation according to God’s will. The most fulfilling thing we can do with our lives, is to serve our generation according to the will of God.
Our devotional text spoke about Daniel and how he served his generation; he served it according to God’s will. That is how God wants us to serve ours also. Today we are carrying a visit to another well of truth on God’s mercy, and how it is unlocked through the prayer knee.
It takes the grace and mercy of the LORD to serve your generation according to God’s will. It takes a strong prayer knee to do significant things in the sin age without becoming part of the age.
We live in very terrible seasons and God’s grace is the only way of escape from the horrors of the seasons. That is why men and women in good standing with GOD, are always on their knees seeking mercies from God to grant them the grace to live in this season, and to serve their generation according to His will.
Today we want to look at a special Bible truth, the golden spiritual habit of kneeling down to seek the LORD with the aim of making God’s mercy your resting place, especially in the day of adversity.
THERE ARE THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN THIS YEAR THAT IF WE DO NOT DO THAT, WE MIGHT NOT SURVIVE THEM.
The Bible is littered with the lives of men and women who made the golden habit of seeking God’s mercies as a final resting place in the day of adversity. They had bitter encounters with sin, iniquity and trespass and made God’s mercy their final resting place. That was why they came out well.
God’s mercy defined their lives, and did it so beautifully that we still talk and preach about them today. That is what will happen to us if we do the same. ‘
In 2025, if we make God’s mercies our final resting place, especially whenever things do not turn out well, we will come out victorious at the end. The LORD has decreed the year to be our year of victory; one secret that will help us walk in the decree is the golden habit of bowing the prayer knee to seek God’s mercy, with the aim of making it our final resting place.
Paul the apostle comes to mind here. He had an experience with a messenger of Satan. What God said to him teaches how important making God’s grace or mercy one’s final resting place in the day of trouble is. The Bible says,
“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.”
“Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 NKJV
If you look at this scripture on the surface, you will think that God was the one who sent the messenger of Satan to Paul, and like many have preached, to put his pride under check, or keep him humble as some said. There are even Bible commentaries with such conclusions.
BUT THE CHARACTER OF GOD IN THE CENTRAL TRUTH OF THE SCRIPTURES, RUNS CONTRARY.
To start with, it is true that knowledge can make someone proud, bringing him to the place of, maybe needing a messenger of Satan to stay humble, but not the knowledge of God. The knowledge of God makes one bold but humble. Sadly, some called boldness pride. But boldness is not pride.
Paul was one of the humblest men of God of his age. There was no pride in him to root out like Nebuchadnezzar had.
Secondly, God will not commit revelation to proud people, because they will blow up in the overestimation of themselves and destroy His mission, and maybe their lives! So, Paul was already humble, humble enough to bear the revelatory truths he was spreading. In fact, you see that in 2 Corinthians 12 and other of his letters to the Churches.
So, when we say God sent that devil to keep him humble we miss it. God will not give you abundance of revelation to spread about with one hand and then with the other sabotage your effort by sending a messenger of Satan to buffet you. That is not the GOD of the great commission!
The enemy was actually responsible and God saved Paul when he sought Him in prayer. God saved him by teaching him how to make His mercies and sufficient grace a resting place in his adversity. He did it and everything turned out well.
Our devotional text holds another revelation, it is a revelation of how Daniel made God’s mercies his final resting place in the day of adversity.
The Bible says the king had a dream and woke up without remembering it. Then he called his wise men, sorcerers, magicians and etc. to help him out. But they could not!
Then he became fierce and issued an order that if they cannot tell him the dream and its interpretation, he will consider it an exposure of a hidden but now known conspiracy against him.
TO HIM THAT WOULD PUT A DARK SPOT ON ALL THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS HE HAS BEEN RECEIVING FROM THEM.
He reasoned that if all they have been given him as dream interpretation was true, then they should be able to recall his dream and tell him the interpretation.
The Bible says still they could not, and then he issued a command in response that they should all be executed. That was how the life of Daniel, who was working then as one of the wise men of Babylon due to his prophetic powers from Heaven, came under threat.
The Bible made it clear that the execution began.
Obviously, it began with those the king called to the palace to remind him his dream and give the interpretation. Then, the executioners started looking for others to kill! Finally, they found Daniel and his friends also! But the Bible says Daniel answered the Chief executioner with Wisdom and requested that he see the King to seek for time.
The request was granted. Our devotional text says,
“So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.
Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”
If you look at this scripture, you will discover that God’s mercy was the final resting place of Daniel. That was the resting place that saved his life and the life of others. The Bible says he and his friend sought Mercy of the LORD, and it saved their lives.
WHAT THE KING WAS LOOKING, FOR WAS REVEALED TO HIM IN A NIGHT VISION. HALLELUJAH!
2025 can be one of the best years of your life if you make God’s mercies your final resting place when challenges come. The result will always be glorious and beautiful. You will not go down under the sword of sin, Satan or the evil and corrupt system of this world if you do.
The life of Daniel teaches that, a people who honor the golden habit of going down on their knees in prayer, to seek the mercies of the LORD in other to make God’s mercies their final resting place in the day of adversity, will never be consumed by their adversity.
They will never be blown away by the perils of life.
Daniel sought mercies of the LORD and God saved his life and that of others from the sword of the king. I don’t know what sword is pursuing you but one thing I know is this; if you will make God’s mercy your final resting place, you will be saved from it.
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY;
“God, you are my God; early will I seek you; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water.
So I have looked for you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory. Because your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise you. Thus I will bless you while I live; I will lift up my hands in your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise you with joyful lips. When I remember you on my bed, I meditate on you in the night watches. Because you have been my help, therefore in the shadow of your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind you; your right hand upholds me.” Psalms 63:1-8 NKJV