TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 12TH January 2020)
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” Matthew 7:26-27 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 12TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
It is wisdom to be in divine will, and foolishness to be in what looks like divine will. Being in divine will is the most secured place to be on the face of the earth. It attracts constant supply of grace and the “Unction” to “function” doing anything God may have assigned to you.
There is something God wants us to spend our entire life doing – that is pursuing and executing His predetermined purposes for our lives. If you want to bring down whatever sin or Satan may have erected in your life, step into God’s predetermined plan or will for your life. Anything you do not want in your life can be completely taken down by doing just that.
The only place Satan is completely rendered powerless in a man’s life is the place of using our lives to do only what God wants done with it.
Satan will prefer having us in what everyone sees as God’s predetermined plan for our lives which in spirit and in truth is not than having us in what it really is. He knows outside God’s predetermined plans he can be in perfect control of our lives.
So many lives – marriages, finances, careers, families, businesses etc. – have been destroyed because they are built on the sand of humanistic philosophies, secular humanism and other things that look good but not God. Satan is more feared in so many quarters than GOD. He has been magnified in the minds of so many oppressed people who engaged all kinds of deliverance inventions to be free from his works.
From drinking oil to using water to pray. From sowing some money to the anointing of a preacher to raising what is called and altar of sacrifice, the list is endless. Most of these things are pastor’s money-making tools. If they don’t serve you unholy holy communion, they will wash your feet or see all manner of visions for you.
But the easiest way to break the backbone of our enemies has not changed. It is not to do any of these but to spend your days according to GOD’s will for it. If you spend your days doing only what is GOD’s immediate present will for your lie, you will not have a deliverance problem.
IF YOU LOOK AT EVEN CHURCH PEOPLE YOU SEE THE OPPOSITE.
You see People who are literally sold out to purposes and plans God never predetermined for them. You see preachers getting people sold out to humanism. Humanism is the common way of solving problems without involving god.
Humanism is based on the wisdom of men and it is the bedrock of all problems of mankind, because anything we do that removes God from the equation is built on “sand” and will either destroy us or get destroyed at the end.
The Bible says anything built on sand will be destroyed by the floods, winds or storms of life. But that which is built on the rock will survive the floods, winds, and storms of life. Sand represents human or demonic wisdom, but the rock represents the wisdom of God.
Anything we found on the sand of human or demonic wisdom (marriages, families, jobs, businesses, finances, faith, careers, ministries, etc) will not stand but whatever is founded on the rock of God’s wisdom will stand. That is the core truth of our devotional text today.
You see, the floods, storms and winds of life are not a matter of “if” but a matter of “when.” They are not conditional but unconditional.
No matter how prayerful, anointed, supernatural, or aligned you are with God, they will come. No matter how much you know and apply to your daily life, these things are inevitable; they will happen. They are normal occurrences of an earthly life.
But the difference is in how they leave you after they may have happened to you. Will they leave you standing or flattened?
If your marriage, finances, faith, career, business, ministry or family is built on the rock, the floods, storms and winds of life that come against them will leave them standing but if they are not built on the rock (divine wisdom), the same forces will flatten them down.
For instance, I have heard of marriages that came under the storms of adultery, and persistent unfaithfulness from one of the spouses involved standing after the storm. I have also seen some flattened by the same storms. The difference was in the foundation; one was founded on the rock of divine wisdom the other was founded on the sand of human and demonic wisdom!
The difference between marriages, finances, businesses, faith, health, expectations, jobs, ministries, visions, plans, provisions, and whatever concerns life that is standing after the storms, floods, or winds of life and the ones flattened lies in what they are founded on – the sand of humanistic ideologies or the rock of God’s predetermined plans and purposes for a man’s life.
TIME TO BECOME A LIFE THAT IS BUILT ON THE ROCK!
One major rock of divine wisdom to root any aspect of your life on is the rock of doing whatever the word of the LORD says.
Our devotional text today says “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall”
Doing whatever the word says to us, especially at an immediate present, is one way to build our lives on the rock. Don’t forget, when you build your life on the rock, the rock will take care of you during any storm of life.
If you do whatever the word says, you will be in divine will. And don’t forget; being in divine will is the most secured place to be on the face of the earth. It attracts constant supply of grace and the “Unction” to “function” especially during terrible storms, floods, or winds of life.
No storm, flood or wind of life can throw down a church, ministry, family or minister of the gospel founded in God’s will. No evil force can successfully through down a marriage, family, or financial life founded in God’s will – that is established on God’s predetermined plans and purposes for it. Being in God’s will attract a constant flow of the Holy Spirit that sustains our lives even during a storm of life.
Look at what happened to one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. The Bible says he was caught up in terrific storms, floods and winds of life. Not once, not twice. His life was constantly in jeopardy. One day he turned to God in prayer for help, but hear what the LORD said to him:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV
BEING IN CONSTANT JEOPARDY WILL DO NOTHING TO YOU IF YOU ARE ENJOYING A CONSTANT FLOW OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE.
It will not destroy your life because of the sufficient grace that will be made available. I have seen these actualized in my life for over 27 years in ministry and over 35 years of Christianity. However, constant flow of God is a blessing of being in divine will, not in your own will. It’s a blessing that automatically comes to you when you spend days doing only what designed your life to so in the face of the earth.
Whatever storm of life that hit you in divine will, may reach you but will never take you out. Whatever wind or flood of life that comes against your life in divine will, may bend you down but will never throw or uproot you. The constant flow of God will always take care of things.
That is why the righteous falls seven times and rises again. And many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers them from them all. You see that all through the scriptures!
As we bring this devotional to a close, I want you to understand that your faith, prayers, or fasting will never eliminate or stop the storms, floods or winds of life from rising and hitting you. No! But you can survive all of them and come out stronger if you will apply the wisdom of being in divine will to your daily life.
May this day speak blessings into your life, in Jesus precious name! AMEN!!
YOU CAN MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
“To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in you; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on you be ashamed; let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.”
“Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old.”
“Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to your mercy remember me, for your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.”
“The humble He guides in justice, and the humble He teaches His way. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.”
“For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth.”
“The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant.” Psalms 25:1-14 NKJV