TODAY’S DEVOTION (SUNDAY 2ND JULY 2023)**
“For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.”
“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.”
“Now those who are such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own bread.” 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 183RD DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
This is the day the LORD has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it. We bless the GOD of Heaven and Earth for yet another week. Are you not glad that God designed it that we start each week in His corporate presence? I am glad about it.
Many believers have not really sat down to reason about the blessing of starting a week in God’s presence. They forget that Sunday is the first day of the week. That is why it is costly to miss a Sunday service.
Missing a Sunday service is a decision you have made to start your week at home or wherever you choose to be. You are acting opposite your design if you do so. You could mess up your entire week, not beginning it in God’s presence. We must understand that, starting a week in God’s holy presence is one way we commit the rest of the week to Him, especially if we worship in a Church that is filled with the Holy Ghost and power.
It’s been our month of divine destiny and God has been faithful in dishing out life giving truths to us; precept upon precept, line upon line.
I am the most blessed of His graciousness and kindness towards us through these devotionals. The reason is simple; You see when God use you to feed His people, He leaves you with some truths in your spirit to keep chewing yourself. He gives you the privilege to eat the nest of the best, as you feed His people with the finest wheat of the word. That has been my lot, hence calling myself most blessed.
We have been savouring truths on what our divine destiny will need to be fulfilled. Yesterday we saw the necessity of having a prophetic midwife. This is a very important aspect of all we have been sharing on this platform. God uses people to raise people.
He uses people to help others unlock their divine destinies. He used Moses for Joshua, used Terah and Melchizedek or Shem for Abraham, used Samson’s parents for Samson, used Eli for Samuel, used Samuel for David, and used Christ Jesus for the original apostles. He served as a midwife of their divine destiny.
THE NEXT INGREDIENT YOUR DIVINE DESTINY WILL NEED TO BE FULFILLED IS CALLED DILIGENCE.
In simple terms, I will like to call it hard work. The truth is, I have never seen anyone God used to do marvellous things on the face of the earth that did not work hard along with God to get those things done.
Jesus said,
“My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17 KJV).
Note what Jesus did not say in this scripture; Jesus did not say “My Father worketh hitherto, and I slept.” He said my Father worketh Hitherto and I work. If your desire is to fulfil your divine destiny you must work as God works.
God cannot be working and you are sleeping and then expecting His promises to be fulfilled in your life or your Divine destiny unleashed.
Divine destiny is released when you sense God working and you get up to join Him. This is where spiritual sensitivity and swiftness comes into effect. Now, someone may not understand me; what I meant was best captured by the Bible story of what happened between David and God in the battle against the Philistines in 2 Samuel 5.
The Bible made it clear that David did not rise against the Philistines until God had risen. At one time God said to Him;
“You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines” (2 Samuel 5:23-24 NKJV).
If David had gone to sleep after hearing the sound of marching on the top of those trees, or if He was too lazy to move into battle and fight, there would have been no way he would have unleashed his divine destiny as a warrior of righteousness that very day.
If you do not add hard work to the release of divine destiny, you will never unleash your destiny. The only substitute to “hard work” is “hard life!” If you do not embrace the principle of hard work in the release of your divine destiny, you will suffer the perils of a hard life when time comments.
MANY ARE SUFFERING TODAY BECAUSE THEY ARE IDLE AND OTHERS LAZY.
You cannot be waiting for God to move in idleness. Waiting upon the LORD does not denote sitting without doing something. God hates laziness. The Bible is full of unkind words for Idleness! In fact, a major highlight in our devotional text says,
“..If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies.”
I have come to discover that people who are not willing to work, are the greatest eaters among men. They trouble others to give them this and that and when they come for any help, God help you if you do not have what they need to give them. They will unleash hell on you.
Friend, God cannot bless any people who are lazy.
The release of destiny requires a lot of hard work. We see that in the verses that preceded the one highlighted above. Paul wrote to the Church at Thessalonica saying;
“For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.”
You will not be able to release your destiny if you are not willing to work, with labour and toil, night and day like Paul did. You will not be able to release your destiny if you do not add hard work to your Christian life.
Everyone who ever walked with God was a warrior not some lazy pigs, who just eat and eat.
Abraham was a warrior, Jacob was a warrior, and Isaac was a hard farmer who could re-dig wells that his father dug in time past. If he was lazy and weak, the way many of us are today, he would have said “let’s forget about those wells. What is lost is lost!”
SADLY SPEAKING, THERE ARE A LOT OF LAZY PEOPLE IN MINISTRY AND IN CHURCH TODAY.
There are so many lazy people who love passing time fasting and praying. That is why we have prophets and pastors who do not work hard in the word and doctrine to form Christ in men, but prophesy money from people’s pocket. That is why we have gullible people in church who are always begging and refusing to do anything reasonable with their hands.
The amazing thing is they all claim to be hearing from God. How can you be hearing from God and be a thief or lazy? How can you be hearing from God and be running greedily after people’s money and asking them to sow seeds instead of looking for what problem to solve for God to bring you some money?
People who hear from God are very busy people; full of integrity. They are busy doing what they heard from Him; saving this soul, pursuing this business, solving this problem, putting things in kingdom order, obeying the last command from the throne room, etc. They do not sit down looking for the next person to defraud.
What is the message this morning? If you will fulfil your destiny, you must work hard and smart. You must not be lazy and idle. That is the message.
MAKE THESE SCRIPTURES AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
“He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a wise son; He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.” Proverbs 10:4-5 NKJV
“The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent is abundantly supplied.” Proverbs 13:4 AMP
“The thoughts of the [steadily] diligent tend only to plenteousness, but everyone who is impatient and hasty hastens only to want.”
“Securing treasures by a lying tongue is a vapor driven to and fro; those who seek them seek death.” Proverbs 21:5-6 AM
“Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” Proverbs 22:29 AMP