TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2023)
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalms 23:1-4 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 341ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF SIGNS AND WONDERS.
Some years ago, I shared on this platform that riding along with God on the chariots of His liberating truths, is the best ride on this side of eternity.
Since 2015 that the devotionals started, we have done that by His grace from day to day, week to week, and month to month this year.
You may have flown in the best aircraft in the world, or rode in the best cars in the world, if you have not flown or driven in the Chariots of God’s LIBERATING TRUTHS, you are missing something.
I remember saying also that we are in the days of horsemen. We are no longer in the days of living by human strength. The Bible made it clear that by strength shall no man prevail.
These are days of going back to the very strength Adam used in staying on the face of the earth before the fall, and Jesus used during the years He lived on earth as man.
It is important to note that, the first man that lived on this planet never survived by His own strength! He survived by the strength of Jehovah!
You were not designed to survive by your strength. You were designed to survive by the strength of Jehovah. That is why only Christians who have learnt to depend on God in everything are surviving the seasons we live in.
Talking about depending on God, what does it mean to depend on God? Depending on God requires being schooled in the things of God. If you are not schooled in the things of GOD you won’t know how to depend on Him.
I HAVE SEEN PEOPLE WHO CLAIM TO BE DEPENDING ON GOD FAILING WOEFULLY IN LIFE.
They fail because they are not schooled in the things of the GOD they depend on. No one depends on God and fail, especially if they are schooled in the things of GOD.
Either in time or eternity, none depends on God and fail; failure is not a permanent dwelling place of people who depend on God. Doing exploits is usually the hallmark of people who depend on God.
For instance, Joshua was able to speak to the sun and the moon successfully because he depended on God. He got the result because he walked in the things of the God he depended on.
Moses was able to break the backbone of Pharaoh, bring judgment on the gods of Egypt, and free Israel out successfully, because he depended on God. He did all that because He was schooled in the things of the God he depended on.
He once asked God to show him His glory. That is the desire of people who depend on God enough to be schooled in the things of the God they depend on.
Elijah was able to restore God to the national consciousness of Israel in the Mount Carmel showdown because he depended on God. Before then, he had walked in the ways, instruction, Spirit and will of the God he depended upon.
His life tells us that, our dependence on God will never produce positive results in our lives except we walk in the ways, instructions, directives, Spirit, will, word, zeal, revelation, and visions of the God we depend on.
That is what it means to walk in the things of God.
Solomon became the wisest and Richest King of all times because he depended on God. He had an encounter with the God he depended on for all that to happen. His life has an additional truth for us. His encounter at Gibeon, opened both the portal of wealth and wisdom over his life.
It points out that for our dependence on God to be productive and positive, we must be having regular encounters with the GOD we depend upon.
YOU WILL NEVER SUCCEED DEPENDING ON GOD, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE REGULAR ENCOUNTERS WITH HIM.
When Samson was depending on God, he was a wonder to his enemies. He could carry gates of Cities and eliminate entire armies without using a bomb. He did all that because he walked in the purity and holiness of the God he depended on.
There is another truth for us here.
If our dependence on God will produce for us, we must walk in the purity, holiness, and righteousness of the God we depend on. No one who depended on God, and walked in His Holiness, purity and righteousness failed in life. Out of weakness all of them were made strong.
So those of us who are claiming to be depending on God, and yet failing in everything we may be doing, are not really depending on GOD the way they should. We are depending on Him without walking in His things.
We may be sincere at heart but are not enlightened in our minds.
Bad things do not perpetually prevail over people who depend on God; walking in His ways, will, word, purity, holiness, power, Spirit, instructions or directives as the GOD they depend on.
It is important to note that, “a sincere heart with an ignorant mind, is a disaster waiting to happen.” It will not save a man’s life from destruction.
God lamented that His people are destroyed for lack of Knowledge, not for lack of sincerity. Most of us are sincere but stupid.
We are always destroyed for not being schooled in the things of the God we depend upon for healing, deliverance, life success, protection, and etc. It is therefore important that we understand how to depend on God.
The first way to depend on God is actually to sit down and be schooled by Him.
Everyone who depended on GOD in scriptures, spent time with Him learning His ways and studying His paths; from Moses to Joshua, from Samson to David, and to all other men and women of exploits in Bible days.
LET’S TAKE JOSHUA FOR EXAMPLE.
He was blankly told that he will not be able to fulfil his assignment without depending on God. And one way he was led to depend on Him, was for him to maintain a schooling posture all his life.
The Bible says, God said to him;
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 NKJV
That was a command to maintain a schooling posture in his walk and talk with God all his life. Meaning, if we say we are depending on God, but do not spend the better parts of our lives schooling ourselves in His ways and paths, we are deceiving ourselves.
Like I said earlier, you cannot depend on a God whose ways you do not know! You must spend the better part of your life knowing His ways and paths to truly depend on Him.
A deeper look at what God instructed Joshua that day, reveals a second way to depend on Him. He asked Him to walk in obedience.
He said to him, “..That you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
There is a truth here. If we claim to be depending on God and yet we are not obeying Him respecting His ways we are in reality depending on ourselves.
I have said it before that rebellion is one way we tell God, “I do not need you.” If you look at the life of everyone who truly depended on God in scriptures, you will see a life of implicit obedience to the will and ways of God, even at the cost of their lives.
I have learned that, obedience is the loudest way to tell God, “I depend on you,” not really prayers.
PRAYERS ARE VERY GOOD, BUT OBEDIENCE IS WHAT MAKES THEM WORK IN OUR LIVES.
That is why the Bible says obedience is better than sacrifice. Which brings us to the last tip I want to share on how to depend on God. That tip is, “be led by the Spirit.”
People who depend on GOD are not led by themselves. They are constantly led by the Spirit.
The life of David comes to mind at this point. He demonstrated dependency on God by waiting for Him to speak before taking any step in life. Even in the midst of battle and war, with all kinds of weapons at his disposal, David would still step aside and wait on God to speak.
Do you know that it is easier to wait on God when you do not have what it takes to do a thing than when you have?
Most times we wait on God for direction when we are in need but when the supply comes, we cease waiting and start directing ourselves. That was the error of Saul. And we are still repeating the same error today!
But David knew that “A horse is a vain hope for safety; neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.” So, all his life, he maintained that, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God” (Psalms 33:17, 20:7 NKJV).
Consequently, he never failed to seek God’s will and way in everything He did.
Our devotional text this morning explained the kind of walk and talk David maintained with God. A major highlight of it says,
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
We can go on and on. But I believe God has spoken to us this morning. I pray that you walk in the light of this truth for the rest of your life. Amen!!
LET THIS SCRIPTURE BE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR YOU TODAY!
“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; May He send you help from the sanctuary, and strengthen you out of Zion;
May He remember all your offerings, and accept your burnt sacrifice. Selah
May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Psalms 20:1-5 NKJV