TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURSDAY 30TH MAY 2024)
So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” Zechariah 4:6-7 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 151ST DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
God be glorified for His marvelous deeds and glorious acts.
It is out of His mercies that we are not consumed, for His compassion fails not. Day unto day He has been showing us mercies. He has been our shelter from storms, helper in need, and our all in all. We give Him the glory.
This morning the LORD has a word for us on matters of our eternal life, specifically the blessed hope.
Yes, things could be difficult with you, but remain hopeful. These are the times for unwavering faith in God for personal survival. That kind of faith is not something that comes from a feeling or anything weak.
The Bible says faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of the LORD. In other words, faith comes by hearing from God. It also comes by seeing what God has shown you.
So, the unwavering faith that we need to survive seasons like this, can only come from encounters with God’s word.
We are living in very critical times. If we do not encounter a word from God daily, we will lack the strength of heart to survive the times. We will just give up our walk with the LORD.
In times like this, if there is anything to keep watching for in our lives, is the blessed hope, and the oil of God’s presence that needs to be flowing in our lives. We have been in a season of the Rapture, and a lot has been happening.
If the oil of God’s presence in your life is not sufficient, please go to those who sell (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost) to buy. The word sell does not connote a commercial transaction, it connotes a cost on the flesh for getting what is free from the Spirit.
The Bible says,
“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. Isaiah 51:1 NKJV
WISE VIRGINS OF CHRIST WILL HEED TO THIS CALL.
Those whose hearts have been touched by the LORD, will heed the call to come to Him, pay the price and get more of the oil of His presence in their lives.
Yes, they will respond to the call to pay the price for the wine of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and the milk of the life-giving word of the LORD – two major catalysts of faith for personal survival.
They will give themselves to prayer, from time to time, and the ministry of the word, till the oil of God’s presence in their lives begins to overflow.
Yes, wise believers will go to the waters of the LORD’s presence daily, asking for the oil of His presence in their lives to survive the season we are in, instead of sitting down to complain about how things have become difficult.
They will do that because they know it is the strength of the oil of God’s presence in their lives, that will keep them going, especially in tough times; times like this. They will not follow their feelings that tells them to give up, but their faith that is telling them to hold on, and remain faithful.
I want you to understand that there is a special oil from the LORD for His children to survive tough or difficult times. Yes, a special anointing for any tough time of their lives.
The oil is not the one the preacher smears on your face from a bottle or ram’s horn. It is not sourced in any holy communion served to you, any so-called altar you raise or silence, or any money collected from you as seed. It is not something the demon of deliverance gives after collecting seed from you.
It is the oil of grace that Jesus Himself pours on your life when you spend time with Him in prayer and fasting, asking for it. Yes, asking for the oil to survive your tough times.
It flowed in the life of Job that was why he survive the adversity he went through and got back all that the devil took from him. It flowed in the life of Israel in Egypt, that was why the more Pharaoh oppressed them, the more they increased.
IT IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU AND I TODAY.
You only need to spend time with the LORD daily or seasonally asking Him for it. Yes, ask Him for it every morning like a child would ask for breakfast from his or her parents. Or every season like an Eagle that retreats for 40 days to its eagle nest to renew its strength.
The Bible says “ask and it shall be given.” It also says you receive not because you ask not. So, ask and ask and ask, ask persistently until it is given to you.
When asking, ask in faith not wavering. Ask in faith the way a child ask the parent for break fast in faith. The Bible says if we ask in faith, it shall be given. So, ask in faith, and do not give up asking. Again, I say ask until you get it. You will be glad you did.
The spiritual texture and operational nature of that oil or special anointing the LORD gives us in tough times, especially when we ask for it, was seen in the life of one of the kings that reigned over Israel. The Bible says;
“Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones.
And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong”. 2 Chronicles 26:14-16 NKJV
The spiritual texture and operational nature of the oil to survive tough times is in the statement, “for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.”
What does it mean to be marvelously helped? It means to be much helped by the LORD. It means, wherever you turn, you find His invisible hands helping you. When you hit brick walls, you find His outstretched arm breaking them down for you.
When you get to a red sea obstacle, you find Him telling you what to do for His breath to blast through and create a way for you. When people conspire against you, you find Him among them speaking for you.
When people think its over with you, He comes in and brings you back to life, beating every expectation and defiling every burial or funerals they may have prepared for you, your peace or prosperity.
FRIEND, THERE ARE NO WORDS TO EXPLAIN THOROUGHLY WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MARVELOUSLY HELPED BY THE LORD.
But God want you to start experiencing it from now. He wants you to begin to ask Him for the oil to survive the times that may have come upon you. The oil will unlock God’s marvelous helps in your life.
Yes, the oil will help you conquer your tough times and prosper in the midst of it.
As earlier stated, this is not an oil someone smears on you in Church. It is the oil Jesus Himself pours on your life when you build the habit of spending time with Him; spending time in your eagle nest asking for it. It is also called the Oil of Grace; the grace to survive tough times.
Our Devotional text says,
So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” Zechariah 4:6-7 NKJV
You are the next to experience this victory that God gave to Zerubbabel over thousands of years ago. You are the next to bring down those mountainous problems by the Oil of God’s grace, shouting grace, grace to it, in Jesus’ precious name.
All of what you might be facing now, is not new. Men and women who walked with the LORD in previous generations have faced the same but survived. They survived, not by might nor by power but by the Spirit.
You will survive also. Yes, we will all survive.
But it will not be by might or by power but by the Spirit of the LORD! Yes, by the Spirit of the LORD bringing us to Christ in our secret place of prayer to pour that Oil upon our lives. The psalmist says;
“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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.” Psalm 23:4-6 NKJV
If you look at this scripture, you will realize that the only reason the Psalmist said he will survive the valley of the shadow of death, or a life surrounded by enemies, was the presence of the LORD with him, anointing His head with oil.
Not the olive oil in a bottle, but the oil of grace from GOD; the oil to survive tough times. The very oil God sent this word to guide you to start asking Him for in prayers.
The word shows us that until that oil comes upon us, our tough times might consume us.
We will need the oil to prosper in the midst of famine, to enjoy the Goshen blessing Israel enjoyed in their days, to have God’s goodness and mercy following us and changing our stories in tough times, and to see a table prepared for us in the presence of our enemies or adverse situations.
It is my prayer that someone heeds to the LORD this morning and begin to come to the waters of His presence to buy this oil without money. To pay the price for it through time with the LORD, until his or her head begin to overflow with it. Amen.
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY;
“Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.” Psalm 33:18-22 NKJV