TODAY’S DEVOTION (THURDAY 18 JULY 2024)
“Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.”
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.”
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:27-31 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 200TH DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
It all started with a Happy New Year shout! Today we are counting the 200th day of the New Year. Only God can do that.
The 200 days have not been rosy all through, and the reason is simple. It is important to note that in the beginning of God’s creation, there was no darkness because God is light in Him there is no darkness at all. Darkness came at the fall of Lucifer.
That is why days are today made up of 12 hours of natural light, and 12 hours of natural darkness. This implies that each day also has 12 hours of spiritual light, and 12 hours of spiritual darkness.
It might interest you to know that the 200 days that we have seen, had 200 sets of hours of spiritual darkness in them.
Yes, on this side of eternity, every day has its own hours of spiritual darkness. The darkness is described in the holy scriptures as terror that walks at night, arrows that flies by day, pestilence that walks in darkness, and destruction that waste at noonday.
That is why bad things have already happened this year, like every other year, and they will still happen. There are some of us who even lost our loved ones. Doubtlessly, some of those we lost fulfilled their days, others fulfilled their years, while others fulfilled only the days and years that their health could carry them.
It saddens my heart whenever I see how cruel end of days can be for some. That is why we all look forward to the age to come where death will be no more.
Yes, this darkness that constitutes days on this side of eternity is what makes years challenging. But for this year, like every other year, the LORD has been our light.
We can say with the Psalmist, “the LORD is my light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear.” We will not fear the spiritual darkness of any day because the LORD is our light.
HE IS OUR SPIRITUAL LIGHT.
Today we celebrate the birthday of my elder sister of the same mother; and we give God the glory for all His mercies. But on Monday I received news of the death of my father’s first daughter; my half eldest sister. She was the elders of the 14 of us. I deeply feel the loss, and wish I could travel home immediately. But ministry has tied me down.
So, I am having a mixture of emotions that can be describe as light on one hand, and darkness on the other.
Yes, the year has been challenging, but God has also been with us. We have seen things of tears, pain, and regrets. But have also seen God turn our tears into Joy, our pain into gain, and our regrets into revival in every circumstance that we have faced.
Talking about Revival from God, in every circumstance of life a man faces, the Bible says;
“And now, for a brief moment, grace has been shown us by the Lord our God, Who has left us a remnant to escape and has given us a secure hold in His holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage.” Ezra 9:8 AMPC
We are here today because for the 200 days of the year, grace was shown to us by the LORD, a secured hold in His Holy place was established for us, our eyes were enlightened daily, leading to revival in every circumstance that we found ourselves.
We believe the rest of the year will be characterized by the same, and even much more.
Satan cannot completely overcome or weary people who enjoy God’s grace on daily bases, have a hold on His Holy place, gets their eyes enlightened daily by Him, and receive measures of revival from the throne room in any circumstances they find themselves.
IT HAS A WAY OF TRANSLATING INTO DIVINE PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION.
Yes, we all need divine protection and preservation to survive an earth with days that are filled with both spiritual darkness and light. You see that in the lives and times of those who were here before us, especially the Bible men and women.
You see that in the life of David when God protected him from the bitter hate of Saul and preserved him from his sword. You see that in the life of those who were here before David; Jacob in the house of Laban, Joseph in Egypt, Israel in Egypt, the wilderness and the promise land, and many others in the Bible.
You see it in the life of Mordecai. It made sure the gallows that Haman prepared for him, never killed him. They rather killed the one who prepared them. His own was very dramatic. The day Haman went to suggest that Mordecai be killed was one of the most dramatic of all.
Before he got there, God had swayed the heart of the king to decide to favor Mordecai, and Haman was made to suggest what should be done by the very person he came to request that he be hanged. That is how divine protection and preservation speaks.
The Bible says;
“And Haman recounted to Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and Zeresh his wife said to him, If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the offspring of the Jews, you cannot prevail against him, but shall surely fall before him.
While they were yet talking with him, the king’s attendants came and hastily brought Haman to the dinner that Esther had prepared.” Esther 6:13-14 AMPC
From the records, that was the last day of Haman on earth. He never returned well after the dinner he had with Esther and the King. He returned with a death sentence and was executed.
His life and times tell us what happens to those who rise against those the LORD preserves and protects. If you are part of the seed that God protects, whoever rises against you will fall the way Haman fell.
THE MEASURES OF REVIVAL GOD WILL RELEASE WILL MAKE SURE THAT HAPPENS.
Talking about measures of Revival, it is important to understand that they are usually released into our lives to manifest according to the circumstances we might be facing. For Mordecai and the Jews of his days, they manifested in form of the death of Haman, the transfer of Haman’s wealth to him, and the prosperity of the Jews in a foreign land.
For you it could manifest in another form, depending on the threats that you might be facing in life. Just live your days within God’s will and ways, then fix your heart daily on Him, and you will enjoy His protection and preservation the way the Bible men did.
The life of Paul our father, comes to mind. He saw measures of revival in every circumstance of life and ministry he faced. At one time what he called a thorn in the flesh was sent to him, a messenger of Satan. It was sent to rack, buffet, and harass him. But God intervened with measures of revival that came inform of favor and loving-kindness.
The Bible says God said to him;
…My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 AMPC
That is what we get from the LORD when He sends measures of revival in our bondage or circumstances to help us. We get His favor, loving-kindness, and etc. We receive divine helps that prevents the attack of the evil one from prevailing against us.
That is why we should not fear when things go dark with us.
Yes, we should not fear, but have faith in God who is able to save. His grace is sufficient for us; it is sufficient to deal with any danger and help us bear any trouble manfully. We only need to approach Him in prayer for the release of grace.
As we bring this to a close, it is important to understand that because of the availability of God’s amazing grace, the word “fear not” appeared 365 times in the bible, and there are 365 days in a year, aside the leap year. Meaning, each day God is saying to His own “fear not.”
A part of our devotional text says;
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.”
“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
This is the word to fix your heart on in any dark day. Fix your heart in the power and grace of the Most High God who is able to secure even the very hairs of your head. Fix your heart in the God who values you more than the sparrows, the God who will never allow you to fall to the darkness that fills each day.
Fix your heart on Him and live your days within His will and ways. That is the word of the LORD!!!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR TODAY;
“Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Genesis 28:15 NKJV