TODAY’S DEVOTION (Monday 19th May 2025)
Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.'”
Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. Joel 3:9-11 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 139th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF VICTORY
This is the day the LORD has made, we shall rejoice and be glad in it. God is good, and His mercies endures forever. Besides Him, there is no other God.
He is ever kind and merciful, ever compassionate. That is why He is God. The Bible says He is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. In Him is life and that life is the light of men. The light is Christ. He shines in the darkness and the darkness comprehends it not.
In other words, the darkness has never overpowered it, put it out, absorbed it, or appropriate it. That is why if our hearts are full of that light, we will find ourselves walking in dominion; we will find ourselves walking in realms where the enemy does not celebrate victory over God’s people.
On the flip side, the light was designed to function as the life of men. Yes, it has life in it. That is why, no matter what we may be going through, once that light shines in our hearts, we will find ourselves coming back to life; we will find hope building, faith resurrecting and peace of mind forming within us.
Those who have been in true spiritual warfare understand that better. It is a light that neutralizes darkness when it shows forth because its origin is life, the life of God designed to function as the light of men.
It manifests in so many forms. It manifests as silence when the enemy wants you to speak so that he can use your words to steal, kill and destroy. It manifests as patience when the enemy wants you to be in a hurry, so he can use your hurry and impatience to kill, steal or destroy.
It manifests as calmness when the enemy wants you to be troubled, so that he can use it to steal, kill or destroy. It manifests as boldness of speech when the enemy wants you to be silent and quiet so that he can take over and fulfill his mission.
IT IS THE VERY LIFE THAT MAKES US SONS OF LIGHT, OR SONS OF THE DAY AND NOT SONS OF THE NIGHT.
It manifests as faith in God when the enemy wants you to be fearful and give up so that he can use that to kill, steal and destroy. It manifests as the fear of God when we are enticed by the enemy to yield to our sinful flesh as it craves for sex, food or comfort outside the boundaries that the LORD has set.
Yes, during those moments, the light manifests as the fear of God so that we will not sin against God and give the enemy what to use to kill, steal and destroy. You can see that in the life of Joseph. When Potiphar’s wife came to him, he said:
… “Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” Genesis 39:8-9NKJV
This scripture shows us how a believer in Christ, one with the light of GOD within his or her heart, responds to sexual sin when it comes. This kind of response will not happen if the light is not in the person’s heart. He or she will just elevate the pleasure in the enticement over the will of God and commit the sin if darkness is in the heart.
But the early Church had the light, that was why they enforced righteousness among the erring and lived holy lives from the top. Paul had it too. In fact, it was the light that made him write this to the Church at Corinth. It was about him. He wrote to them saying:
“Therefore, I do not run uncertainly (without definite aim). I do not box like one beating the air and striking without an adversary.
But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].” 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 AMPC
THE FEAR HERE IS A FEAR THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD PUTS IN BELIEVERS. IT IS A RIGHTEOUS FEAR THAT PROPELS ONE TO RIGHTEOUS LIVING.
It is a fear created by the light of God that is created by the life of God in the believer. If you do not have that life, you cannot have the light, and if you do not have the light, you cannot do what is written in the scripture. Paul had it because he had the light of God in Him.
So, he was able to buffet his body, handle it roughly, and discipline it by hardship and subdue it so that he will retain his salvation and not lose it to sinful flesh. If we have this light in us, if darkness is not in us, we will do the same. It will manifest as a righteous fear in us and deliver us in the day of temptation.
Yes, it will keep manifesting as the fear of God whenever you are enticed so that you will keep making decisions that will keep you away from the defilement of sin, iniquity and trespass.
The manifestation of this light in the believer will cut across all seasons of his or her life if it is there. As earlier stated, it is the light that shines in the darkness, including the darkness of the heart.
The light is supernatural because it is created by the life of God in us!!!
If you do not have it, you will find it difficult to live like a Christian, especially in difficult times. This is the light that manifests as uncommon compassion and the desire to forgive when the enemy wants you to hate, seek revenge, retaliation and become bitter so that he can use that to kill, steal and destroy.
It is a light that manifests as direction when we are confused, inspiration when our souls are cast down, and self-control when the spirit of lawlessness attacks us. It is the only light that defeats the enemy on his own turf, the realm of darkness.
OUR FATHERS USED THIS LIGHT IN THEIR DAYS TO DEAL WITH THE GROSS DARKNESS THEY BATTLED WITH IN THEIR TIME.
Abraham as Abram, used it to deal with the darkness of the conflict that developed between his herdsmen and the herdsmen of his little Nephew, Lot. He never allowed the darkness to consume his heart and made it become bitter towards Lot or aggrieved.
The light guided him to be calm and just seek separation, even allowing Lot to take his place by making the decision first. He allowed Lot to chose where to go and never oppressed him. He would later go to rescue him when the man was caught up in the first world war on record. That is how we fight the battles of life using light. Our devotional text says.
Proclaim this among the nations: “Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.'”
Assemble and come, all you nations, and gather together all around. Cause your mighty ones to go down there, O Lord. Joel 3:9-11 NKJV
What war are we to prepare for? We are to prepare for the war between light and darkness. Yes, it has been between light and darkness from day one. If you do not have light in your heart, you are not fit for this war. If what is in you is darkness, you are already defeated.
For instance, you will never be able to forgive those who hurt you and treat them well when they are in trouble if darkness is in your heart. You are already defeated if you return evil for evil, and an eye for an eye.
It is not a war of revenge, hate, bitterness or any other form of darkness. It is a war of using the light of love, patience, tolerance, peace with all men, forgiving even the worse offender, and the fear of the LORD to fight. It is not a war you fight with kinetic energy. It is a war you fight with the energy of the light of God within. That is why only sons of light like Paul, Joseph and Abraham can win the war.
Christ Himself won it when he walked in love towards Judas from start to finish, despite what Judas was doing to Him, and despite what he finally did to Him. The early church won it when they remained calm, loving and kind towards their persecutors too.
Recently in our ministry, we have been hurt, maligned and severely defamed by those we fed and took care of. But this morning I feel God is calling on all of us, to win this war the way our Bible fathers won theirs. We have reacted and said things in pain, but we should not allow darkness to dwell in our hearts and begin to seek revenge or punishment for them.
We should raise a standard and build a wall of deterrent to resist the wicked sinners they engaged against us, but we should not forget to fight this darkness with light. Amen!!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY!!
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV
