TODAY’S DEVOTION (Monday 9th March 2020)
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Ephesians 6:10-11 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 68th DAY OF OUR YEAR OF REJOICING
A Nigerian gospel song writer once wrote; “I got a brand-new day from the LORD. Jesus woke me up this morning. Even right now He is here. Thank you, LORD, for one more day!” I give God the glory for the 26 years He has seen me through in ministry!
It all started with I was a teen and since then I have seen God quench the mouth of lions, snatch souls from the fist of charging bears. I have watched Him strengthen me in times of weakness and brought me out of pits my flesh rushed me into. Severally many looked at me in my misery and said I was not called at all. But today they have all changed their minds.
My life is a big book full of chapters that tells so much about God and His marvelous helps for a helpless vessel in His vineyard.
Indeed, it will not be out of place to join me in thanking the almighty for finding me worthy and showing mercy to be put in ministry. I am not worthy to carry His holy words from coast to coast, but He is making that happen. It’s really a humbling experience.
Today is another day from the LORD! To God’s Kingdom Citizen, days are gifts from Heaven to amend our ways, increase our knowledge of the just one, strengthen ourselves in righteousness, deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ, and fulfill our destiny.
DAYS TO US ARE NOT JUST TO BE LIVED BUT TO BE FULFILLED.
There is a difference between living your days and fulfilling your days. The word fulfills suggest there are predetermined things in a day to walk in and actualize. There are prophetic purposes to fulfill in a God given day.
God’s will for us is that we spend our days walking in those predetermined things, actualizing them, and fulfilling the prophetic contents of our days. That is why one of the blessings He conferred on us reads “I will fulfill the number of your days”.
If we spend our days according to divine pattern; seeking to actualize the predetermine things God wants us to actualize in each day, the number of our days God will fulfill. We will live long enough to unleash our divine destiny. There will be no premature death!
So, I urge you to seize this day with understanding. That is why the devotionals are important.
Today, we shall be looking at an apostolic statement that GOD’S servant Paul wrote to the Church in Ephesus. Our devotional text captured it this way, “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”
In a chaotic world like ours, we just have to be strong in the LORD. Being strong in the LORD is the only insurance against evil works, evil workers, and sad developments. It is the apostolic cure for any successful attack of the enemy against us. The righteous falls seven times but rises up again because he is strong in the LORD.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all by making use of his determination to remain strong in the LORD in the midst of it all.
What is GOD saying to us this morning? When temptation comes our way, and the flesh drive us to do despicable things and sin against our God, we are not to give in but be strong in the LORD. But even if we give in and fall, it is not the will of God that we remain down, living in that fall and continuing in the very sin. We are to rise up!
Being strong in the LORD is both an apostolic and prophetic command from the source of our strength Himself – Jesus Christ.
In His pre-incarnate form, He gave similar instructions to Joshua who was about stepping into ministry. He told him to be strong and very courageous. There were kings to conquer and lands to take possession of and give to God’s redeemed people – the Israelite.
His job was to walk with God to do all that. It was very risky, but faith is risking it all with eyes on the LORD to help you. That was why the LORD commanded him to be strong and very courageous. I sense the same command coming to someone this morning.
In takes inner strength and courage to do certain things with God. I don’t know what call of His is upon you. But the key to allowing His glory to be revealed in that call is being strong in the LORD and responding to whatever He tells you to do with courage.
We are in the days of glory. One way to unleash the glory of God is to be strong in the LORD and be very courageous in doing whatever He has assigned you to do even in the face of the stiffest opposition. The presence of any opposition to a thing God has called us to do create an opportunity for God’s glory to be revealed.
In other words, when circumstances, sad developments, people, or devils, stands on our way to hinder us from fulfilling a divine assignment, they have created an opportunity for God’s glory to be revealed. God sometimes allow things to stand against Him so that His glory can be revealed and His call upon our lives either affirmed or authenticated.
He told Jeremiah:
“For behold, I have made you this day a fortified city and an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land — Against the kings of Judah, Against its princes, Against its priests, And against the people of the land.
They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.” Jeremiah 1:18-19 NKJV
I DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU MAY BE FACING, BUT THIS IS A RHEMA WORD FOR YOU THIS DAY.
The spiritual controls the natural. God was telling Jeremiah what He has already turned him into in the spirit. His natural frame may not have suggested any of it, but spiritually he has become a fortified City, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against the whole land of his assignment. Hallelujah!
Now to actualize that, he had to be strong and not succumb to his internal or external fears. He had to be bold in the face of the threats of the enemy!
Friend, the easiest way to manifest in the natural what God has already made you in the spirit is to be strong in the LORD and not bow to any fear or opposition that may be up against you in the place of His will for your life.
My prayer for you this day is that God use these words to made you a fortified City, an iron pillar, and bronze walls against that your fears. I pray that you become all that against that spirit, man, woman, family, nation, organization or thing that may be troubling you.
If you will be strong in the LORD, you will see the glory of the LORD revealed. If you will be confidant in His power to save and word to deliver, your vindication will be made manifest to all!
Don’t forget, Satan will first strike you with fear before striking you with any other thing. If you will be confident in God’s power to save and God’s word to deliver, you will never come under any of his successful attacks.
May this day be a day of reinforcement for you in Jesus precious name! AMEN