OPEN HEAVENS Devotional – Tuesday February 2nd 2016
TOPIC: INTIMIDATED?
Memorize: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he
may devour. 1st Peter 5:8
Read: 1st Kings 19:1-4,
1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah
had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto
Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life
as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and
went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left
his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey
into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he
requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord,
take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
Bible in one year: Matthew 21:28-23:39, Job 14:18-15:6
MESSAGE
Discouragement is usually defined as a lack of courage, a
state of mind which is marked by fear of failure and loss of hope.
Discouragement is one of the powerful weapons commonly used by the devil to
keep children of God from fulfilling their purpose. Satan used it against the
Israelites to prevent them from entering Canaan because they were intimidated
by the circumstances surrounding conquering the Canaanites; the Canaanite
cities were very large, well fortified, and seemingly undefeatable. These
caused the heart of the Israelites to melt within them to the extent that they
lost faith in the Word of God, and could not act on the promises of God.
Discouragement is failure to live by faith because it
usually leads to doubt, and an inability to view circumstances around us from a
divine perspective. Discouragement is therefore a sinful state of mind that is
unable to adjust to disappointments and unfavourable circumstances in line with
the Word of God and His promises.
It is important to note that discouragement is a powerful
weapon of intimidation in the hands of the devil. It usually comes whenever a
person has an important objective to achieve. For example, Israel had an
objective given to them by God; the walls of Jerusalem were to be rebuilt. As
the people embarked on the project with vigour and determination, they were
faced with opposition from enemies and even fellow Jews. The situations become
intimidating to the point of demoralisation as recorded in Nehemiah 4:10-23. At
a point, some of the workers became discouraged while the wall was yet half
finished, then the opposition intensified their attack using fear and
intimidation as the chief weapon. All these were masterminded by the devil to
make it impossible for the Jews to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem at that time.
1stPeter 5:8-9 says,
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast
in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your
brethren that are in the world”
The Bible admonishes us to be sober, vigilant, and
watchful, always ready to resist and confront anyone that may want to weaken
our hands from doing whatever assignment the Lord has committed to us.
By the grace of God, the success story of the Redeemed
Christian Church of God is being told all over the world today, but when we
first started, the steps that God used to bring in the results that are being
celebrated were terribly criticised both within and outside the Church. I
decree that all oppositions to your success and breakthrough will be silenced
today in Jesus’ name.
Prayer point
Father, don’t let me ever fall for discouragement from
satanic intimidation.
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