OPEN HEAVENS Devotional – Wednesday
September 28th 2016
TOPIC: NO STOPPING, NO WAITING
Memorize: And let us not be
weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Galatians 6:9
Read: Philippians 3:13-17,
13 Brethren, I
count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press
toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us
therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be
otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
16 Nevertheless,
whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the
same thing.
17 Brethren,
be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an
ensample.
Bible in one year: Ezekiel
19-20, Psalms 69:22-36
MESSAGE
Patience and long-suffering
are indispensable virtues for all believers in Christ. In the first place, the
race we are called into can only be run through patience because it is a
marathon.
Also, there is hardly any promise of God that can be fulfilled in the
life of believers without the combination of faith and patience (Hebrews 6:12).
As indispensable as faith is to a Christian, so also is patience. No wonder it
is listed as part of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. Do you
know that when your faith is being tried, God uses that trial to generate
patience in you? This implies that the longer the period of trial, the greater
your level of patience. But, when you fail to handle a particular trial of
faith the way you should, it will not generate the level of patience that it
should. For this reason, many who have gone through trials complaining saw God
as an opposition, and therefore grumbled against Him. In the process, some even
abandon the faith.
This attitude is contrary to
the Word of God as recorded in Hebrews 6:12:
“That ye be not slothful, but
followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Children of God must learn not
to be weary in well doing because God has promised us a bountiful harvest if we
faint not. We must completely trust in His superior wisdom to decide the timing
of our blessings. For instance, He knows the end of every line of action even
at the beginning of that action. This is why you must trust His sense of
judgement at all times, because His decisions are not limited to what your eyes
can see today but also what may happen tomorrow. Many years ago, while we lived
in a part of Lagos that harboured several drug addicts and reckless drivers, my
children asked me to buy them a bicycle. When I declined, they failed to
understand. But after we relocated from that part of Lagos some years later,
without a repeat of that request, I bought them the bicycle. If I had obliged
their request the first time, they might not be alive today. God still deals
with us based on what He knows about us today and tomorrow. Be sure that the
Lord will not give you the blessing you are not prepared for, lest it destroys
you.
Whenever an expected blessing
is delayed or when faced with difficulties, long-suffering is required to
remain composed. Even when the situation appears hopeless, just take time to
read and study the Bible, asking God to give you a word for that situation.
Grab whatever God says, obey and follow-up with action, then wait for the
result, and you will never be disappointed.
Prayer Point
Father, please help me to
patiently wait for your perfect timing in all things in Jesus’ name.
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