Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

Jesus and His disciples faced fierce storms while crossing over to the region of the Gadarenes. The storm was contrary to them, so much so that the disciples thought they would not make it alive to the other side. The first lesson we will like to draw is that storms are no respecter of persons. If it happened to the Son of God, it can happen to anyone else. Secondly, storms of life may not be unconnected to the assignment of our lives. It was on their way to fulfilling the mandate of heaven that the storms arose. Most times, the challenges we face are less about us personally and more about the divine assignment we are tasked to carry out.

Panic is a strategy of the devil. When believers panic, they forget their authority in Christ. You are to speak to the wind of life. Learn to rise to the occasion and refuse to be cornered by life’s challenges.

In panic, the disciples woke Jesus who came to their rescue and calmed the storm with just His word. Then He had time to rebuke them for their lack of faith. This brings us to our central lesson for today. God does not expect us to take a “sit and watch” approach to life’s storms. It is evident that Jesus expected the disciples to do something about the raging storms. He probably expected them to exercise authority over the storms as He eventually did. Panic is a strategy of the devil. When believers panic, they forget their authority in Christ. You are to speak to the wind of life. Learn to rise to the occasion and refuse to be cornered by life’s challenges.

During His teaching in Luke 14:8-10, Jesus endorsed two wisdom principles from Proverbs 25. He taught on precedence in public gathering. He counselled that when attending a party, one should avoid claiming the chief seat. Your host may have invited a more prominent person than you. In that case, you will have to vacate your preferred seat for a lower one. This law of precedence is seen in Proverbs 25:6-7. Towards the close of the Sermon on the Mount, He counseled that if our enemy is hungry or thirsty, we should minister to him. That is also derived from Proverbs 25:21-22.

those who desire wisdom must be prepared to do two things. they must make some effort…they must demonstrate humility…Those who want to enjoy divine wisdom must be ready to come down from their high horse.

The whole Bible is filled with principles of wisdom. However, more than any other book of the Holy Writ, the book of Proverbs speaks almost entirely about wisdom. Although it appears in the Old Testament, the book’s teachings transcend time and remain timeless – wisdom is always wisdom.  By wisdom we can conduct our homes as well as our businesses. Wisdom is portrayed as superior to weapons of war. It is described as the principal thing and a must have. According to our text, those who desire wisdom must be prepared to do two things. Firstly, they must make some effort. So we are asked to go to the ant. You can never master what you pay little or no attention to. Secondly, they must demonstrate humility. Imagine God asking us to visit the ant, not a university professor, to contact wisdom! Those who want to enjoy divine wisdom must be ready to come down from their high horse.

Nothing can ever catch God by surprise. This is because He is omniscient. That means that He has comprehensive knowledge of all things. He has all the details about everything from the beginning to the end; and He has figured out the possible combinations of issues way before time! To this extent, we can say that there is no emergency with God.

Knowing that God knows the end from the beginning and has power to fix or amend everything in between is a good case for putting our trust in Him.

When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, He commanded them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in its midst. He warned them of the consequence if they violated the instruction – they would die. That means death already existed even before man was created. However, the spirit of death was only triggered by their disobedience. Both acts of obedience and disobedience activates something. Obedience activates positive outcome, disobedience activates negative outcome. The sin of the first family activated a negative outcome. Ironically, it was their error that triggered redemption plan! Redemption has been packaged and concluded before man fell; sin triggered it. That is why the Bible describes Jesus as the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world. Knowing that God knows the end from the beginning and has power to fix or amend everything in between is a good case for putting our trust in Him.

At our pastors’ retreat in January 2022, I advised our pastors to resist the temptation to parade themselves as “designer” pastors. I coined the term from the concept of ‘designer babies’. Though it is still being debated ethically, designer babies, if allowed, would be perfect specimens of human beings. I exhorted that by God’s design, pastors have the same struggles as the people they are called to lead. Those who occupy ministry offices of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers are mere mortals like anyone else. It is the grace of God that makes the difference.

Great men, whether in the spirit realm or any other field, experience low moments too…Your support could make a huge difference in the life of a gospel minister.

A time comes when the minister needs to be ministered to himself. That is a golden moment for those who have been a partaker of his grace to reach back to him in love. It may not take more than a text message. You can never imagine how much a text could do if it is in response to the prompting of the Spirit. Great men, whether in the spirit realm or any other field, experience low moments too. Sadly, people tend to draw from them continuously without ministering to them in return. There are several practical steps you could take to encourage a minister of the gospel who has laboured over you. Start by praying for him. After prayer, send him a message to show that he is your prayers. Consider inviting him and his family for lunch or send a gift. Your support could make a huge difference in the life of a gospel minister.