Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

In the Old Testament, we have three examples of men who built some things for God. Noah built the ark; Moses, the tabernacle; and Solomon, the temple. One thing was common to all of them — pattern. In both architecture and engineering, patterns are of extreme importance. These professions deal with building. Happily, the Bible describes God as the builder of all things. So patterns are crucial in His scheme. God commanded Noah to build an ark before the flood. He did not leave anything to chance, but gave him details of height, length, and breadth of the ark. He even specified that the ark be built with gopher wood. When Moses was to build the tabernacle, He did not leave it to his imagination either.

…if God had a pattern for a physical temple, He certainly does for spiritual temples as well. The way to gun for glory is to follow whatever pattern He gives.

Finally, the temple also had detailed pattern. 1 Chronicles 28:12-13 says, “And the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries of the dedicated things: Also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD.” (KJV). It must be stressed that we are called the temples of God. Therefore, if God had a pattern for a physical temple, He certainly does for spiritual temples as well. The way to gun for glory is to follow whatever pattern He gives.

Proverbs 22:3 says, “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and are punished.” This is a good way to understand our text. When the Bible says that a wise man’s eyes are in his head, it simply states that those who are able to see ahead are considered wise. Ability to see ahead will prove to be advantageous in good respects. Firstly, a man who sees opportunity ahead will be able to rightly position himself. He will enjoy the benefit of a head start. Secondly, a man who sees ahead can identify threats and dangers and guard against them. Being caught off-guard all the time is no proof of wisdom.

Ability to see ahead will prove to be advantageous in good respects…Being caught off-guard all the time is no proof of wisdom…No one can be considered wise without the right use of times and seasons. In real life, it is not just ideas that separate people; it is putting ideas to work at the appropriate time.

In Proverbs 6, we are introduced to a little creature who exhibit tremendous wisdom. The ants not only work hard, they work smart. For example, they are smart enough to work as a team. In addition, they know how to prepare for the rainy day. The ants gather their food in summer, having seen ahead that winter would come. At winter, they just sleep in and feast on what they had stored. That Ability to discern the most suitable time to gather their supplies marks out the ant as wise. No one can be considered wise without the right use of times and seasons. In real life, it is not just ideas that separate people; it is putting ideas to work at the appropriate time.

Long flights are usually stressful to me. When any flight is to last in excess of five hours non-stop, I have to specially prepare my mind for it. Over time I found something that helps me cope. The night or day preceding any such flight, I make sure that I literally work myself to exhaustion. Typically, as soon as I settle in the plane, I sleep off. So I would literally sleep the hours away. Our text discusses sleep from two angles. Firstly, he introduces us to the laboring man. His sleep is always sweet. Having sapped himself of energy during the day, his body naturally shuts down for rest at night. This gives us additional value of work. A good day’s work is a recipe for a good night rest. On the other hand, an idle man may have to endure the night with burdensome thoughts.

A good day’s work is a recipe for a good night rest…Worrying over wealth is a recipe for unrest… What we know to be true is that God’s blessing makes one rich without adding sorrow.

Ironically, wealth may rob people of sleep just as idleness. Worrying over wealth is a recipe for unrest. When people are unduly concerned about how to succeed or make money, they may lose their sleep. Even after people have succeeded, the concern of not losing their fortune can rob them of sleep. This does not have to be a rule of thumb. Those who have committed themselves and what they have to God and His cause can still enjoy rest despite their great fortune. When the Bible speaks of the abundance of the rich not allowing them to sleep, I believe it is strictly those who have money without God. What we know to be true is that God’s blessing makes one rich without adding sorrow.

When my children were in school, I prayed for them virtually every day. That was in addition to calling them once a week. It was my little way of checking on their well-being. In those days, the report I mostly got was that they had heavy workload. They had to meet deadlines on term papers and other assignments. I made them understand that there are no easy steps to success. Good success is still spelt W-O-R-K! Whenever you see anything advertised that will double your money within a month, you have a Ponzi scheme in place; it doesn’t matter the packaging. It is worse when wrapped in religious garb, and promised success without sweat. Ask those who have gone ahead and search the word of God; hard work is the pathway to increase.

Good success is still spelt W-O-R-K!…hard work is the pathway to increase…A hardworking believer is a good imitator of our God.

God established the culture of work! The book of Genesis introduced us to a working God. We see God’s creative genius on display as He brought order out of chaos and made everything from no physical substance. Jesus also exemplified the dignity of work when He said, “My Father is always working, and I too must work” (John 5:17 GNT). For Jesus, work was a necessity as that became a major way to showcase the Father to the world. This brings us to the first principal reason why work cannot be placed on the elective list. If you are a son of God, you must work after the order of your Father. A hardworking believer is a good imitator of our God.

I love telling God the minutest details about life because in the final analysis, those little details turn to be substantive issues. In any case, God’s word says we should acknowledge Him in all our ways. So, when my wife and I were to travel from New York to Lanham, Maryland, we had the option of going by air, rail, or road. I requested that we pray to know God’s leading concerning the mode of transportation. We finally settled for road option. This proved to be most profitable not only because it was less cumbersome and provided us the opportunity of sight-seeing, but because of a principal lesson learned. The bus was scheduled to depart at 7am, and the driver shut the door just as prompt and pulled off from the parking lot. A couple of minutes after, a young man who had booked a seat on the bus banged the door while the driver was waiting for the light to turn green. In his desperation, he stood in front of the bus to blackmail the driver to open for him but that did not work. He was eventually left behind.

When we pray, our spirit enjoys all the sensitivity needed to connect to what is next on God’s agenda.

That got me thinking. When Jesus talked about His return to earth, He did not specify the exact hour. He gave us signs to watch out for but excluded the fine details of the day and the hour of His arrival. Now, people miss their scheduled flights or bus ride though they were advised ahead of departure time. Doesn’t it therefore sound more precarious on matters that we don’t have a scheduled time? In Jesus’ own words, the only way to avoid being caught off-guard is to watch in prayer continually. There is no better time to heed this admonition than now. When we pray, our spirit enjoys all the sensitivity needed to connect to what is next on God’s agenda.

After Paul and his co-travellers escaped drowning at sea, he found another trouble waiting for him on the island of Melita. As he made fire to warm himself, a venom beast fastened itself on his hand. Here was the conclusion of the islanders: “So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live” Acts 28:4 NKJV. They used circumstantial evidence to pass a guilty vote on an innocent man. One of the several temptations we must avoid is becoming prejudicial in our dealings with people. Our judgments of others are hardly accurate since we don’t always have all the information concerning them. Not all the people going through tough times are suffering the consequences of misdeeds.

Not all the people going through tough times are suffering the consequences of misdeeds…storms are no respecter of persons…God will always work out everything for the good of His saints.

Jesus and His disciples were once assailed by ill wind as they crossed. Neither Jesus nor His disciples had any sin in them. It is just the nature of things in this world, that storms are no respecter of persons. Job was righteous through and through. The foundation of his business empire was actually righteousness. Satan thought otherwise; he thought Job feared the Lord because God had blessed him. Job had everything of value destroyed but he retained his righteousness. In the fullness of time, everything was restored twice over. Indeed, the righteous may have many troubles, but God will get him out of them all. God will always work out everything for the good of His saints.