Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

The creation story in Genesis 1 did not only show products but processes as well. Since we know God to be Omnipotent, He can do all things, including creating everything at once. However, God did not go that route. Rather, He created things in an orderly, sequential, and piecemeal manner – just a little at a time. By this He established a profound principle that will guide us in our pursuits. Never expect that the purpose of your heart will be realized all at once. Not even if you claim that the purpose originated from God.

God will bring increase your way a little at a time not just because of His principle but because of your capacity to receive…Never despise the day of little beginning; overtime the little will compound and yield great results.

God promised to give the land of Canaan as an inheritance to the children of Abraham. Our text spelt out the method He recommended; He was not going to give them everything at once, but little by little. The same principle stands when you convert this to pursuit of success and increase. God will bring increase your way a little at a time not just because of His principle but because of your capacity to receive. He will never allow any increase that will overwhelm you so that the blessing does not become a curse. Therefore, when we submit to His discipline and the training, we facilitate our access to greater blessings. Be thankful to God for where you are now, and count on His promise to take you further in life. Remember, if you walk closely with God your light can only shine brighter. Never despise the day of little beginning; overtime the little will compound and yield great results.

Our text encourages us to grow in grace. Growing in grace connotes having increasing knowledge of God. There are several sides to God, and being knowledgeable in just one area could be a recipe to heresy, extremism, and other forms of delusional thinking. To have a balanced view of God, here are areas to consider. Firstly, seek to know His person. This was the very first thing in Paul’s list in Philippians 3:10 – “That I may know Him…” You can’t have a meaningful relationship with someone whose character is not known. Secondly, seek to know His purpose. God does nothing without a purpose. He has general purpose for all of creation, as well as specific purpose for individuals. No one can please God unless he or she uncovers His purpose and choose to walk in it.

You can’t have a meaningful relationship with someone whose character is not known…God does nothing without a purpose…No one can please God unless he or she uncovers His purpose and choose to walk in it…Power that is not properly situated will do more harm than good.

God also has patterns, and those who desire to know Him must know how He works. Failure to understand God’s modus operandi may lead to destruction. “Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, Nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them And not build them up.” Psalms 28:5 NKJV. Apart from His person, purpose, and pattern, it is also important to understand God’s power. His power can move mountains and cause the desert to blossom like the rose. It is important to put this sequence in place and not to be jumpy about power. Going back to Paul in Philippians 3:10, he sought to know His person first before desiring to taste the power of His resurrection. Power that is not properly situated will do more harm than good.

In previous meditation, we observed that there are protocols to be followed by those who want to grow in the knowledge of God. In summary, there has to be a desire to know Him. Without a hunger, nothing comes through. In turn, the hunger must be converted to supplication, trusting for the spirit of revelation to take its course. One of the things that will happen when revelation comes is unusual boldness. Those who know God can indulge in the luxury of boasting about Him. “In God we boast all day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah” Psalms 44:8 NKJV

Those who know God deeply are not only free of intimidating forces of hell, but they also have what it takes to fulfill their mission on earth.

Apostle Paul secured his boasting right in God through revelation knowledge. Writing to Timothy, his son in the faith, he wrote with certainty – “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12. He was so confident about God’s estate that he knew the needs of the Philippian brethren would be met. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). Such confidence can only come from a deep knowledge of God. So great was the knowledge of this apostle that God had to keep him in check with a thorn in his flesh, something to remind him that he was still human after all. Those who know God deeply are not only free of intimidating forces of hell, but they also have what it takes to fulfill their mission on earth.

The import of this passage of scripture is that Paul did not want his audience to be surprised at his depth of knowledge about God and the mystery of salvation. He tried hard to take attention from himself. The knowledge he paraded was not his own making but a product of divine disclosure. This reiterates what we shared yesterday. The knowledge of God does not come through rigorous scrutiny of scientific facts; it is by revelation. Interestingly, the Bible portrays God as one who is still in the business of unveiling things to people. However, there are protocols to be followed in order to enjoy revelation.

The knowledge of God does not come through rigorous scrutiny of scientific facts; it is by revelation…Nothing is guaranteed without desire…If you want to know God, you have to keep asking for this spirit to be at work in you at all times.

Firstly, there has to be a desire. Nothing is guaranteed without desire. This desire must be rooted in the fact that there is nothing that comes close in importance to the knowledge of God. If we must boast at all, it has to be on the basis of knowing God. “Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24 NKJV. Next to desire is prayer. There is what Paul described as the spirit of wisdom and revelation in Ephesians 1:17. If you want to know God, you have to keep asking for this spirit to be at work in you at all times.

Apostle Peter admitted the difficulty in grasping some of the things written by Paul. Beyond what Peter said of Paul, an honest reader of the Bible will readily admit that there are tough issues to decode. Take for instance the doctrine of Trinity. Adherents of the Islamic religion will accept many of our claims about Jesus and Christianity. However, when you discuss the deity of Christ or the triune nature of the Godhead, you will stir up a controversy. Not even among professing and sincere Christians do you have a robust discussion and consensus on such subjects. Personally, an anonymous quote settled the doctrine of the Trinity for me. It says, “Deny the Trinity and you will lose your soul; try to explain it and you will lose your mind”.

Those who desire to know God beyond mental assent should rely on the spirit of revelation.

The point is that we cannot by our rational mind know God. The Bible puts cap on this: “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?” Job 11:7 NKJV. The answer is a no! Revelation is the key to knowing God. “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Matthew 11:27 NKJV. In our text, Paul admitted that it was when it pleased God that He revealed His Son in him. Those who desire to know God beyond mental assent should rely on the spirit of revelation.

Apostle Paul spoke about the humility of Jesus, and used that to inspire us to embrace the same virtue. Jesus has the same status as the Father. However, when He took the form of a man, He became obedient to the Father. He stretched His obedience to the limits when He embraced the cruel death on the Cross. The first lesson about this great virtue is that humility is a personal choice. No one can truly be humble without a conscious choice.

No one can truly be humble without a conscious choice…We can get a final inspiration for a humble disposition from the fact that the humbler we stay, the more God elevates us. A proud person has no future with God.

Our text provides a powerful inspiration for humility. Apostle Paul considered the differences between people. Such differences are made possible by God; of course, for divine reason and purpose. He further argued that there is nothing any of us can lay claim to that is not a product of God’s benevolence. We made nothing, God made all things. We own nothing, God owns all things. Therefore, whatever we have is given to us on trust. We are mere stewards. This mindset will keep us humble. We can get a final inspiration for a humble disposition from the fact that the humbler we stay, the more God elevates us. A proud person has no future with God.