Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

In our previous meditation, we saw how an ordinary rod became a mighty tool for miracles when it encountered divine transition. What we left out was the fact that Moses himself, not just the rod, enjoyed divine transition. For 40 years, he had settled down to the life of a shepherd. His first attempt at delivering Israel by slaying an Egyptian turned him to a fugitive. However, when God met him at the age of 80, he ceased to be a runaway felon and became a mighty prophet of God.

…divine transition revealed purpose and changed Saul’s circle of influence.

Saul’s story comes close to this. The first mention of him is in 1 Samuel 9. His father’s asses were missing, and he was mandated to go and search for them. Failure to locate them was his link to Samuel who told him that he had been chosen by God to be king over His people, Israel. Thus, we see how a frustrated shepherd boy made history by becoming the first anointed king over Israel. The verses following showed the magnitude of divine transition in his life that it even became a proverb. “So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”” I Samuel 10:9-11 NKJV. Here, divine transition revealed purpose and changed Saul’s circle of influence.

Moses must have had his rod with him for about 40 years by the time he encountered God in the back side of the desert. I assume he got the rod from the day he took up a job as a shepherd under his father-in-law. It is also safe to assume that the most he had done with that rod was to tend sheep. Perhaps, he engaged it to defend himself on some occasions, too. However, there was something hidden behind that rod that would shake Pharaoh and the entire nation of Egypt. By the time divine transition took place, it ceased to be the rod of Moses and had become the rod of God – a tool for diverse sorts of miracles. “Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.” Exodus 4:20 NKJV

The seemingly insignificant things around you are laden with potentials. Yield them to God.

It was the same rod he held in his hand to control the outcome of the battle when Joshua was leading the charge against Amalek. “Now Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” Exodus 17:8-9 NKJV. When the rod of Moses underwent divine transition, it brought out the hidden potential of an otherwise ordinary tool. The seemingly insignificant things around you are laden with potentials. Yield them to God.

Successful people know the value of time. They know that whatever will be done will be in the context of time, so they guard the passage of every moment. They also know the importance of protecting other people’s time as well. So they don’t get into frivolity but rather cut the chase without wasting the time of others. This must have been what informed Larry Lea’s interaction with the legendary Church Growth pastor, Dr. David Yonggi Cho. When he met him, he simply asked what was Cho’s secret to building the largest church at the time. “I pray and I obey”, Yonggi Cho replied. In those five words is found the secret of success for every child of God.

There is a strong connection between praying and hearing God…Hearing and obeying remain the most valid spiritual formula to getting things done in the kingdom.

When Yonggi Cho said, “I pray”, it boils down to saying that he was accustomed to hearing God. There is a strong connection between praying and hearing God. Prayer subdues the flesh and awakens our spiritual ears to hear what God is saying. The next most important thing is to follow through with obedience whatever the Lord has said. Those who operate with these two will notice how simplified the quest for success becomes. We referred to the story of a widow yesterday. What bailed her out of indebtedness was hearing God’s word through the prophet and obeying. In our text, Mary admonished the people to do whatever they were told. Hearing and obeying remain the most valid spiritual formula to getting things done in the kingdom.

I recall a story about the Late Dr. Lester Sumrall. At a time in his ministry, he trusted God for the resources to buy Hercules plane to enable him distribute relief materials to different parts of the world. While he was gathering the resources, the Lord asked him where he would park the plane if he got one. As an expression of his faith, he put the resources he had gathered into building a hangar even when the plane was not yet in sight. Soon after, a series of miraculous events took place and he got the money to actualize his dream.

In spiritual parlance, getting the vessel ready precedes supply…Always let preparation go ahead of your expectations.

In spiritual parlance, getting the vessel ready precedes supply. In 2 Kings 4, a widow approached Elisha about her financial predicament. Among other things, the prophet instructed her to go and borrow empty vessels, emphasizing that they must be many. The miracle happened after the vessels were provided. “So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased.” II Kings 4:5-6 NKJV. Interestingly, the quantity of the vessels determined the quantity of the oil that was supplied. Always let preparation go ahead of your expectations.

Martin Luther King Jr. is credited with many fanciful quotes. One of them is this: “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” This hits directly at the core of the erroneous belief that doing great things is the only way to make impact. Little things done in a great way can as well be impactful. Quite frankly, most great feats have several little components that hold them together.

Little things done in a great way can as well be impactful. Quite frankly, most great feats have several little components that hold them together…it is by showing faithfulness at the lower level that earns us the right to be given higher responsibilities.

In our text, we find a reason to justify the importance of little things. Jesus got wind of the shortage of wine in Cana of Galilee. So he instructed them to fill the water pots with water. When they had done that, He asked them to take out of the pot and give to the master of the feast. By the time the master of the feast tasted the substance, he found it to be a better wine than what he had been served earlier. Arguably, fetching water was a little thing. However, without that the great feat of turning water into wine would not have been possible. Those unnamed servants who drew the water laid the foundation for the great feat that Jesus performed. It is pointless to be overly concerned with only grandiose things; rather, efforts should be made to ensure that the little things we are asked to do are done with all our might and in the spirit of faithfulness. In God’s reckoning, being faithful over what is little is counted as being faithful over much. Also, it is by showing faithfulness at the lower level that earns us the right to be given higher responsibilities.

Boxing fans all over the world watched in horror as Anthony Joshua beat Jake Paul late last year, breaking his jaw. Though Jake Paul boasted before the fight that he would beat him, the reverse was the case. At the end of the fight which ended with a knockout in the sixth round, opinions were divided. Some felt that it was one fight that should never have been allowed, rating Jake Paul as a content creator and not a boxer in the real sense of the word. They believed it was a mismatch.

He carried the consciousness of the covenant…Those who operate with this mindset will always prevail no matter how tough things get.

We have what looked like a mismatch in the Bible. The fight between David and Goliath fell into this category. David’s brother was angry with him for daring to fight the Philistine. Saul felt that David was a mismatch for Goliath, and he had his reasons for saying that. In addition, David could not boast of the type of weapons at Goliath’s disposal. Though the odds were stacked against this teenager, he conquered Goliath. “So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.” I Samuel 17:50 NKJV. What was his secret? He carried the consciousness of the covenant. He was certain that he joined the fray in the name of the Lord and that he would not be abandoned. Those who operate with this mindset will always prevail no matter how tough things get.