Your Refreshing Daily Devotional

Several metaphors are employed to describe the people of God. In Paul’s writing to the Corinthians, we are seen as athletes. Accordingly, he enjoined us to run lawfully and with discipline in order to obtain the prize. To Timothy, he variously described believers as athletes, farmers, and soldiers. Of course, each of these descriptions places its demand. As said earlier, athletes have to be disciplined and obey the rules of engagement. Farmers must put in the required patience and wait for the time of harvest. For soldiers, the demand is to endure tough times and terrains. From the mouth of Jesus, we can learn of another way by which the people of God are seen – they are sheep. Understandably, Jesus described Himself as the good Shepherd whose voice the sheep know and follow.

God’s guidance is the secret of sustenance…No one can enjoy the guiding ministry of the Shepherd unless the spiritual faculties of hearing and seeing are kept sensitive.

A fundamental need of the sheep is guidance. God’s guidance is the secret of sustenance to the sheep. In Psalm 23, David described God as His shepherd, and came up with the bold assurance that he would not lack. He went on elsewhere to testify that from his youth until his adult years, he had not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed beg bread. With God in the saddle, you can be sure of lying in green pastures and moving beside the still water. In addition to provision, God will take care of obstacles along the way. His guidance comes with the added benefit of His presence; and that is all we need to overcome all obstacles. In our last meditation, we concluded that the way to profit from a prophetic word is to maintain a sensitive spirit and pure conscience. That concluding is worth repeating today. No one can enjoy the guiding ministry of the Shepherd unless the spiritual faculties of hearing and seeing are kept sensitive.

There are usually several aspects to prophecies. A prophecy doesn’t end with the pronouncement of what is imminent; many times it comes with geographical connotations as well as timing. The birth of Jesus bears testimony to this truth. When Herod heard that another king had been born, insecurity overcame him. He immediately summoned the Priests and the scribes to get fuller information about the born-king. Specifically, he wanted to know where the King was to be born. They told him it was Bethlehem of Judaea .  That was a factor of geography. They knew where Christ was to be born, but they were oblivious of the timing of his birth. They had no inkling about the timing. As a matter of fact, it seemed Christ had been born more than two years earlier before Herod summoned the priests and the levites for enquiry.

A prophecy doesn’t end with the pronouncement of what is imminent; many times it comes with geographical connotations as well as timing…No prophetic word is without its profit…If you have the word of promise but you are wrongly located, you are not likely going to see it fulfilled.

No prophetic word is without its profit. However, several things must align if the profit must appear. The first, of course, is knowing the word itself. If you do not know how to receive the word of God, how can you wait for it? Secondly, you must understand that there is an element of geography to the word of God. Certain things that God purposed can only come to pass in designated location. If you have the word of promise but you are wrongly located, you are not likely going to see it fulfilled. Thirdly, you have to know the season that the word of God has been programmed for fulfilment. All these can only take place if we maintain a sensitive spirit and a pure conscience.

Elisha used his blank cheque well. When Elijah asked him to ask for anything before he would be taken to heaven, he asked for a double portion of his spirit. Though Elijah confirmed that he had asked for a hard thing, he went ahead to set the condition under which the request would be granted. If he could see the moment of his master’s translation, his wish would be granted. In effect, Elijah told Elisha to wait for the double portion of his spirit. The symbolic token that his desire was granted was the mantle that fell down from Elijah as he was being taken to heaven, while the physical proof came handy in his ability to do what his master did and even surpassed it.

Our claim to the Holy Spirit must go beyond speaking with other tongues; we should desire to move in the power of God to reproduce what Jesus did.

We can use the story of Elijah and Elisha as a type of what eventually happened between Jesus and His disciples. In His earthly ministry, He spoke on different occasions that after His departure, He would send another Helper just like Him. That Helper was the Holy Spirit. However, he told them to wait for the release of the Holy Spirit. That commandment led to a time of prayer and study of the word for 10 days following the ascension of Jesus. Waiting culminated on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out on all those who waited in the Upper Room. The early believers went on to replicate the works of Jesus and won their world over. This remains the template for modern believers. Our claim to the Holy Spirit must go beyond speaking with other tongues; we should desire to move in the power of God to reproduce what Jesus did.

Our ministry’s annual convention is slated for October 28th to November 1st this year. From about July, our Lead Pastor in Port Harcourt informed me that the planning committee requested for the theme of the convention to begin necessary preparations. I requested for more time to clear my head and my heart. It was not until I waited in queue for my transit visa in Doha, Qatar on August 10 that I got the nod to theme it, MAKING THE INVISIBLE GOD VISIBLE. I go through tough times for every one of our major meetings, seeking for theme and appointed speakers. The point is that in life, particularly concerning spiritual ventures, you cannot presume anything.

…in life, particularly concerning spiritual ventures, you cannot presume anything…The way to access God’s guidance is prayer…Even when you seem to have a hunch, still pray for clarity.

David was in exile among the Philistines when Saul and his three sons died as Samuel predicted. The unusual man that we find in David made him mourn not only the death of Jonathan his covenant friend but also of his fiercest enemy, Saul. He had fled the land of Israel in the closing years of Saul’s reign as a pragmatic step for his own security. Expectedly, his natural inclination was to return to his fatherland. However, that was not enough reason for action. He turned his inclination to prayer. The way to access God’s guidance is prayer. When I asked the committee to give me time, it was so I could pray and know the mind of the Lord. Even when you seem to have a hunch, still pray for clarity. When David asked the Lord if he was to return to any of the cities of Judah, we figure out he already had it as a hunch. However, he knew that to wish is one thing; to be in God’s will could be a different thing altogether. When he subjected the issue to prayer, inclination became inspiration – something that God wanted him to do.

Early August this year, a young lady who was attending Law School in Lagos, Nigeria plunged to her death from a storey building. Information is still scanty about the reason why she decided to take her own life. I observed that opinions expressed through social media varied. Some affirmed that the Law School is a high pressure environment. Others argue that there is no circumstance that can ever justify a young person taking her own life. Experiences have shown that it is always better to err on the side of caution. We may never know the prevailing circumstances surrounding an individual before taking certain decisions. This is not to justify suicide in any form, but that we should be more sympathetic to people who found themselves in this or similar situation.

If Paul with all his encounters in God can come to his wit’s end, then anyone is capable of being exhausted…in the assembly of God’s people, there will always be those who are fainthearted and weak…lookout for them and be ready to provide them with the needed comfort and support.

Consider the mighty apostle Paul that he once thought that life was not worth living anymore. “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.” II Corinthians 1:8 NKJV. If Paul with all his encounters in God can come to his wit’s end, then anyone is capable of being exhausted. The point is that in the assembly of God’s people, there will always be those who are fainthearted and weak. They may not speak over the loudspeaker to let the world know of their state; so we have to be on the lookout for them and be ready to provide them with the needed comfort and support.