Devotion 105

Isaiah 40:28-31

(28) Have you not known? Have you not heard? Yahwe is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.

(29) He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.

(30) Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;

(31) but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

This weekend at the MMC Angus Buchan shared on Saturday morning about waiting upon the Lord and it stuck to me so much. God spoke to me that I needed to spend a whole lot more time just waiting upon Him. So this morning I took that verse, which I have held onto for almost 20 yrs, Isaiah 40:28-31, and I studied it again with new life and meaning. The following things stood out for me and I want to encourage you with what I found.

Firstly, we must remember that Yahwe (God) is everlasting and He is the creator of all. He is immeasurably great and powerful and He knows and understands all things. There is nothing greater than Him and therefore no situation we face is ever too big for Him. He does not change and He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8) This knowledge is so comforting and I see it as an anchor of my soul (Heb 6:19) that holds me in place and calm in times of storm and trouble in this world. I can know that God will not move when the storm hits me full force and I can hide in Him as my shelter, Psalm 18:2.

Secondly, due to the fact that God is power and He loves giving us His power we can know that He will give us strength to face all situations. We do not have to rely on our own strength. The strength that He gives is so much more complete and has more depth than the strength that we can muster up in human effort. The scripture says we must “wait upon” the Lord. The Hebrew word for “wait upon” is “Kavah”. It means to be entwined or twisted into. This is like a rope that consists of a whole load of strings being woven together. We need to be woven into God like a rope. The string on its own is weak, but if you weave it into that rope it becomes strong due to its association with the rope. The knowledge of being in God will give you wings to rise up and soar to greater heights in this life and you will not fear the storm, but soar even higher by using the winds in the storm to lift you up. So what used to be an obstacle will now become an opportunity.

I am at a place in my life where I need to hear God more clearly than ever before and I have made the decision to “kavah” with God. I want to get entwined with Him through studying the Word, praying, worship and just waiting on Him daily. What are you gonna do? Are you going to continue in fear, weakness and desperation or are you going to wait upon the Lord and hide away in Him? Find His heart and His plan today!

Devotion 104

Job 22:28

(28) And thou shalt decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee; and light shall shine upon thy ways.

This scripture has become such revelation to me over the years as I have walked the faith road. God is waiting for us to decree a thing and then He dispatches His angels to have that thing accomplished. The problem I found is that people will declare their intention to embark on a certain course of action and as soon as trouble comes the change their talk or they start looking for escapes such as, “Oh, it maybe is not God’s will.” Listen to me today; nothing that you do that has Kingdom value will just come easily. The enemy is not going to just sit back and watch you accomplish God’s plan for your life. The bible says in John 10:10 that the thief, the devil, always comes to steal, kill and destroy and therefore he will challenge you all the way.

We need to spend time with God and find out what we should do and then we decree it with our words. Once we decree it with our words we will start experiencing the opposition. Even on this outreach we encountered many challenges and the enemy tried to stop us at every corner, but we continued going the way we planned because we knew God will support us. If we start deviating we will lose sight of the original intent and soon we will be going down a way of compromise.

Decide that you will do the right thing, declare it, put your head down and start going. Do not change the outcome by speaking words of doubt and unbelief while you are going down that route. It is so important that we walk the faith road with patience and endurance as it is the only that we will see the victory that Jesus purchased for us.

Devotion 103

Job 22:24 Then you will lay down your gold in the dust, and the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. Yes the Almighty will be our gold and precious silver, for then you will have your delight in the Almighty and lift up your face to God. You will make your prayer for Him and He will hear you and you will pay your vows.

It is time for us to find our delight in God and not in earthly things. So many people we know have more commitment to gaining earthly wealth than to God. Job’s friend encouraged him to turn to God, repent and lay down his earthly wealth in order to seek God. So many times in life I have had to make that decision. I will look at someone else’s nice things and desire it and God will challenge me to pursue Him and His calling more than gold or silver. It is not always easy, as the world has a strong attraction, but it is worth it.

The world will not meet Jesus if Christians are seeking for or chasing money for their own pockets. Our wealth must work for God and not be for our own comfort only. God will only become your delight if you take on this mindset as God will not compete for your attention.

So remember:
1. See your wealth as nothing compared to God
2. Seek God’s face – delight yourself in Him
3. Pay your vows – let your money work for God