OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - SATURDAY - 2/11/2013 - IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM

MEMORY VERSE

Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

2 Samuel 21:1

READ

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain

1 Corinthians 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

1 Corinthians 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:

1 Corinthians 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

MESSAGE

King Jehoshaphat was a man who loved and obeyed God. He had a good rating before God. All was well and everything was going on well with him. Then all of a sudden, three powerful kings gathered together and said he and his people would be their next target for breakfast. Like any of us, he was hit by an arrow of fear but he handled the situation so well that he got victory (2 Chronicles 20:1-4). We ought to learn one or two lessons from him. The first thing to note in obtaining sound victory is to identify the problem. There is need to know exactly what you are up against and what led to it. It is commonly said that a problem well known is already half solved. This is true. If you are walking on a street and there are gunshots, a good number of people will not pause to determine where the gun shots are coming from: they will just start to run even if they are heading from safety into the danger zone.

King Jehoshaphat clearly identified his problem. He knew the kings were coming to invade Judah. He knew the kings and also why they were coming. When you receive an attack, do you go to God to find out where it is coming from and why? If you do not carry out a detailed situational analysis of the problem, you may not be able to apply the correct solutions. This is where Paul is different. He says when he fights he does not punch the air like many of us do. In other words, he would have identified the problem and its nature before throwing punches, which is one reason he was always victorious. If the problem is not identified, you might end up fighting the wrong person. One of my sons was about to enter his office while exchanging pleasantries with some people and he banged his right knee hard against the door. It was so bad that he had to stay still. While in pains he asked, 'Lord, why?' And the Lord said, 'Why have you abandoned the assignment I gave to you? So he apologised and promised to start soon. But if he had not asked God, he would have been thinking his enemies were at it, and that they want to condemn his leg.

ACTION POINT

King Saul breeched an agreement with the Gibeonites and it brought a famine upon the land in the days of David (2 Samuel 21:1-9). Every famine has a cause. Find out from God