OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY - 27/03/2014 - BE PATIENT BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

BE PATIENT

MEMORISE

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Hebrews 6:12

READ

Matthew 4:1-4

1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

MESSAGE

One common point of weakness in the life of many believers today is impatience. It is unfortunate that this weak point is being exploited by the devil to prey on believers. The tempter sometimes capitalises on the fact that a believer is hungry, to tempt him or her to “turn stone into bread”. At such moments, the believer should react like his Master did in Matthew 4:4c by saying this in response:

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

But what do we see today? Some couples go all out in search of the fruit of the womb when there is an apparent delay. This they do in spite of numerous scriptural passages that enjoin us to patiently run the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1). The Bible in Genesis 41:1 says:

“And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.”

This scriptural passage speaks volumes and our understanding of its deep meaning will go a long way to cure us of the spiritual disease of impatience. Whatever and however terrible the situation a child of God is passing through, the promise of God is that it shall not last forever; rather it shall come to pass! Two full years passed from the commencement of Joseph’s expectation of release from prison to the time Pharaoh had the dream that would eventually set him free.

Why is the Christian life characterised by challenges? It is because the world hates the godly lifestyle of a believer. It takes determination for believers to stand in the face of adversities which the world puts as a stumbling block to cause their fall. This is why Jesus Christ prayed for believers in John 17:15-16 saying:

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”

Beloved, let us keep on looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who was once tempted like us, but remained determined to endure everything for our sake. And because he was victorious, we shall be victorious; for the scripture in Romans 8:37 says this concerning us:

“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”

PRAYER POINT

Holy Spirit Divine, please see me through the challenges of life with your comfort and guidance.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Ezekiel 23-24; 

Psalm 71:1-13