OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY - 26/06/2014 - DIVINE COMPENSATION BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

DIVINE COMPENSATION

MEMORIZE

But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

1 Peter 5:10

READ

Genesis 41:37-45

37 And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

38 And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?

39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art:

40 Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

41 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

42 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck;

43 And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

44 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.

45 And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

MESSSAGE

Nothing discourages and leads one to a state of despondency more than suffering. There is no glory in suffering, neither is there any glory in poverty, in sickness, affliction or trouble. There is a user of this devotional who is in trouble. I pray the Almighty God will defend you, fight your battles for you and grant you total victory and deliverance from all that trouble in Jesus’ Name. The Lord is the Friend that hears and defends when trouble comes. Psalm 20:1-2 says,

“The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;”

Compensation denotes settlement. It could mean a reward for obedience to biblical injunction. A good example of this is tithing (Malachi 3:8-12). Many people argue against tithing; this is outright ignorance. When you obey the biblical injunction of tithing, God will rebuke the devourer for your sake and compensate you with divine prosperity. The same applies to giving (Luke 6:38). Evangelism, follow up and discipleship are other biblical injunctions worth adhering to (John 15:16). Obedience to these biblical injunctions results in prompt answers to prayers.

Divine compensation could also mean reward for your abilities and input. Are you serving your family, church, organisation or nation faithfully? Does it seem as if no reward is forthcoming? The Lord will reward you. Divine compensation could come in terms of physical or spiritual reward. An example is David who served his father faithfully. He was neither recognised nor rewarded by his father. However, God compensated him at the appropriate time. He became the king of Israel. There is an appointed time for divine compensation. Yours is probably closer than you think. Don’t give up. There was a lady who suffered a number of miscarriages. Nevertheless, she kept on trusting in God. She prayed and refused to be deterred, neither did she lose her faith in God. At last, God intervened and she was rewarded with triplets. Divine compensation is what God alone gives. It is the best reward because while other rewards are ephemeral, divine compensation is permanent. Divine compensation as a reward from God could come in form of divine power, divine ideas, divine prosperity and divine connections. Ruth was divinely connected to Boaz while Esther was divinely connected to King Ahasuerus. Divine compensation is to be remembered at last. As Joseph was remembered at the appointed time, you also will be remembered at last.

PRAYER POINT

Remember me for good oh Lord. Make me perfect; establish, strengthen and settle me.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR

Numbers 7:1-83; Psalm 139:17-24