OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL – THURSDAY – 10/09/2015 – GOD: AN ENCOURAGER – BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

GOD: AN ENCOURAGER

Memorise

I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

Psalm 85:8

Read

Psalm 85:7-9

7  Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation. 

8  I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly. 

9  Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

Message

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

Psalm 27:14

After you have suffered a major loss, or when everything around you appears gloomy and bleak, turn your focus on the Lord. When those you look up to fail you, look up to God. He is the only One who will never fail you. Have your friends in the Christian race turned their backs on God? Are you becoming discouraged and wondering whether to continue with Christ or to join your backslidden friends? Focus on Christ and He will sustain you. Has your pastor done something so painful to you, to the extent that you are thinking of either leaving the church or going back into the world? Look up to Jesus! Remember, the Christian race accommodates everyone who has repented, but it is still a very personal race. If your friend or pastor chooses to go to Hell, must you go with them? No! Never be discouraged from doing the work that God has assigned to you, irrespective of contrary pressures from human and demonic forces.

Several years ago, just after I became a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, there was a misunderstanding among the ministers of the church. Some people I highly respected disappointed me, so much so that I became depressed and discouraged. As I returned from the headquarters of the church at Ebute Metta, to the University of Lagos where I was lecturing, a traffic warden stopped my car at St. Agnes junction. While I was waiting, I said to myself, "If this is what they call the gospel, and it is not taking me forward, then I will go back to where I am coming from." Almost immediately, the Lord spoke to me saying "Son, why are you so sad?" My reply was "Lord, You know all things. You saw all that happened." Then He said "True, this fellow disappointed you, but have I ever disappointed you?" With that word, courage, hope and joy flooded my heart, and I moved from the valley to the mountain top. I went my way, singing "I have a God who never fails". God is your greatest antidote to discouragement. Look up to Him and He will send you the right words that will terminate sorrow and discouragement in you. Are you disheartened? Feed on God's word, remember His promises and recall how He has answered your prayers in the past. After doing all these, place your hope and trust in Him.

Action Point

When God encourages you, no discouragement can hold you back. Ask for His encouragement today.

Bible in one year

Exodus 22:16-24:18; 

Romans 11:1-24