BE STRONG
2 Timothy 2

God is the Almighty God. He alone is the only One who is capable to do and undo. God alone can and will reverse any situation that is tagged irreversible. When God calls, He never fails to back-up His called one in the assignment of calling regardless of challenges. God alone called Jeremiah for a divine agenda. In God’s calling, He warned Jeremiah. “They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you.” (Jeremiah 1:19) Is it not worth it to wonder why God had to allow Jeremiah to face any challenge while he is attending to God’s assignment? Has he called you and challenges have been rocking you left and right? The great thing is that God is God and He will always have His way. Also, the point here is that God could have called Jeremiah for a challenge or trouble-free assignment, but He chooses not to. God is the same God yesterday, today and forever. Challenges, afflictions and hardship are always birds of the same feather and they flock together in the name of trouble. Challenges, hardship and affliction are often found in association or cannot be separated from the calling of every servant of God. As a matter of fact, the Bible made us to realize in 2 Timothy 2:3-4, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 4 No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” Just like Jeremiah was called, if you are also one who has given your life unto serving God by virtue of His calling, you should consider yourself a soldier of God. All of the above being said, it can be agreed that challenges, hardship or affliction are another identity of a believer who walks in line with God. Psalm 34:19 added more to this fact when it states, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19) Evidently, challenges will come for a believer. Hardship might raise its weapon against any army of God and affliction possibly will try to take over in the calling, but the Lord God shall deliver His own in all. This is not to say a believer should go out and begin to look for trouble where there is none. However, it is for you to know and be encouraged that whatever your challenge is today, God who is above all shall deliver you in all. It is not enough to answer to the calling and not finish in the assignment of the calling. Also, it is wisdom to know that answering is not the same as answering and not getting through.

Prayer for today: Ask for God’s enablement to answer fully in the face of ugly challenges in the world of today.

HIS TESTIMONY
1 Kings 18:20-40

Among ways of identifying what it means to fear God is when a man is consumed by the overwhelming awesomeness that is inhabited in the testimony of what God is doing or what He can do. Many places in the Bible recorded fear as the reaction of certain individuals or groups of people to the manifestation of God’s miracles. By this virtue, it is evident that the testimony of God’s work is the fear of God. Here is a testimony of how fear of God was manifested: “A certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?’”(Acts5:1-3) Ananias had no reason to lie, but he did. Peter’s responded to Ananias’ lie, “While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” (Acts 5:4) Evidently, there was no curse neither was there any physical approach to hurt Ananias, but the Bible records, “Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.” (Acts 5:5-6) Great fear was the fear that fell on the brethren because it was the fear of God. The same way it happened to Ananias so it happened to his wife Sapphira. God is greatly to be feared. The testimonies of His moves are fearful and He should be fearfully praised. On Mount Carmel, after the failure of the worshipers of Baal to prove that they served a living God, Elijah took his turn to demonstrate that his God is the only living God. Elijah went forward and called on God to show forth and demonstrate His power with fire that consumes. Unlike the Baal god, God in His might responded, “Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!’” (1 King 18:38-39) Fear and testimony to the greatness of God was the response of the people. Fear God! Meditate on His testimony because “…The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.” (Psalm 33:18)

Prayer for today: Ask for the fear of God to overwhelm you in every area of your life.

FOCUS NOT LONELINESS
1 Kings 19

Could it have been loneliness that caused a man to know what to do and not do it? Peter followed Jesus all through His ministry but gave himself up to a cheap untimely death attempt. In the face of death, Peter was sleeping instead of praying. Thank God for the church’s prayer of deliverance on behalf of Peter. He lost focus and entered into loneliness. The Bible states about him, “And when Peter had come to himself, he said, ‘Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.’” (Acts 12:11) Loneliness will cause man to loose focus and be lead into discouragement that causes man to give up in the face of grave challenges. Elijah, as great as he was used by God, at a certain stage of challenges in his life experienced loneliness. Focusing on what God has done and what He is doing will encourage one in holding onto him as a Deliverer, Preserver, and God who cannot fail. Are you feeling lonely or getting overwhelmed concerning any challenge in your life? As a child of God, you are not alone. Take your stand and regain your focus on Him. He alone is abundantly able to see you through. Elijah called for rain to stop for three and half years and it was so. He called for the rain to come back and it was so. Elijah alone called fire from heaven during a sacrifice on Mount Carmel and he later executed four hundred and fifty-five Baal prophets. All during this period, he repeatedly confessed that he alone was the only prophet of the Lord who was left behind. Despite his great exploit in the name of God, he fled because of Jezebel’s threat to kill him for executing the prophets of Baal. Elijah ran from wilderness to mountain. Twice in the course of his running, he responded to God’s appearance to him, “…I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (1 Kings 19:10) Loneliness sounded clearly in Elijah. Loneliness was the evidence of lost focus when a man like Elijah could request from God during his running away from Jezebel, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:4) Elijah’s request was to the extreme. Are you walking in that line? It does not mean if you have given your life to Christ or not, but it is certain that the One who created Heaven and heart loves you and all of His creation more than you can imagine. Under heaven, no one is alone except there is a lost of focus from reminding us that God is a good God and He will always show up for our deliverance even at the eleventh hour.

Prayer for today: Ask Him to deliver you from every spirit of loneliness.

PROVOCATION
Isaiah 1

This is what is written in Isaiah 1:4, “Alas, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned backward.” The Lord was provoked to anger. He is a living God who can be provoked to anger. Provoking the anger of God can be destructive for the one who provokes Him by virtue of their wicked way. If God can be provoked to anger by a wicked way, He can also be provoked to respond in delivering His children who walk away by taking any step from any wicked way. Whenever God is provoked to do good, He will respond graciously by converting any destructive manifestation to a deliverance manifestation. What kind of experience do you want to experience with God? Preferably, would anyone prefer destruction rather than His deliverance? Without any doubt, when God’s deliverance is in place, being in His rest will reign. Once during the journey of the children of Israel from bondage to the Promise Land, Moses needed direction in the way. Exodus 33:13-14, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” “14 And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” The point here is that the presence of God generates rest. When He is provoked by virtue of one doing what is good in His sight, having His rest will be activated. Having rest in the Lord is to be obedient in His Word because the Word of God is the presence of God. God’s presence will give and lead in the right direction. Do you think of provoking His hands for good? Isaiah prescribed what it takes to provoke Him for good. Isaiah 1:16-17, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor: defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.” It is always good to be on God’s side. There is no need in provoking Him unto anger. God cannot be deceived and no man can hide from Him. Above all, in as much as He will not overlook sin so He will not overlook that which is right. Encourage yourself in the Lord today. Let all of your way be of positive provocation of the hands of God in your favor.

Prayer for today: Have Your way O Lord in my life and let me not be a vessel of negative pro vocation in Jesus name.

GOING BACKWARD
Job 34:21-30, Isaiah 5:11-17

Going backward is a way to captivity. There is no accidental entrance in stepping into captivity, but gradual backward steps from the way of God will undoubtedly lead one into captivity. The way that the children of Israel took in entering into captivity was a clear demonstration to all who want to end up in captivity. Isaiah 5:12-13, “The harp and the strings, the tambourine and the flute, and wine are in their feasts; but they do not regard the work of the LORD, nor consider the operation of His hands. 13 Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” When there is a failure in regarding the work of God, there will be no regret for doing what does not glorify His Name. Also, not to have affection for what God has done will deny respect to what He is doing or what He can do. Furthering journey into the backward is a failure to constantly consider how the hands of God operate. Without a mindset or constant consideration on the operation of His hands, there will be a smooth journey into the backward. Going backward is a way of captivity and it was the same way that led the children of Israel into Babylon. Can you as a living creation of the mighty hand of God take a brief moment to search yourself and see if there is any trait of backward journey having its place in your walk of life? The children of Israel failed to regard the work of God nor did they consider the operations of His hand. They therefore ended in captivity. It is iniquity not to regard His work or consider the operation of His hands because He is a Jealous God. It is a demonstration of not paying Him attention and being occupied by what goes on around us. Whatever it is that is taking away your attention will not be enough to attend to you in your captivity. Avoid whatever is actually taking you into a backward journey; backward journeys are away from God. Job 34:22, “There is no darkness nor shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” The act of not paying God attention is iniquity. The attempt to hide iniquity is a failed attempt; it is impossible to hide from Him. Take a step into the forward going. Give God all the attention for He is the Almighty Creator and there is no turning from Him.

Prayer for today: Enable me O Lord in giving You all the attention that sets man up to end up in Your presence.