JUST BECAUSE OF…
Numbers 12

Life is a journey and every individual needs no additional burden from any one. In every individual’s journey, there are always unwanted or unexpected burdens that could add up and cause challenges. At times when challenges such as stagnation, mockery, rejection come to place in the life of an individual, the source is either known or unknown. In the book of Genesis, it was mentioned how Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused every man and woman’s generational curse. Genesis 2:16-17, “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”  Death was not in the plan of God for man but Adam and Eve provoked God with their act of disobedience and death came to place for all man. The situation of Adam and Eve can be understood but might not be accepted. However, it can be worse when one man’s act of disobedience leads to stagnation in the life of thousands of people. Just as it happened in the days of Adam and Eve it continues to be happening in different areas of individual’s lives because all that has been in the beginning is still in the present. Is there any area of stagnation in your life that you possibly cannot pinpoint the source of the stagnation? Consider this, during the days of Moses, “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it…” (Numbers 12:1-3)The dissension of Aaron and Miriam was a blow to the whole population of the children of Israel. It caused them delay and stagnation on the course of their journey when, “Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. 16 And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.” Just because of Miriam the whole entourage suffered stagnation. Miriam’s situation is not an unlikely incident in the present day. Are you experiencing any kind of stagnation in any area of life with no idea of its source?  There is no door which prayer cannot open. For Miriam’s case, the Bible says, “…Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!” (Numbers 12:13) Undoubtedly, the prayer of Moses changed the situation from stagnation into motion.

Prayer for the day: O Lord my God, I ask for your deliverance, let every situation of stagnation be converted into motion. Place me in the center of my divine assignment for your kingdom’s glory. In Jesus name, Amen

COMPLAIN CONTERMINATE
Numbers 14

“Then the LORD said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11) Indeed and in truth He is a longsuffering and merciful God. The Children of Israel actually asked for what they got from God. They had repeatedly complained and strained with Moses in almost every step since the great miracle of crossing on a dry land in the middle of the Red Sea. Complaining became their identity. Evidently, an act of rebellion is to complain. Inhabited in rebellion is rejecting God. To reject God is a demonstration of unbelief. Which of these negative acts manifest in your daily life? Stay away and avoid any act of complaint. Complaint is a silent killer and once it becomes a habit, it will take only God’s divine intervention and deliverance to rid you of it. Before the reaction of the children of Israel to the report that came from spying the Canaan Land, there had been different acts of complaining.  The complaint that actually broke them was the report given by the spies that went to spy the Canaan Land. With negative report that was delivered by the spies, the people did not hesitate and they, “…lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:1-3) With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, all the children of Israel complained and confessed different kinds of negativity. The children of Israel requested a move back to Egypt. Also, death was among the requests of the children of Israel during complaining that lead to their rebellious act. God responded, “…I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.(Numbers14:27-30) Complaining will contaminate, complicate and terminate your Promised Land if it remains to be growing in you.

Prayer for today: Ask God to deliver you from the spirit of complaining.

PRICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Numbers 20:7-13

Moses, a giant in the hand of God, a man of great exploit by virtue of God’s calling, missed the promise land on account of the children of Israel. To man, Moses did all that was enough to get him through to the promise land. To God, he missed it on account of the children of Israel. When the children of Israel began to thirst on the course of their journey through the wilderness, God commanded Moses to speak to the rock. Moses, however, struck the rock with his rod. Moses’ action was regarded as an act of not believing God. Numbers 20:11-12, “Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” Can it be said that an act of disobedience to the word of God is an act of not believing God? Evidently, Moses did not mean it the way it turned out to be. Moses was reacting to the rebellious way of the demand of water by the children of Israel. What Moses did was playing God instead of placing God’s command before the children of Israel. As a leader in the business of God, have you been paying attention to details in every area of designating His direction or have you been playing with His direction? He continued to ask God for mercy that would let him get to the Promised Land but all was in vain when he asked in Deuteronomy 3:26, “But the LORD was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me. So the LORD said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this matter.” Moses did not miss out on his own account but on account of the children of Israel. On whose account are you going to miss your expected end? Is it going to be on account of your husband, wife, children, friend, or family member? It is not worth it to miss the expected end on anyone’s account. Also, it is not God’s design for you to miss on anyone’s account. Take serious note that, if Moses could miss it, no one is free from missing it. Ask God for enablement that will keep you and not be terminated based on anyone’s account. Pay detailed attention to directions, He is a jealous God, do not violate God’s direction, avoid termination.
 
Prayer for today: Have mercy o Lord, let me not take any step in violating any of Your direction.    
 

Encouragement and Provocation
Exodus 14, Luke 19:1-10

When the word of God becomes the source of encouragement and provocation, it will build in you the boldness and the character that makes man a winner in the race of life. Encouragement is to know as a child of God that your challenges are not accidental, it could be for God to gain honor over your enemy. The children of Israel, having been delivered from the house of bondage (Egypt) by the outstretched hand of God would have expected a smooth journey to the Promised Land. However, God decided to take them through where they were bewildered by the land and closed in by the wilderness. On God’s route for them, God declared, “Then I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, so that he will pursue them; and I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD.” And they did so.” (Exodus 14:4) God wanted to gain honor over the challenges of the children of Israel. God’s plan was not for evil to be elevated in the life of His children but it was to relegate evil. Are you facing life consuming challenges or unexpected challenges where there seems to be no way out? Be encouraged in the Lord. God has not forgotten you, He never sleeps nor slumbers but He will gain honor in His deliverance plan for your life. Also, in your seeking Him, be motivated that when you seek Him diligently, you will see Him. The story of Zacchaeus is evidence that when there is a provocation to see Jesus, Jesus will end up in our house (heart). Zacchaeus had everything in place not to have a need to see Jesus. He was a tax collector, a rich man; the crowd was a great factor to deny him because he was a short man. Despite all the factors that could deny him, there was a stirring in him that was pushing for his need to see Jesus. He ran ahead of the crowd and he also climbed the tree. God that sees all could not overlook Zacchaeus’ desire to see Jesus. “And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” (Luke 19:5). Provocation that brings Jesus to abide in your house (life) will make you become a living character of Jesus. Encouragement by the word will build you up to become bold in your approach to life. The word of God will build in you the boldness and character that makes man a winner in the race of life.
 
Prayer for today: Father I ask for enablement in gaining the boldness and character that makes man a winner to the glory of Your holy name.

THE SECRET PLACE
Psalm 91

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”(Psalm 91:1) It cannot be imagined, but the best place to dwell while on earth is in the secret place of the Most High God. The secret place of the Most High is not a physical place neither is it in a church building. To understand the secret place of the Most High and to understand what dwelling is about is important in order to march into this wonderful promise of abiding under His shadow. Where is the secret place of the Most High? Psalm 25:14, “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.” The fear of God will unlock the door to the secret place of the Lord. Psalm 33:18, “The eye of the LORD is on those that fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.” Evidently, to be under the watchful eye of God that is not visible to a naked eye is to be in a secret place. What both Psalm 25 and 33 are saying is that the fear of the Lord is what it takes to dwell in the secret place of the Lord. What does it mean to fear God? To fear the Lord is to love the Lord. God wants us to love Him because He Himself is love. Deuteronomy 30:6, “And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.” To fear the Lord is to love Him, and to love Him is to live. Obviously, those that dwell in the fear of God are in His secret place. The word of God called for dwelling, not entering and departing on a regular basis. Dwelling is in the fear of God, which is the secret place of God. The fear of the Lord is all that can make a believer abide under is shadow. Without the fear of the Lord, there will be no abiding. It is possible to claim to be a believer and not dwell in His presence. Take every of His word to heart, what He said to one He says to all. He is a faithful and good God. When you begin to dwell in the secret place of the Most High God no secret or force under heaven shall have it ways against you in the journey of life. 
 
Prayer for today: Ask God to put His fear in your heart for you not to depart Him but to dwell in Him.