Today’s Reading:
Ps 51; Jonah 3:1-10; Rom 1:1-7
God recognizes our frailties as human beings. He sent his son Jesus to die for our sins. 1 John 1:8-9 says “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (Romans 3:23.) All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. We all have to face some unwanted situations at some point in life. Some are as a result of our own mistakes, some result from other people’s errors; and some are quality control tests from God to build up our faith. David, Jonah, and Paul are some examples of people who got caught in the storms of life.
David repented and became a Man after God’s heart. David encountered storms in his childhood and youthful age because of his divine destiny. His own father appeared to have put him in harm’s way, and left him to face bears and lion as he tended sheep. He faced his problems squarely and destroyed them using the power of God; he tore the lions and bears to pieces. This pedigree prepared him effectively to defeat Goliath roundly and squarely without fear. King Saul unrepentantly pursued him throughout his youthful years because he was destined to be king in place of Jonathan, Saul’s son. David learned to love God and make him his joy. As king his own weakness brought storms and taught him to quickly repent and receive God’s mercy. Psalm 51 was an apology to God and prayer for restoration, even in the midst of pain from the weight of the sin of sexual immorality. Jonah repented and did what God wanted him to do and was able to save Nineveh. Jonah was the architect of his own storm. The greatest lesson he learnt from the storm was that you cannot run away from God or hide from him, and that the only solution is confession and obedience. Paul repented and did marvelous works in Christendom, such that he wrote two- thirds of the New Testament. The Prodigal son repented and his father forgave him. The thief at the cross repented and entered paradise. The Bible says - He that covers his sins shall not prosper. But whoso confesses and forsakes them shall receive mercy. (Proverbs 28:13).
When hunters want to catch an eagle, they put a big hen in a place where the eagle can easily spot it. When the eagle is flying and it sees the hen, it rejoices, then it flies down to pick the hen. Unknown to the eagle, the hen is tied down. When the eagle carries the hen and attempts to fly with it, it pulls hard, triggering a heavy basket that falls over, trapping it there until the hunter comes. The hen is the eagle’s weakness; it cannot resist going for it, so the hunters use that against it. This is the same way the devil traps Christians who fail to deal with their weaknesses. That is why you need to discover and deal with your weakness fast before it destroys you. Dealing with a weakness takes conscious painstaking effort. If your weakness for example is money, you need to consciously resist any temptation to steal. After you have resisted a few temptations to steal and it looks like you have gotten over that weakness, don’t be deceived to relax; stay alert. Moses had one weakness and that was anger. He seemed to have dealt with this weakness as the Bible recorded that he was the meekest man on earth.
However, he relaxed and that same weakness that seemed to have been dealt with was what put him in trouble (Numbers 20:8-12). Just like hunters, the devil is very patient. Once he knows a person’s weakness, he will wait until the person relaxes, then it strikes. David’s weakness was women and that brought a curse upon his lineage such that up until today, the sword has not departed from Israel; the nation is constantly at war. (2 Samuel 12:10). Not dealing with your weakness can bring generational consequences. Stay alert, deal with that weakness and never take the devil’s bait.
OLUKAYODE OLATUNJI
Prayer:
Oh, Lord in your mercy deliver me and my family from generational sin in the name of Jesus.
Oh Lord, any weakness in my life that is causing me to sin, by your power that knows no impossibility remove them in the name of Jesus.
Powers of darkness that is using my generational sin to attack me, oh Lord destroy them in the name of Jesus.
Oh Lord, in your mercy and faithfulness remove from the church every sin that is hindering the movement of your power in the name of Jesus.
Every generational sin, that is covering the glory of Nigeria, be removed by the power of God in the name of Jesus.
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