OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: MONDAY MAY 1ST 2017
THEME: OVERRIDING DOUBTS
Memorise:
Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? Isaiah 43:13
Read: James 1:5-8
1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
MESSAGE
God can make you laugh when He decides to overrule your doubts. Going by the standard set in today’s Bible reading, if you are double minded over an issue you brought before God, you should not expect anything from Him. However, if you doubt God in a given situation and He overlooks your doubt and grants your petition, know for sure He is doing it solely because of His grace. In Genesis 18:9-15, when God visited Abraham and said his wife Sarah was going to have a baby in nine months’ time, she laughed. She could not believe that she could ever be pregnant at age 90. She laughed because she had never seen such a thing happen before. Are you laughing over God’s promises and declarations over your life? Are you laughing because you have never seen anyone who experienced that kind of miracle? Stop your laugh of doubt and believe God today! Why? If there is no precedent to follow, God can make yours a precedence that others would refer to.
A life of faith is so important to God that four different times in the Bible, He repeatedly said “The just shall live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38). However, as a manifestation of His sovereignty, He also says that whenever He makes up His mind to do something, nobody and nothing can hinder Him – not even your doubts (Isaiah 43:13). I pray that every good plan and purpose of God for your life shall be established in spite of your doubts in Jesus’ Name! We see this truth demonstrated in 2 Kings4:8-17. When Elisha declared to the Shunammite woman that she would have a son after nine months, she replied, “Man of God, please don’t deceive me”. This meant that she did not believe Him. Although Elisha did not say anything after that, God had already spoken, and so the matter was settled. She thereafter, had her baby in accordance to Elisha’s declaration. This season, God will overrule your doubts and give you that expected miracle. There are some people who believe God’s promise for a little while then fall into doubt again. Over the years, they have continuously swung back and forth between faith and doubt and so have not been able to receive God’s promise. This season, by the mercy of the Most High God, the Lord will override our doubts and make the impossible possible in your life in Jesus’ Name. God’s mercy will show up for you today! Your laughing season starts now.
Prayer Point:
Father, in your mercy, override my doubts and every stumbling block on my way, and cause my laughter to begin today.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Numbers 30-31
Jeremiah 23:23-40
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 1: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE
1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
O may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4. When life’s swift race is run,
Death’s cold work almost done,
Be near to me.
Blest Saviour, then, in love,
Fear and distrust remove.
O bear me safe above,
Redeemed and free!