FRIDAY - 29TH JULY, 2022
MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE - Olusola ADEJUMO
MY PRAYER FOR YOU
Read Exodus 17:8-13
Genesis 49:23-24, KJV
"23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)"
God, this is the kind of help I need from you because I know life will battle me and I must battle it! Winning is undebatable. Aren't you praying the same? How could the bow of Joseph still remain firm though the archers were constantly at him grieving him? So, despite all, he remains stable, untattered and never doused.The billows of life will beat. Temptation shall come. Persecution shall arise. Will your bow still abide in strength? Will your faith withstand the test or you'll backslide? Some Christians couldn't weather the economy so they begin to join the heathen to gain from the spoil of bribery and corruption. God is here to make you see that human endurance or will can't trek long distance except he is supernaturally aided. While it is part of the gifts of the Spirit to have long-suffering yet we know that all human beings have their breaking point. That Joseph was never broken was because God made his arm strong. So much more that it looked he was never wearied or thought once of giving up. What God does is that even if you near the breaking point, you won't still break. You will always return, recover and stay on in the fight. You remember Moses on the hill. He was holding his rod. For as long as he is unweary, Israel keeps winning. Whenever he tires and the rod falls below, the Amalekites ruins them. To prevent this, a stone was put for him to sit while Aaron and Hur were given him to help steady his hand. Why would the hands of Moses begin to go down? He was wearied. There's nothing so strong about human endurance. Each of us has our breaking point. However, you may have the testimony of "not ever beaten" though "severally threatened."
Don't forget, archers are frustrators. They begin with Joseph when they got intimidated and jealous of his future. He was sold into slavery with the believe that they shall see how those his dreams shall come to pass. However, it didn't end there. At Egypt, he was sold to Potiphar. God being with him, he became head of the slaves. Not long, Joseph was accused of rape, not of a maiden in the house but the madam. That's how he was hauled into jail. Now, why didn't Joseph break down (visibly to all eyes to see) despite all these series of events? Why did it seems he persisted until he fulfilled his destiny? It even never showed David had a rough day to our minds because he was eventually victorious. It may all the same look as if he only cruised through life to that height. The reason is simple. God was the one who made his bow to be steadied. I know some of you are fans of action movies. You must have watched movies on battles of arrows. When archers are shooting arrows, it makes sense to dodge and fire back. That's why they use the shield. The imagery being portrayed here of Joseph however is that of Moses holding a staff but the staff in Joseph's case remains steady despite the rigour. Don't forget, when Aaron and Hur assisted Moses, his arm was steadied also. The same way, God assisted Joseph to steady his bow and make his arm strong. How? By giving him breaks. One, after being sold by his brother who have the belief of his having been forever forsaken, we were told God was with him and he quickly found favour with Potiphar and became the head of his house. Isn't that good news? He's still a slave but one with dignity and hope of a good tomorrow. Break two came when he was hauled into prison by the grieving of another archer but kept hope alive that the butler would mention him to Pharaoh. So, God orchestrated and built into Joseph's journey resting points. This made his bow to be steady and his arm strong to handle the next challenge to come.
I once visited "Idanre Hills" in Ondo State, Nigeria. The hills have 682 steps from the ground with five resting places when I visited. Why the resting places? It's for tourists to make a stop, catch their breath before continuing their climbing. That's exactly what God did for Joseph. If not, who's that man who archers, grievous archers would face and won't break. Frustration of the soul can make one say, "enough is enough. I have tried." May you not justify yourself to your failure. However, God made Joseph look like a wonder to the world. So much more that when his brothers finally meet him, they wondered how he made it. Slavery was not seen upon him. He has not been singed. They never knew it was God's doing and provision that made him such a strong incollapsable building. If it were human strength, he'll have entered into the point if no return. But whenever he nears it, hope always shine for him to encourage him that, "and there's an expected end." Who am I sent to as God's anointed prophet today? I declare that you'll withstand every grievous archers' doings. Is it jealousy, petty envy, hatred, persecution or even enchantment, you shall become outstanding and victorious because He who strengthened Joseph's arm shall strengthens yours. You may indeed experience those things but your covenant position is "when you pass through the water, it shall not overwhelm you and through the fire, it shall not kindle on you (Isa. 43:2)."
PRAYER: Lord, steady me against what life, the economy, politics and the state of my nation may throw at me. Also against what enemy of destiny and dreams may do.
BIBLE IN A YEAR: 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21; Romans 11:13-36; Psalm 22:1-18; Proverbs 20:7
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