WEDNESDAY - 7TH AUGUST, 2024
MORNING WINGS DAILY DEVOTIONAL - Olusola ADEJUMO
NO SOONER IT RISES; NO SOONER IT DIES - Capacity Building Series 007
Jonah 4:10, KJV
"Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night:"
What do you expect if the duration is shorter than expected under its allotted? Then, don't expect longevity. At first, Jonah is exceedingly glad for the shelter provided him by God. Though God teaches him the need for forgiveness through the acts of planting and withering the gourd - shelter given him overnight, yet there are lessons on the need for thoroughness that could be gleaned from here. God confesses to Jonah, "do you do well to be angry? He responds yes! Then God shocks him further by enquiring why he would get angry over a gourd that was planted in a night and had died in a night. If you paid attention to that statement of God, it bears the connotation of "what else do you expect? Were you expecting the gourd that came up suddenly in the night to have lived longer than when it died?" God passes a message to us about the reality of taking time and allowing things to take time when they really require such time for readiness. What doesn't take time or spend its duration always arrive uncooked and unready. Take for instance, a premature baby. Such can't survive unless he's helped by the incubator for awhile. No mother prays giving birth or having an ejection without carrying the pregnancy to term. They don't want the dramas that follow. So, don't let impatience push you to compromising set time of things. Don't seek alternatives outside God that'll bring sorrow eventually to you. Irrespective of the need in your life, learn to wait consistently on God until you can have the testimony of Hannah who says, "for this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of him" (I Sam.1:27). That's what you can boast of and show to all men around.
Don't expect any enduring satisfaction from a gourd that was reared up in a night. NLT says, "and the Lord God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and SOON it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort and Jonah was very grateful for the plant."
Always question what suddenly pops up without roots, ancestry or descent. They mostly are not genuine but have come to raid you of value and your substance. Jonah could have questioned why a plant would suddenly have come up with broad leaves for his shade but he didn't because he was blinded by his need. In his desperateness, he receives with thanksgiving what won't last. However, God soon arranged for worms to eat it off. As such, it withers away. That's the destiny of anything that comes up quickly in the night. They're destined to pass out as soon as they are revealed. It will go the way it comes. You shouldn't expect any lengthy expectancy from such. On this note, may I warn you that "every good and every perfect gift comes from God, with whom there's no variableness" (James 1:17). Don't seek 'quick wealth' or an unlawful quick means of rising to the detriment of your soul. Wait, work hard and observe all righteous principles and work ethics until God raises you up. Don't sleep or bribe your way through the ranks. Let things take their set time. Your set time can't be too depressive to bear. It's the time your blessing would fit you. As such, you'll have grown to equate with it. Have you observed that those who don't work for their wealth spend it carelessly? Consider those who win lottery. The money they win that quickly goes swiftly same way also. As a matter of fact, their end is always worst than their beginning. Why? They have no root, depth or thorough education to sustain their overnight wealth. They have neither learnt investment nor understood how money works. Rather, they're of the belief that it shall reoccur. As such, they lose all.
Christian, God is calling you to the emulation of what is right and godly. Hold unto the process. When it matures, it'll mature you. The Bible says, "but let patience have its full effect, that ye may be whole lacking in nothing" (James 1:4). Overnight success is a mirage. They don't impart wisdom by which the owner could court it.
PRAYER: You have warned me to warn others. Make me a preacher of right process.
1-YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN
Romans 9:30-10:1-21 & Psalms 78
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