Open Heaven 24 January 2019 Thursday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye
Topic: Benefits of Waiting on the Lord
Memorise: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”- Isaiah 40:31
Read: Daniel 2:10-23 (KJV)
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.
Bible in One Year: Luke 1, Isaiah 23
MESSAGE:
Many blessings are attracted to the lives of those who wait on the Lord. The story in today’s Bible reading shows what it means to wait on the Lord. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that he could not remember, and this created a problem that was impossible for man to solve. Naturally, the king took his problem to his “wise men” and astrologers, expecting a swift solution from them. He was however shocked by their response to his problem. In Daniel 2:10-11, the astrologers and “wise men” said to the king:
“10…There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
The king was furious at this response, and in his rage, he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon, including Daniel and his colleagues. Faced with this dilemma, Daniel and his friends waited upon the Lord, who alone could solve the great problem they were confronted with. Not only did the Lord reveal the hidden dream to them, He also gave them its interpretation. Some of the secret benefits of waiting upon the Lord and seeking His face in prayer, praise and adoration with total submission to His Lordship are revealed in Daniel’s prayer in today’s Bible text.
From Daniel and his friends, we learn that sometimes waiting upon the Lord at night is more effective than during the day time (Daniel 2:19). This is so because there are fewer things to distract us at night. Job 33:14-16 says:
“14 For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; 16 Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,”
Furthermore, we also learn that waiting upon the Lord gives us access to divine wisdom, knowledge and understanding. When we wait on the Lord, secret information from the throne room of heaven is released to us, and hidden things are laid bare before us. Finally, note that Daniel was only described as one of the “captives of Judah” (Daniel 2:25). What a lowly description for a man who was to later deliver all the “wise men” of Babylon from death. The lesson here is that your current situation does not diminish the grace of God upon your life; neither can your present location determine the extent you can get to, provided you learn to wait upon the Lord. As you wait upon the Lord from today, you will never know limitations again in Jesus’ Name.
Action Point: Cultivate the habit of waiting upon the Lord in praise, worship and prayer regularly and you will be loaded with the abundant blessings it attracts.
Hymn 7: My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less
1 My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus Christ, my righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
Chorus:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
2 When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
3 His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
4 When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
In Him, my righteousness, alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
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