Open Heaven 17 December 2019 Tuesday Daily Devotional By Pastor E. A. Adeboye
Topic: Principles of Success
Memorise: “Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established:” – Proverbs 24:3
Read: Proverbs 6:6-11 (KJV)
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Bible in One Year: Psalm 144-150, Zechariah 4:1-5:4
MESSAGE:
Knowledge is considered to be powerful, because it is a major factor that controls the decision-making process and therefore ultimately determines the course of a person’s life. How much you know determines your ability to make the right decisions about a subject matter. Based on this, Proverbs 1:29-31 says that those who despise or detest knowledge do so to their own peril. To this end, Hosea 4:6 says:
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”
The wisdom you need in taking those crucial decisions is available to you in the written and spoken word of God. If you know more about God and His word, it will help you to make error-proof choices and decisions. God can choose to speak to you on the way to go through the Bible or through prophetic utterance of genuine men and women of God. How much time do you set aside for studying the Bible? Some think it is a waste of time to undertake personal Bible studies at night while others are sleeping. This is not so; you are actually gaining time by doing this. When you give priority to God’s word, you will realize that you spend far less time and effort in reaching your goal compared to those who don’t. That is why God told Joshua not to allow the knowledge of His word elude him, so that he would achieve good success (Joshua 1:8).
Every Christian needs to know that dependence on worldly knowledge can lead to failure, but godly knowledge guarantees success. Biblical knowledge is a combination of scientific, philosophical, psychological and spiritual knowledge, and it is superior to any other kind of knowledge. However, the knowledge of God’s word is not enough; doing what it says is much more important. James 1:25 says:
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”
Today’s Bible reading establishes another principle of success that says there is wisdom in hard work and saving for the raining day. Those who are lazy cannot amount to anything. Also, those who are hardworking but eat both their food and seed, especially their tithes and offering, cannot walk in the realm of God’s covenant blessings. Apart from sowing seeds, you need to invest for the rainy day. Ants should not be wiser than men, but God in His wisdom directs us to them today to obtain knowledge on the principles of success. May the Lord help us to be wise in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer Point: Father, please endow me with wisdom from Your Spirit-illuminated word, so that I may gain wisdom for a successful life.
Hymn 3: Trust And Obey
1 When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Chorus:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
2 Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3 Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
4 But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5 Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
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