The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 7 January 2024 – Meeting The Conditions
TOPIC: Meeting The Conditions
READ: Psalm 89: 19-30 (NKJV)
- Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one, And said: “I have given help to [one who is] mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
- I have found My servant David; With My holy oil I have anointed him,
- With whom My hand shall be established; Also My arm shall strengthen him.
- The enemy shall not outwit him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
- I will beat down his foes before his face, And plague those who hate him.
- “But My faithfulness and My mercy [shall be] with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
- Also I will set his hand over the sea, And his right hand over the rivers.
- He shall cry to Me, ‘You [are] my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
- Also I will make him [My] firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.
- My mercy I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
- His seed also I will make [to endure] forever, And his throne as the days of heaven.
- “If his sons forsake My law And do not walk in My judgments,
THE MESSAGE:
One thing I find common is our habit of quoting and claiming scriptural verses and applying them to our situations. While this is not wrong in itself, a vital omission is that we do this many times without applying the entire passage in its right context. Sometimes, we omit the condition(s)for the passage and we may be tempted to do the same in today’s reading. God spoke a promise concerning David that the enemy shall not outwit or defeat him (verse 22). The NLT translation says clearly: “His enemies will not defeat him, nor will the wicked overpower him.” This is a promise worth claiming.
However, it is important to note clearly that earlier (in verse 20), there was an important identification of David as God’s servant. A servant is usually under his master; he is one who is under control and cannot do things as he pleases. A true servant does not talk back at his master and is not willfully disobedient. Are you truly a servant of God? A servant of God is not necessarily a preacher on the pulpit, but one who lives his or her life obeying the dictates of our Master, Jesus. Such a person deliberately yields under the controlling hand of the Holy Spirit. For such, God’s firm words stand: His enemies will not defeat him. Before you ‘claim’ a promise next time, check if you meet the condition(s).
