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Open Heavens Daily Devotional 17/05/17 - Religion - Nairaland

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Open Heavens Daily Devotional 17/05/17 by dallyemmy: 4:00pm On May 16, 2017
OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL

DATE: WEDNESDAY MAY 17TH 2017

THEME: BLESSINGS WITH SORROW

Memorise:

And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. Psalm 106:15

Read: Genesis 16:1-5

16:1 Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

16:2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

16:3 And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

16:4 And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

16:5 And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.

MESSAGE:

A lot of people have gotten their finger burnt in the place of seeking an alternative to God’s promise. When God’s promise is seemingly delayed, some Christians do not have the strength of character to keep waiting on the Lord and holding on to His promise; they therefore seek out and accept man’s alternative to God’s precious promises. Not only does man’s alternative take you off God’s course and provide you with quick fixes that cannot really fix anything, they also give you monetary joy that cannot absolve you of sorrow. This was the experience of Sarah. In today’s Bible reading, after Sarah gave her maid, Hagar, to Abraham to raise children through her, she was happy and relieved that her problem of barrenness seemed solved. But her relief soon turned into grief as her happiness became sorrow. Genesis 16:4 says,

“And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.”

Sarah took good care of Hagar, in expectation of using her as a means to an end. For the purpose of child-bearing, she exempted her from the usual chores that her fellow maids would perform. However, the moment Hagar conceived, the tables turned against Sarah. Suddenly, all attention shifted to the new queen of the house. Everyone and everything had to be at her beck and call. She no longer had regard for her mistress. Realizing she now had what Abraham earnestly wanted, she used her pregnancy as an excuse for gross misbehaviour. She took over Abraham’s attention and the poor man hardly even had time for Sarah anymore. When she was disobedient and her mistress tried to correct her, she would simply tell her, “Madam, if you were ever pregnant, you would understand what I am going through. “That was the beginning of Sarah’s sorrow”

When you are tired of waiting for God’s will, plan or timing, and you decided to follow one of the alternatives that comes your way, you will only be hurting yourself. May you not use your own hands to undo yourself! When God blesses you, he removes every form of sorrow from it (Proverb 10:22), but whatever blessing you think you can derive from substituting God’s plan with an alternative will only be short-lived and will definitely come with sorrow. Some people who knew and turned down God’s will in marriage, following the dictates of their flesh, ended up in sorrow. A good number of them are secretly weeping today. They cannot cry out because people warned them before venturing into such marriages, but their ears were deaf to those warnings. In your own interest, take time to find out God’s will for every area of your life and apparently follow it. In years to come, you will understand why that was the best decision you ever made.

Key Point:

It is better not to be blessed, than to be blessed and have sorrow with it.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Deuteronomy 28
Jeremiah 32:1-15

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE

HYMN 9: ON THE HILL FAR AWAY

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suff’ring and shame;
And I love that old cross where the Dearest and Best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it someday for a crown.

2. Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
[Refrain]

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
[Refrain]

4.To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me someday to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
[Refrain]

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Re: Open Heavens Daily Devotional 17/05/17 by Timson01(m): 8:21pm On May 16, 2017
bro more grace ur commitment is stunning

1 Like

Re: Open Heavens Daily Devotional 17/05/17 by GodRACE(m): 12:09am On May 17, 2017
God bless you Sir

1 Like

Re: Open Heavens Daily Devotional 17/05/17 by femoint007(m): 5:55am On May 17, 2017
Prayer Points on Today's Open Heavens: (Wednesday, May 17th, 2017) - BLESSINGS WITH SORROW
1.I worship and adore you, Father, because, good and perfect gifts, come from you.
2.I appreciate you, Father, because, you are the only One, that gives, without adding sorrow.
3.Father, in anyway, l have fallen short of your glory, please, have mercy and forgive me.
4.Father, please, let your Will and your Will alone, be done in my life and destiny, in Jesus' name.
5.Father, give me the grace to keep waiting on you, until your promises, come to pass in my life, in Jesus' name.
6.Father help me to trust and believe you till the end and not to lean on my own understanding.
7.Father, do not allow my happiness to be short lived, please, give me everlasting joy and happiness, in Jesus' name.
8.Father, remove from me shame and reproach, that the heathens, will not begin to ask, where is my God?
9.Father, do not allow the rod of the wicked to rest upon my life , lest l put forth my hands into iniquity, in Jesus' name.
10.Father, for every wrong step and decision, that l have taken in life, that have brought me shame and sorrow, please, give me the grace to restitute and retrace my steps, in Jesus' name.
11.Father, give me the grace and patience, to always follow and accept your counsels and instructions, no matter how foolish, they may appear, in Jesus' name.
12.Your Personal petitions.
( Phil 4:6)
13.In Jesus' name I pray.
(Jn 14:13-14; 15:16)
14.Thank you Father for answered prayers.
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
#GodBlessOurNation

2 Likes

Re: Open Heavens Daily Devotional 17/05/17 by captain247: 8:04am On May 17, 2017
May God bless you

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