LIFEWAY CHRISTIAN CENTRE:
#DAILY #DEVOTIONAL
THE WORD FOR TODAY
MONDAY, 23/10/2017

#TOPIC: OVERCOMING LIFE CHALLENGES (PT 1)

#TEXT: 1 Samuel 30:1-3, 18-19 (KJV)
1 And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire;
2 And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the city, and, behold, it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
18 And David recovered all that the Amalekites had carried away: and David rescued his two wives.
19 And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them: David recovered all.

#MESSAGE:
Beloved, are you in any crisis situation right now? Hear me, you are not the first. There were people before you who found themselves in more complex situation and yet they overcame it through God. You too can overcome that crisis, if only you stay on God's side.

# Many are getting it wrong like David first did. 1 Samuel 30:4 (KJV) Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
Friends, If you are in crisis situation, weeping or crying does not solve your problems, it can only increase your blood pressure making you depressed and hypertensive. David and his people almost wept themselves to death, but this did not bring back the people taken captives. Weeping glories Satan, not God.

# Beloved, are you presently grieved, depressed, and on the verge of committing suicide or something funny? David was in a similar situation,( 1 Samuel 30:6a (KJV) And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved) but he was able to overcome this.

# But in that same verse we saw that: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.
If you follow the steps of David, you shall surely overcome your present grief, depression, and anxieties in Jesus name.

# Dear friend, In whom are you encouraging yourself, when you are in crisis? Is it false prophets, your riches, friends, wisdom, or power? None of this can handle life crisis for you. Hear it again;‘But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God'. In other words, David looked up to the God of heavens when he was in crisis. The first step you need to take to overcome your crisis, is to hand over the burden to the burden bearer and crisis solver.
Tomorrow, I shall be showing to us the subsequent strategies David engaged.

#PRAYER
Father, I look up to You this morning, I encourage myself in Your Word and Power against every crisis facing me, deliver me in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

LIFEWAY CHRISTIAN CENTER:
#DAILY #DEVOTIONAL
THE WORD FOR TODAY
WEDNESDAY, 25/10/2017

#TOPIC: OVERCOMING LIFE CHALLENGES (PT 2)

#TEXT:
Psalms 34:19 (KJV). Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

1 Samuel 30:7-8 (KJV). And David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod. And Abiathar brought thither the ephod to David.
8 And David enquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

#MESSAGE:
Beloved, when life throws some difficult curves at you, you, have a choice of how to deal with them. We saw it yesterday that David made the right choice of looking unto to God and not trusting in his armies or experience.

# Difficult times are easier dealt with when Christ is in the boat with you. Phil. 4:13. Jesus helps us bear our burdens if only we ask him. 1 Peter 5:6–7. So when life throws those curves and you find yourself straining at the oars, don't forget to stop, and look unto Jesus.

# Today, we are looking at the next strategy of David, before that, its important i emphasis his first right move again. Of course, he did not just look up unto a strange God, but he encouraged himself in His God. Take note; "his God". But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God’- verse 6. David could encouraged himself in the Lord because he had a relationship with God. He was a child of God, and ran to his father for help in trouble. If you are not a child of God, your father would not listen to you in trouble. Another step you need to take to overcome your afflictions and crisis situations is to become a born again Christian. When you surrender your life to God, it includes your burdens, yokes, challenges, crisis, and difficulties.
‘
# Dear friends, another secret of overcoming crises is seeking the face of God. The Holy Spirit is the revealer of secrets and knows both the causes of your problems as well as the solutions. You need to enquire from the Lord the way out of your problems. David was able to overcome because, he enquired from the Lord, and God told him the way out.
And David enquired of the Lord’- verse 8. It goes without saying that before you can enquire of the Lord, you should have a relationship with God. God would not respond to your prayers, unless you are walking in righteousness. God keeps silent when several people call to him in troubles, because their hands are full of sin and iniquities. The days of trouble shall surely come, from time to time, but you need to walk with God always to be able to overcome the challenges of life, and these evil days through divine guidance.

#‘Pursue, for thou shall surely overtake them, and without fail recover all’ verse 8. Another lesson form this story is that you must be willing to PURSUE if you wish to overcome your problems. Many of us are docile, lazy, fatalistic, and fearful. David pursued his enemies, fought them, overcame them, and recovered all. If he did not pursue, he would not have overtaken. If he did not overtake, he would not have recovered. Depending on your circumstances, the act of pursuing may be different from what David did. But you need to take steps to move forward. You need to challenge powers that are oppressing you. You need to fight to recover your lost fortunes.

#NOTE: Restoration may not fall on your laps unless you engage in a divine fight.


#PRAYER
Father, I cherish my relationship with You. Help me to stay connected to you irrespective of the storm of life, that i may enquire and receive divine direction from You in Jesus mighty name. Amen!