Time With Christ: 26 January 2015 Monday, daily devotion - Cure for Defeat

Topic: Cure for Defeat (Monday, January 26, 2015)

Memorize: Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. - Psalm 51:1

Read: 1 Kings 21:17-29

17 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

18 Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it.

19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,

22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.

23 And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

24 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house.

MESSAGE:
When a man continues to transgress the law of God, he becomes a profane person, and unless he quickly retraces his steps to the Word of God, he may suffer permanent defeat like Samson who died with his enemies. I pray for someone using this devotional, you will not die with your enemies in Jesus’ Name. If you have suffered defeat due to carelessness, the Lord is interested in getting you back on your feet. The road-map for your recovery can be found in the manufacturer’s manual - the Bible. Let’s take a look at the Bible therefore to see how you can recover from a defeat.

The first thing you need to do is to pay close attention to the voice of the Lord (Deuteronomy 28:1). If you are in a state of defeat, the Lord will send a word to you on how to get out of that state. This word could come through the Bible, through His messengers or by Him speaking directly to your spirit. But you need to be listening in order to hear and recognise His voice. One problem of modern day so-called Christians is their non-readiness to listen to the voice of the Lord. The reason for this is not far-fetched. It is because the word of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18). Some people have erred to the extent that they teach people not to pay attention to the epistles any more. To them, the contents of the epistles are meant for the original audience to whom they were written and not for those in the 21st century. To come out of your state of defeat, you are not only to pay close attention to the Word, you must also be diligent enough to observe and follow its instructions.

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” - Revelation 2:5

This is another thing you must do to pull yourself out of any defeat you may have suffered. David knew this secret and he employed it to his advantage. My prayer for you is that, in whatever area you have suffered defeat, the Lord will restore and grant you permanent victory in Jesus’ Name.

Action Point: Take a spiritual inventory of your life and determine in what areas you need revival. Call upon God to revive you in these areas.