Devotion – Wednesday, 27 January
Dear Readers and Listeners, Friends in Jesus Christ,
Our watch word for today is taken from the words of the prophet Isaiah, Chapter 29 verse 24, “Those who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur and grumble discontentedly will accept instruction.” This chapter is another of the “woe” prophecies of Isaiah. He speaks specifically to Jerusalem whom he calls “Ariel.” The prophet states that God called Abraham from the land of Ur, and rose up a great nation through him. God promised great blessings to this nation, binding Him to them with a covenant. God renamed Abraham’s grandson, (Jacob), to Israel and promised the twelve tribes, his twelve sons, inheritance of land, peace and mercy when they followed His ordinances. However, Israel and the city of the Lord, Jerusalem, have been unfaithful. Notwithstanding, God will not let Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, (who is Israel and Judah), stand ashamed for the unbelief of the generations rose up to be their heirs and their remembrance. God will bring the children and their off-springs back to Him. He will bring them back to His word. He will renew their understanding. He will give them wisdom and change their murmuring and grumbling against Him to true worship.
Our application verse is taken from the book of the Apostle James. Scholars believe James to be the brother of Jesus, and the leader of the Church in Jerusalem, after Peter had to leave the leadership following his imprisonment by Herod. Herod had James the brother of John killed and put Peter in prison. Through the power of the angel of the Lord, Peter escaped from prison and came to greet the church assembling at the home of Mary, mother of John Mark, before going into hiding, according to Acts 12 verses 12 to 19. In the family of Jesus, great leaders of the church rose up and preached the Gospel of the Lord. They ultimately paid the same price as their brother and Lord, namely their lives. James understood the questions being asked by the believers. They were persecuted and did not know how to address these terrible trials that they as believers had to suffer during the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem. This persecution spread through the Roman Empire and lasted for 325 years. James writes that endurance, patience and steadfastness in the faith are gifts from God. Believers must ask for these gifts daily, (James Chapter One verse 4). God gives us wisdom to endure and understand the trials we have to face and makes us able to withstand that which we have to encounter on our faith journey. “If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God, (Who gives) to every one liberally and ungrudging, without reproaching or fault-finding, and it will be given,” James Chapter One verse five, (Amplified Bible).
The journey that we have to travel has been prepared for us through God’s Son, Jesus Christ, who promises us that He has gone ahead of us to prepare the way for us. We do not know what the future holds, but God has our future in His hands. God promises His blessings, these blessings are received in times of turmoil and anguish and times of peace. One enjoys blessings freely in the climate of health, peace and prosperity, but those blessings that God gives in times of pain and sorrow carry with them the sweet smelling fragrance of the crushed rose, the fruit of the grape and the grain of wheat. Sharing in Christ’s afflictions and those of humanity by bringing these to God in prayer, draw us closer to God’s wisdom and grace. He brings His healing without reprimand and His balm without fault-finding. Let us come before the Lord and ask His wisdom.
Father, we thank you for generously giving wisdom to those who come to you and ask. Father, show us your will, your will be done on earth, this we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
