DCLM Daily Manna 18 February 2021 Devotional by Pastor W. F Kumuyi – Advancing Through Adversity
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Topic: Advancing Through Adversity (DCLM Daily Manna 18 February 2021)
Text: Exodus 5:15-23 (KJV)
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.
17 But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.
18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.
20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21 And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
22 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
Key Verse: “Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks” (Exodus 5:18).
MESSAGE:
“Every cloud has a silver lining” is an age-long saying. Unknown to most oppressors, great things usually emerge during crises and adversities, and at such times, the best of man often easily becomes obvious. One thing was not clear to both the oppressors and the oppressed, and that is, those undergoing oppression should have the right attitude. What if God, in His wisdom, permitted the oppressors in order to strengthen the Israelites for the wilderness journey?
The “cloud” over the children of Israel at this time, as in the text, was the hard task they were to endure under the leadership of a new Pharaoh who neither knew Joseph nor reckoned with his great achievements in Egypt. Their task became harder after Moses informed Pharaoh of their intention to go and sacrifice to God in the wilderness. Pharaoh considered the request to be borne of idleness and instructed the taskmasters to stop giving them straws required for the daily tale of bricks.
Believers must be patient in adversity while reflecting on God’s past faithfulness. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. At such time, you should hold on to the Lord because He has power to turn all adversity to triumph. The secret of advancement in adversity is to hold on to your faith in God and refuse to commit sin. Job upheld his faith and integrity before God while he went through adversity in spite of his friends’ wrong assumption and accusation of him being unrighteous. He prayed for his enemies instead and God turned around his captivity.
We must be careful how we interpret our current experiences of hardship, lack, sickness, ill-treatment and victimisation. Remember, “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Through adversity comes advancement.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Luke 5-6
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria. https://dclm.org/