The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 14 August 2024 – TOPIC: CALL ON GOD FIRST
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THE DAILY FOUNTAIN
DAILY DEVOTIONAL OF THE
CHURCH OF NIGERIA (ANGLICAN COMMUNION)
DATE: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024
TOPIC: CALL ON GOD FIRST
32:1. So Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.
32:2. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This [is] God’s camp.” And he called the name of that place Mahanaim.
32:3. Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, the country of Edom.
32:4. And he commanded them, saying, “Speak thus to my lord Esau, ‘Thus your servant Jacob says: “I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now.
32:5. “I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, and male and female servants; and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find favor in your sight.” ‘ “
32:6. Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men [are] with him.”
32:7. So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that [were] with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies.
32:8. And he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the other company which is left will escape.”
32:9. Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’:
32:10. “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies.
32:11. “Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me [and] the mother with the children.
32:12. “For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ “
32:13. So he lodged there that same night, and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother:
32:14. two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams,
32:15. thirty milk camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten foals.
32:16. Then he delivered [them] to the hand of his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass over before me, and put some distance between successive droves.”
32:17. And he commanded the first one, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going? Whose [are] these in front of you?’
32:18. “then you shall say, ‘They [are] your servant Jacob’s. It [is] a present sent to my lord Esau; and behold, he also [is] behind us.’ “
32:19. So he commanded the second, the third, and all who followed the droves, saying, “In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him;
32:20. “and also say, ‘Behold, your servant Jacob [is] behind us.’ ” For he said, “I will appease him with the present that goes before me, and afterward I will see his face; perhaps he will accept me.”
32:21. So the present went on over before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.
THE MESSAGE:
Whether in distressful or merry times, calling on God for help should be our attitude. We can do nothing without Him (John 15: 5). When Jacob received the news of Esau coming to meet Him, the first thing he did was to devise a means of surviving, using his human wisdom (Genesis 32: 7-8). He also prepared three sets of gifts for Esau to obtain his favour.
This is a wrong attitude we must unlearn.
Calling on God must be our first thought when faced with challenges. Our human wisdom can fail us at such times but God’s wisdom can and will save us; we must call on Him to provide us with such wisdom. After using his human wisdom, Jacob prayed and received God’s wisdom to handle the situation (Genesis 32: 9-21). Note that He did not pray for Esau’s destruction but that God should deliver him (Jacob) from Esau, according to the promise He had made to him. God answered his prayer. Praying to God is the surest way of securing deliverance from what you fear will consume you. From today, first pray to God concerning everything before taking a decision. The first thing must be kept first
PRAYER: Father help me to consciously and unconsciously call upon You for help always.
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