Topic: The Inquiring Spirit [DCLM Daily Manna 15 October 2020 Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]

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Text: Job 31:13-23 (KJV)

13 If I did despise the cause of my manservant or of my maidservant, when they contended with me;

14 What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?

15 Did not he that made me in the womb make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?

16 If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail;

17 Or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof;

18 (For from my youth he was brought up with me, as with a father, and I have guided her from my mother’s womb;)

19 If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering;

20 If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;

21 If I have lifted up my hand against the fatherless, when I saw my help in the gate:

22 Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder blade, and mine arm be broken from the bone.

23 For destruction from God was a terror to me, and by reason of his highness I could not endure.

Key Verse: “What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?” – (Job 31:14)

MESSAGE:

The Greek philosopher, Socrates, was said to be a familiar figure in the marketplace. He did nothing other than to ask questions. He would quiz the citizens of Athens, the chief city, trying to convince them of their lack of knowledge. Discussions that followed the posers would then lead them to realise that the only lasting foundations of any community are truth and virtue.

Also Read: Open Heaven 15 October 2020 – The Commandos I

A puzzled Job also benefitted from this tradition of interrogating challenges in order to get solutions. Derided by wife after they had lost their children, wealth, and his health, his friends compounded his woes as they trashed his integrity claim and told him his sin had found him out. According to them, Job was only reaping what he sowed.

This triggered questions in the righteous but suffering Job. Going far back into his past, he said he honoured God by providing for the fatherless and the widow as He commanded. Then his questions: “What then shall I do when God riseth up? and when he visiteth, what shall I answer him?” He was sure his “perfect heart” would please heaven as King Hezekiah did when he pleaded for his life to be spared.

God Himself has said we should produce our cause and “bring forth [our] strong reasons” (Isaiah 41:21). When life-threatening problems plague us, we can allude to how His grace and mercy have sustained us. We can refer Him to how His unfailing promises have lifted us from hopelessness to a new lease of life which has been of benefit to His Church and the brethren. We can remind Him of the great joy we now have through Christ’s presence in us. As a result of all these “strong reasons”, we can go ahead to refute the accusations of the enemy that God has forsaken us and from that point ask Him to prolong our lives for more work for Him.

Thought For The Day: Don’t ask God, why; ask what He wants you to do.

The Bible In One Year: Isaiah 38-41

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.