EVEN THE MEEK CAN BE OFFENDED: OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL, 28TH JUNE 2018

MEMORISE:

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30

READ:       Numbers 20:1-12

1Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!

4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?

5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.

7 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.

10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

MESSAGE

One reality of life that many people, particularly children of God, find difficult to believe is that a meek person can be offended. People who are meek are assumed to always be calm and saint-like, and hence people around them then to take them for granted and abuse them in many ways.

We all know that meekness is a constituent of the fruit of the Spirit, but our memory verse clearly show that the Holy Spirit can also be offended.

Although Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as the meekest among all men on the face of the earth, in today’s Bible reading, this same man got upset that instead of speaking to the rock as God commanded, he struck it with the rod twice, to the Lord’s displeasure. The consequence of this outburst of anger and frustration by Moses was grievous: the Lord rebuked him and denied him entrance into the Promise Land, after forty years of laboring hard to lead all the Israelites from Egypt.

The key lesson we need to learn from Moses’ experience is that our brethren or leaders are all still living in human bodies, and so we need to be sensitive to their humanity and not overstretch them because we believe that as meek people, they will not break. Another lesson is that the meek should not allow themselves to be solely people-driven; they should instead focus on following the instructions given by God.

While we live in this human body, we will always experience offence of provocations from different sources. However, we need to exercise self-control, which is another constituent of the fruit of the Spirit, in all situations. The Bible is clear that only the foolish burst out in anger; you must refuse to be foolish. Proverbs 14:17a says,

 “He that is soon angry dealeth foolishly”

Beloved, what are you known for? Are you the kind of person that engages in confrontation with everyone, or are you known to be an example of someone who manifests the fruit of the Spirit?



PRAYER POINT:

Spirit of the Living God, please manifest more of your self-control in my life everyday in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Chronicle 13-15

Acts 18:24-19:20

AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE



HYMN 15: NEARER MY GOD TO THEE.

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E’en though it be a cross that raiseth me,
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

Though like the wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness comes over me, my rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I’d be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

There let me see the sight, an open Heaven;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy given;
Angels to beckon me nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!

Then, with my waking thoughts bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I’ll raise;
So by my woes to be nearer, my God, to Thee. Nearer to Thee!