ESOCS Devotional 23 June
TEXT: EZEKIEL 18:14-32
MEMORY VERSE: “Now, lo, if he begat a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like.” Ezekiel 18:14 KJV
It is of utmost importance that we live purposefully and accurately. God never created anybody to be wasted nor did He create anybody to be irrelevant. Nevertheless, there are enemies of destiny that want to make people’s lives miserable and wasted. Some of them are lack of self-control and a life of indiscipline; a life in which anything goes, which renders people useless. A care-free life also destroys destiny. The desire to maintain the status quo of an evil lineage is a great problem too; lacking the power to break loose and do what is right is a major ruin on destiny, is also a major issue. That those ahead of you did wrong things does not automatically give you the license to tread on the same path. The slogan “as it was in the beginning, is now, and evermore shall be” does not apply to sin. In fact, that your fathers went astray is the more reason you should apply caution to your life and live with a sense of responsibility. Things about self-control and discipline are:
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
- There can be no destiny actualization without discipline: A key example is Esau, who sold his birthright for a plate of porridge. Because Esau had no discipline, he aborted his destiny. He could not say no to his stomach and that ruined his life and destiny. What you fail to say no to today may be instrumental to your destruction tomorrow. Reuben could not say no to his flesh and that cost him the right of a first-born. He also lost his right to double portion of inheritance. Discipline help to midwife destiny fulfilment. People who lack discipline often abort or destroy their destiny or themselves in their destiny. Few examples are Samson, Saul, Judas, etc.
- If you cannot control yourself, you can never control your destiny: If you cannot control yourself when it comes to anger, the opposite sex, food, sleep etc, and then you cannot control your life and destiny. Until you are ready to change something inside you, you cannot change anything else. There are people who are trying to change the world, without knowing that they are the ones that need to be changed. For example, a man may want to change his wife without knowing that if changes, his wife would change.
- Self-control is a product of the mind: When a man cannot control his mind but allows everything to enter and dwell in it, his life would be out control. That would not be your portion, in Jesus name. Amen.
BOTTOM LINE: The extent to which you discipline yourself is the extent to which you can go in destiny fulfilment.
CHALLENGES
- Resolve and be determined not to follow the wrong steps of your ancestors or other people.
- Be disciplined enough to maintain the right way of life.
- Never compromise discipline and self-control for a sinful pleasure that will not stand the test of time.
- Protect your destiny by disciplining yourself today.
PRAYER POINT: Lord, I am grateful for this wise counsel, forgive my acts of indiscipline, kill every trait of evil inherent in my life, and grant me the grace to be disciplined and have self-control, in Jesus name. Amen.
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 19:1-14; Acts 4:14-26; 4:27-37
