Open Heaven 10 December 2022
MEMORISE: “And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel was barren.” – Genesis 29:31 (KJV)
BIBLE READING: Isaiah 54:1-8 (KJV)
1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
6 For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.
7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
It is in the nature of the fallen man to blame others for their misdeeds. Right from the beginning in Genesis 3:9-14, when God asked Adam why he had sinned, he said, “It is the fault of the woman you gave me”. God turned to the woman and asked, “Eve, why have you done this?” She responded, “The serpent deceived me”. The only fellow who didn’t give an excuse was the serpent. The serpent could have said, “The devil entered me”, but the animal proved to be more responsible for its actions than man.
When you see a person who is always giving excuses, you have seen a failure. Giving excuses is one major characteristic of failures. In the story of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, the servants who had five and two talents simply gave a report of their trade to the master. The only person who had an excuse was the one who failed. He could have succeeded, but he chose to cook up an excuse; he decided to fail. Anytime you are tempted to give an excuse, remind yourself, “I am not a failure”. If you know that no matter what happens, you will not give an excuse, you would sit up and do your very best. Many people use the government and the state of the economy as excuses for their financial situation, whereas some others are coming out of poverty under the same government and economic situations. Never permit yourself to give excuses at all, unless you want to end up a failure.
If somehow, you were unable to get something right, instead of giving an excuse, own up to your fault. When it goes right, you receive the commendation, so when it goes wrong, you should be prepared to take the blame too. If you arrived late to a meeting and are asked “Why did you come late?” Don’t say, “The traffic was heavy”. You should have researched the route and factored the traffic into your travel time, even if it means you would have to get on the road hours ahead of the meeting. When you are asked, “Why are you not fasting” and you say, “I have issues with my stomach” rather than admitting that you are not disciplined enough to stay away from food, that is an excuse.
Decide today: no more excuses!
PRAYER POINT: Stop giving excuses and you will see the tremendous changes that will happen in your life.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Galatians 4 – Ephesians 1
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – God Controls Fruitfulness – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 10 December 2022
