Open Heaven 20 January 2022
MEMORISE: For his anger endureth but a moment, in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night; but joy cometh in the morning. Psalms 30:5
BIBLE READING: 1 CHRONICLES 4:9-10 (KJV)
47 Come down, and sit in the dust, O Virgin Daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground [in abject humiliation]; there is no throne for you, O Daughter of the Chaldeans, for you shall no longer be called dainty and delicate.
2 Take the millstones [like the poorest female slave of the household does] and grind meal; take off your veil and uncover your hair. Remove your skirt, bare your leg, wade through the rivers [at the command of your captors].
3 Your nakedness shall be exposed, and your shame shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no man [none I encounter will be able to resist Me],
4 [Says] our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel.
5 Sit in silence and go into darkness, O Daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the lady and mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with My people, I profaned My inheritance [Judah]; and I gave them into your hand [Babylon]. You showed them no mercy; upon the old people you made your yoke very heavy.
7 And you said, I shall be the mistress forever! So you did not lay these things to heart, nor did you [seriously] remember the certain, ultimate end of such conduct.
8 Therefore now, hear this, you who love pleasures and are given over to them, you who dwell safely and sit securely, who say in your mind, I am [the mistress] and there is no one else besides me. I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children.
9 But these two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day: loss of children and widowhood. They shall come upon you in full measure, in spite of the multitude of [your claims to] power given you by the assistance of evil spirits, in spite of the great abundance of your enchantments.
Read yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional here
There is a correlation between light and joy just as there is between darkness and sorrow. “Let there be light” can therefore mean “Let there be joy”. There is no joy in darkness; light produces joy unspeakable, full of glory. However, joy is in categories.
There is ordinary joy as we read in our memory verse today. In our Bible reading today we also read about the joy of God’s people when the darkness of wickedness and hatred that arose against them from Haman were quashed.
There is also great joy according to (1 Chronicles 29:9): Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.
In the Scripture above we learn one secret of the great joy of the people. This secret lies in the fact that they offered to the Lord their substance, their praise, willingly and with perfect hearts.
Another lesson is that King David also rejoiced with great joy, which means that great joy is not determined by position, the amount of wealth or level of influence.
Both the king and the ordinary people experienced great Joy. There is, however, another category of joy and that is exceeding great joy.
Matthew 2:10 tells of the exceeding great joy of wise men who were searching for the newborn Saviour of the world. It says “When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy”.
When you discover the Person of Jesus Christ the Saviour, your joy will be unspeakable and exceedingly great. This is also called the joy of salvation.
Peter the Apostle described this kind of joy thus, “But rejoice, Inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy” (1 Peter 4:13).
Sorrow is the opposite of joy and it characterises the life of those who are not born again. Beloved, do you desire joy? Then get out of the darkness of this world of sin and embrace Jesus Christ – the Light of this world.
In John 8:12, Jesus says “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”
PRAYER POINT: If you want unspeakable and exceedingly great joy, come out of the darkness of this world of sin and embrace Jesus Christ the Light today.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EXODUS 9-11
Thank you for studying today’s Open Heaven – Let There Be Light III – written by Pastor Enoch A.
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Open Heaven 20 January 2022
