Open Heaven 4 February 2025: No Room For Laziness
MEMORISE: Proverbs 19:15
Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.
READ: Proverbs 24:30-34
30 I went by the field of the slothful*, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered it well*: I looked upon it, and received instruction.
33 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
34 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional Here
Some people think that they can become successful without working hard. I was at a students’ programme, and I became alarmed when some students were said to have spent all their time praying and fasting instead of spending time to study and prepare for their exams. When I inquired further, they said that they believe that the Holy Spirit would help them. They cited my experience about the Holy Spirit teaching me how to solve a complex mathematical problem from the Bible. I told them that I had already studied, laboured, and battled with 186 simultaneous equations for 18 months before the solution was revealed to me through a Scripture in the Bible.
The work of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of what we have learned. Therefore, you should start every endeavour by putting in the required effort. If you fail to prepare and work hard, you will fail, and the Holy Ghost will console you. In God, there is no room for laziness.
Hard work and diligence are vital to getting to the top. While we must pray, fast and study the word, we cannot do away with hard work. Great men work hard: that is why they turn out great.
Beloved, staying at the top is more difficult than getting there. It takes greater effort to remain a champion than to become one. A philosopher once said, “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”
Proverbs 22:29 says that diligent men stand before kings. If you are not diligent, you will not get anywhere. You cannot afford to fold your arms and expect God to work for you. Paul said that he planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase. If they did not plant or water, they would not have received any increase from God (1 Corinthians 3:6). If Paul, the great apostle, laboured fervently and diligently, then you have no excuse to be lazy.
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” – John 9:4
The Scripture above are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. If our Lord worked and diligently did the will of the Father, every believer must follow suit. Just like Him, we must also do the works of Him that has sent us, and to do them successfully, we must steer clear of idleness and laziness.
REFLECTION:
Are you diligent in everything that you do?
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Leviticus 22-23
Open Heaven 4 February 2025
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