Tuesday, 19th November, 2024
Bible Reading: Luke 1:80
Memory Verse: And the child continued to grow, and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel. Luke 1:80 (NASB)
Every public victory is a testament of private investment. That elegant building you see dazzling before the public space is a testament to a foundation that could have taken years to construct. Many times we celebrate the glory, but behind the glory is a testimony of pain, years of labour without seeing results, and years of perseverance.
There are days you will have to stand alone. You are alone but not lonely. The only thing that keeps you going is an inner assurance of the Holy Spirit, a revelation God showed you at night, a reverberating word of prophecy, and such like things. Infact, some close Christian friends around you might think that you are taking things too far. Don’t worry, just like Abraham, God calls men alone (Isaiah 51:2). There are days when you will have to go hungry. There are days when no one seems to be seeing what God is showing you. Years of labour in the wilderness! Silent years!! Silent investment!!!
David lived many years in the cave and many years in the wilderness where God trained him in the art of warfare. There, he also trained a group of men who later became ‘the mighty men of David’. Joseph was in obscurity for many years where he was developing capacity and working on himself until his word came (Psalm 105:19). Infact, his father thought he was dead.
Steve Curry is one of NBA’s most successful basketball player. How did he achieve this great feat? Private investment! He makes sure he nets 500 balls successfully everyday as one of his daily routines. Many who celebrate these celebrities do not know the amount of work they do away from the public eyes. Same for Michael Jordan. In his case, he nets 1,000 balls every day.
Similarly, in ministry, the glory of the evangelistic ministry of Charles Finney is as a result the secret labour of Father Nash, who tarried on the altar of prayers until the grip of the devil breaks over the territory.
Challenge: I know you are clamouring for glory as the watchword of this year depicts, but what are you doing in the secret to justify for this? Choose to be a secret labourer. Choose to pay the price for your rise. Nothing happens without a price. Having received a word from the Lord, put in your best efforts. Faith without works is dead. Pay the price for success. Success has a price tag. Labour in the secret. The God who sees you in the secret will reward you in the open in due time.
Quote: Labour precedes glory. Labour to enter into glory.
Prophetic Decree: Receive grace to master your secret place daily, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Hear me O heaven and earth: My life must count, in the name of Jesus.
2. I receive the grace to subject my life to the rigour needed to birth my glory, in Jesus name.
3. I will not leave the threshing floor until I am made, in Jesus name.
4. I refuse to jump out of the potter’s house until He is done with me, in Jesus name
5. I shall manifest with utmost humility in my due season. The journey of 40 days shall not turn to 40 years, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Acts 9-10