Wednesday, 22nd May 2024
Bible Reading: 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10
Memory Verse: We are pressed on every side by troubles, but not crushed and broken. We are perplexed because we don’t know why things happen as they do, but we don’t give up and quit.We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going. 2 Corinthians 4: 8-9 (TLB)
It is not all pains that are bad. Some pains are part of life; some pains are part of your progress, and by extension, part of your destiny journey. You must embrace it if you must keep making progress. Truth be told, it is not everyday you will wake up and feel like doing what you’re meant to do. With your sleepy eyes, you may need to wake up at night to pray. With you aching body, you may still need to prepare your children for school.
With your troubled mind, you may still need to bear the excesses of others. Apostle Emmanuel Iren said, “My definition of victory is not a life void of pain but a life inspite of pain.” Thierry Henry, the great football legend had to endure a painful injury on both of his Achilles heels consistently for 10 years day and night – morning, afternoon and night! He said, “You need to love pain to be an athlete. If not, stay where you are.”
Nobody amount to anything glorious without a price to pay. No wonder Apostle Paul said, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” 2 Corinthians 4: 8-10 (NIV).
Late Kobe Bryant, a famous and foremost basketball player had a litany of injuries – multiple fractured fingers and knees, torn shoulder, ruptured Achilles tendon, and a never-ending array of maladies to his back, hip, and ankles. And through it all, Kobe just kept ferociously competing — and usually winning. After a particularly grueling game, the interviewer queried him, “How are you consistently able to perform, despite all your body has been through?” Kobe took only a brief moment to ponder on the question.
With a shrug of his shoulders and a tilt of his head, he replied, “It’s just pain.” Many are not willing to endure the pain of discipline but want to be great. The pain of discipline is far better than the pain of regret. Do you want to do great and extraordinary things for the Lord after the order of Apostle E.A. Adeboye, Apostle Babalola, Dr. D. K. Olukoya, there is a legitimate pain you must endure.
Do you want to be a great Christian entrepreneur after the order of Strive Masiyiwa, Cosmos Maduka, Stephen Akintayo, etc, there is a pain to endure. As a student, would you want to be outstanding, it will come with a lot of pain of inconvenience. Those who slide into depression or commit suicide after a major set back, shame, or pain will certainly never clinch the pinnacle of destiny. No cross, no pain.
Quote: You can’t defeat a man who doesn’t care about pain, failure, rejection, loss, disrespect, and heartbreak. He is here to win.
Prophetic Decree: Receive grace to win in life despite obvious challenges, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus
1. Say: I am born to win irrespective of what the devil throws at me, in Jesus name.
2. Say: Greater is He that is in Me than he that is in the world. I am unstoppable, in Jesus name.
3. Holy Spirit, please reconstruct my mindset about the pathway to glory, in Jesus name.
4. I will not start to end my destiny in shame, in Jesus name.
5. I will get to the pinnacle of my ministry, academics, career, destiny, and glory whether the enemy likes it or not, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Psalms 95, 97-99