Becoming Mighty Indeed

STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS 

A Daily Devotional by Bishop David

Becoming Mighty Indeed

Saturday, 7 December

Memory Verse: Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight. Psalm 144:1

SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY: II Samuel 23:1-18 1 Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, 2 The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. 4 And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain. 5 Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. 6 But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands: 7 But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place. 8 These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away: 10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil. 11 And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines. 12 But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory. 13 And three of the thirty chief went down, and came to David in the harvest time unto the cave of Adullam: and the troop of the Philistines pitched in the valley of Rephaim. 14 And David was then in an hold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate! 16 And the three mighty men brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: nevertheless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the LORD. 17 And he said, Be it far from me, O LORD, that I should do this: is not this the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mighty men. 18 And Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief among three. And he lifted up his spear against three hundred, and slew them, and had the name among three.

MORE LESSON: II Samuel 23:19-29 19 Was he not most honourable of three? therefore he was their captain: howbeit he attained not unto the first three. 20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man, of Kabzeel, who had done many acts, he slew two lionlike men of Moab: he went down also and slew a lion in the midst of a pit in time of snow: 21 And he slew an Egyptian, a goodly man: and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, and slew him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and had the name among three mighty men. 23 He was more honourable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard. 24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah the Harodite, Elika the Harodite, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh the Tekoite, 27 Abiezer the Anethothite, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai the Netophathite, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah, a Netophathite, Ittai the son of Ribai out of Gibeah of the children of Benjamin,

The Bible makes it clear that David was mighty in words and in deeds (Acts 7:22). Gideon was a mighty man of valour (Judges 6:12), and Boaz was a mighty man of wealth (Ruth 2:1). The Lord our God Himself is mighty in battle (Psalm 24:8). It is recorded that Jesus did so many mighty works when He was on earth (Mark 6:2).

Similarly, God wants to make you mighty in life; He wants to make you truly great. Genesis 26:13-14 testified of Isaac: ...Isaac sowed in that land and received in the same year a hundred-fold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks and possession of herds and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. Isaac grew great, went forward, and became mighty; that shall be your testimony, in Jesus name.

You can see from the life of Isaac that becoming mighty is a process so prepare your mind to go through the process. If you are willing and obedient, God will make you mighty in the land. The following are some hints on what it takes to be mighty.

(1) Focus: discover your purpose in life, your calling, your vision, and what your passion is. Develop yourself along that line, focusing on and following the leading of the Lord step by step and you will soon be reckoned with among the great.

(2) Training: our text today shows that David was taught, trained and nurtured by God. Get into real training for your life assignment and needs. Invest the needed time, money, and patience. Train to become mighty.

(3) Preparation: Jotham became mighty because he prepared his way before the Lord His God (II Chronicles 27:6). It is said that proper preparation prevents poor performance. Whatever you want to do or to be, take your time to diligently prepare, and you will surely finish right on top.

(4) Practice: becoming mighty certainly starts with thinking but it does not end there. You must put legs to your thoughts; act on your vision. Practise what you have learnt and put into effect what you trained for. Execute the plan you have prepared, and you will make it great.

(5) Consistency: it is moving steadily towards your goal. Doing what you have to do when you feel like it and when you don't. There is power in consistency; it makes the difference between the great and the mediocre. Put all these into practice and God will give you the desires of your heart.

Prayer/Action

* Give thanks to God because He wants you to be mighty.

* Ask that the spirit of wisdom and diligence will move you to become mighty indeed.

* Ask the Lord to send destiny helpers to you.

TODAY’S PROPHETIC PRAYER: I receive access into this new month by the blood of the Lamb, in Jesus' powerful name.

© Strength for My Days by Bishop David Bakare - All Rights Reserved