STRENGTH FOR MY DAYS
A Daily Devotional by Bishop David
Beyond the Physical
12 November
And Simon answering said unto
him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless
at thy word I will let down the net. Luke 5:5
SCRIPTURE FOR TODAY Luke 5:1-9 9 One
day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were
crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s
edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He
got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out
a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 4
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and
let down the nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard
all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down
the nets.” 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish
that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other
boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that
they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and
said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his
companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,
MORE LESSON Job 42:12-17 12 The
Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had
fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a
thousand donkeys. 13 And he also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 The
first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.
15 Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s
daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their
brothers. 16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his
children and their children to the fourth generation. 17 And so Job died, an
old man and full of years.
In life, never let your
physical reality become your destination. If you want to go higher in life,
step into what is written in the Golden Book (the Bible). In today's text,
Peter realized his level of failure and the insufficiency of his situation. He
said, “We have not caught and we can't catch.” But he didn't stop there: he
transferred that failure, that insufficiency, to Divinity. What was the result
of the transfer? He got more than sufficient. He came with one boat which was
sufficient but went home with two boats which were more than sufficient. So we
have a God who can change our insufficiency to not just having enough, but He
has the capacity to move us beyond enough into the realms of more than enough.
There is no point struggling with what is not working when you are connected to
the One who can help you to turn things around. Peter could have chosen to keep
proving to Jesus that he was a professional fisherman and he would have gone
home with nothing. However, he looked beyond his physical reality and dared to
take Jesus for His word, and was astonished at how things worked out.
When placed side by side the
word of God, man's wisdom, no matter how professional, is in no way a match to
the word of God. The doctor can say that a patient has one week to live whereas
the word of God says that He will satisfy him with long life. If that patient
dares to believe God's word despite his deteriorating health condition, he will
not only live but will fulfil the number of his days to a ripe full age.
However, if a man chooses to dwell on his physical realities, he will make the
word of God of non- effect in his life. So, never let your physical condition
define you.
There is no physical reality
that the word of God cannot overturn. In II Kings 7, the hunger is the land was
so terrible that women agreed to take turns to eat their children. Evidence
exists of the strong ties between mother and children; yet, the situation was
so bad that women were eating their children. However, in the midst of the
situation, the word of the Lord came through the prophet in II Kings 7:1: …Hear
ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a
measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a
shekel, in the gate of Samaria. One of the king's official, who probably was
abreast with the current economic situation doubted the word of God, and even
though he saw its fulfilment, he never tasted of it.
It is better to accept what
God has said rather than doubt and miss out on God's mighty supply. Indeed
nothing is too difficult for Him to do. Let God be true and every medical
report, economic situation, family crisis, etc be a lie.
Prayer/Action
* Pray that you will not be trapped
by what is happening physically around you.
* Receive grace to believe God beyond
physical realities.
*
Pray that the physical realities
will not overwhelm
your faith.
TODAY’S
PROPHETIC PRAYER: By the unquenchable fire of the Holy Ghost, I make a
proclamation that this day and the entire month is a no trouble season, in the
mighty name of Jesus
