OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR AUGUST 25, 2023  (THE BLESSING AND THE BLESSER)
 

TOPIC : ”THE BLESSING AND THE BLESSER

MEMORISE: Luke 12:15

And he said unto them, Take heed and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of t h i n g s w h i c h h e possesses.

READ: Deuteronomy 8:11-20

11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are [a]full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them;

13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart [c]is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

15 who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; 16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— 17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’

18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may [d]establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

19 Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. 20 As the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.

MESSAGE

If I were to ask you, “Which do you consider more important – the blessing or the Blesser?” you are likely to say it is the Blesser. However, there are millions of self-professing Christians around the world today who prioritise God’s blessings above the One who blessed them in the first place.

When you begin to choose your job over God, you are prioritising the blessing over the Blesser. I want you to do an honest check within yourself now: which one have you been prioritising – the blessing or the Blesser? The unfortunate thing about prioritising the blessing over the Blesser is that the Blesser can withdraw His blessings at any time.

In 1 Samuel 16:1, God told Samuel to stop pleading on Saul’s behalf because He had given the throne to someone else. In Genesis 48:20, we see how Jacob blessed Ephraim above his older brother Manasseh. Ephraim eventually became ten times more successful than his brother (Deuteronomy 33:17). However, when success came, Ephraim forgot God (Psalm 78:9-11).

God kept sending prophets to Ephraim, but he refused to listen to the Blesser. After some time, God said, “Let him alone” (Hosea 4:17). By the time we get to Hosea 5:9, God said that Ephraim would be desolate. Ephraim lost his blessings because he prioritised them above the Blesser.

When success comes, don’t forget God because He has the power to give and to take away. When I became General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, I decided by faith that God would feed everyone that came for our annual convention.

One of the young men who was a baker said he would provide the bread for breakfast. He later on changed his mind and decided not to supply us with bread as he had promised because he didn’t like a message I preached. God however, sent help to us and we were able to purchase the bread we required. Years later, my baker friend appeared at my house very early one morning. I said, “What can I do for you? You came very early”.

He said he would have come earlier but one of his tires got flat and he didn’t have a spare. This was a man who used to have numerous cars; now, he didn’t even have a spare tire because he placed the blessing above the Blesser. Beloved, focus on the Blesser and not the blessing.

Bible in one year: Ezekiel 5-8

Hymn 18 Praise To The Lord The Almighty

About The Devotional.

The Open Heavens is One of The Most Wildly Read Devotionals in The World. It is written by Pastor E. A Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG). The Open Heavens Devotional is designed to fill you daily with God’s word, and keep you inspired, encouraged, and uplifted. It includes Open Heavens devotionals, Teens Open Heavens devotionals, and many more