OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL FOR MAY 2, 2023 (CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION I)
TOPIC : CRITERIA FOR PROMOTION I
MEMORISE: Jeremiah 9:23
Thus says the LORD: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches.
READ: 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
26 For [a]you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many [b]noble, are called.
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;
28 and the [c]base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,
29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
MESSAGE
I have come to discover from my walk with God that He usually promotes the most unlikely people. Our Bible reading for today tells us that the people who qualify for God’s promotion are usually those considered foolish, weak, little and unimportant. These are the kind of people God usually lifts up because He does not want anyone to take His glory.
He does not want anyone thinking it was their achievements that made God choose them for promotion. God chose Saul as the first king of Israel, even though the young man considered himself unworthy (1 Samuel 9:21). When Saul disobeyed and God wanted to promote someone else to his position, He sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons. When Samuel asked Jesse to bring all his sons, David was not summoned because he was considered the least important among his sons.
Jesse obviously thought there was absolutely no way David could be chosen as king, but that was exactly the fellow that God chose. God does not choose those who think they are wise, He chooses the foolish. The moment you think you are the best man for the job, God actually sees you as the worst. You cannot succeed at any divine assignment by your own power and might but only by His Spirit (Zechariah 4:6).
Anytime I travel and have the opportunity to speak with ministers in any nation, they always have one thing that they want me to address and that is the lack of unity amongst them. I often explain to them that the challenge is not that they do not want to be united; rather, it is a question of who will be the leader once they are united? I often go further to say, “If you realise that God usually chooses the foolish one to be the head, you won’t want to be that fellow, because being the head makes it obvious to everyone that you must be the most foolish of them all!”.
Beloved, if you realise that God will only choose the weak, the base, then you won’t struggle for positions. Keep doing exploits from whatever position you find yourself and rely completely on God as your source of help and direction. In due course, He will promote you far beyond your expectations.
Bible in one year: 1 Chronicles 10-12
Hymn 23 Take My Life And Let It Be
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 Oversear of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCGD). 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
