THE LIVING WATER DAILY DEVOTIONAL GUIDE For April 1, 2022 (DO NOT BE A DESTROYER)
TOPIC: DO NOT BE A DESTROYER
Read Exodus 15:1-9
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
2 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
3 The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone.
6 “Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.
8 And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’
MEMORISE:
Those who see you will gaze at you, and consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness and destroyed its cities…?’ (Isaiah 14:16,17a).
EXPOSITION
There seems to be presently a social trend towards total annihilation–the mentality to destroy other persons, businesses, professions, homes, etc. to “make it,” and an insatiable desire to destroy all that is good and godly to spite the Maker! Look at the irony in the words of Chris Hedges: “We now live in a nation where Religions destroy morals; Universities destroy knowledge; Doctors destroy health; Lawyers destroy justice; Media destroy information; Families destroy values; Politicians destroy polity; Governments destroy the governed; Banks destroy economy.”
A Russian anarchist, Mikhail Bakunin (1814-876), had since the beginning of the evil revolution confessed: “Our mission is to destroy and not to build or edify. The passion of destruction is a creative passion.” Karl Marx also said that the “demon of ambition” is a propelling factor towards this infernal desire. He even sometimes expressed worry concerning a great temptation that was then weighing-in on him to “rebel (inveigh) against Deity and curse mankind!” Destroying things, most especially that should have been useful to God and humanity is a Satan-induced spirit that every right-thinking, heaven-conscious person should avoid like a plague.
The “enemy” in today’s devotional text had said long ago, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them’ (Exod. 15:9). This shows that every initiative to destroy others is an enemy spirit. Refer to today’s Memory Scripture as well.
Paul admonishes that we should ‘abstain from every form of evil’ (1 Thess. 5:22; cf. Eph. 4:29; 5:7-9). Don’t be a destroyer! You can’t withstand the consequences: ‘If anyone defiles’ (destroys) ‘the temple of God’ (not just the temple alone, but anything God creates for our good), God will destroy (extinguish, terminate, annihilate) him (1 Cor. 3:17).
PRAYER POINTS
1. I am an agent of goodness and righteousness, and not of destruction of values, truth and holiness, in Jesus’ name. So help me God!
2. O Lord, deliver me from the onslaught of destroyers in every way.
3. Pray against the spirit of destruction of godly values, institutions, advocacy, good governance, accountability in our land.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: 1 Samuel 20 – 23