OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL-SATURDAY-01/10/2016-THE BLESSING OF SOLITUDE I-BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE
THE BLESSING OF SOLITUDE I
Memorise
And when
he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and
when the evening was come, he was there alone. Matthew 14:23
Read
Genesis
32:23-30;
23 And
he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
24 And
Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of
the day.
25 And
when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his
thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with
him.
26 And
he said, let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go,
except thou bless me.
27 And
he said unto him, what is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28 And
he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince
hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
29 And
Jacob asked him, and said, tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, wherefore
is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
30 And
Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face,
and my life is preserved.
KJV
MESSAGE
One of the characteristics of the eagle that
we learn from the School of Disciples of the Redeemed Christian Church of God
is its lonely lifestyle. We learn the virtues of a solitary lifestyle because
more often than not, the crowd could be distracting. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in
our memory verse for today, demonstrated the need to withdraw and be alone with
God periodically. The Bible says in Matthew 14:23:
“And when he had sent
the multitude away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the
evening was come, he was there alone.”
What was Jesus doing alone? He was having
fellowship with His Father and probably the angels were ministering to Him as
we read in Matthew 4:11
In our text for today, Jacob wad facing a
frightening situation and he needed to sort some things out with his Maker. So,
he decided to be alone after discharging his family to go before him. What he
was doing could be assumed in the light of verse 9 to verse 26. There are many
lessons we can learn from this story: Firstly, to be alone with God we must
separate ourselves from the crowd. Secondly, to be alone with God requires
denying ourselves the luxury of family fellowship and affection. Jacob parted
with is family including the wife he laboured to have for fourteen years. The
only time the Bible allows a temporary separation between the husband and the
wife is when it comes to being alone with God. The Bible says:
“Defraud ye not one
the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to
fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your
incontinency.”
1st
Corinthians 7:5
The third lesson we can learn from this
story is that solitary living is of no use if you cannot get the best out of
it. Jacob did not just isolate himself from the crowd, he had a nice and
meaningful time with his Maker, and he did not miss out the essence when he
said: “.., I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.” (Genesis 32:26). I always pity people
when they come for big meetings like the Holy Ghost service, Festival of life,
Holy Ghost Congress, etc. and they sleep all through the programme, even while
prayers are going on. These people left the luxury of their beds and comfortable
houses, only to come here and waste their time in the presence of the Lord.
Jacob did not do this; he went for the best from his God. Another lesson we can
learn here is that as a result of this separation unto God, Jacob’s terrible
past was erased and he was mightily blessed.
Finally in this story, we learn that we
don’t need the details of how God will perform our desperately needed miracles.
All we need is faith to believe whatever the Lord says concerning us, either in
His Word or through prophetic utterances from His genuine prophets. Jacob asked
for the name of the man with whom he was wrestling and the man said that
knowing his name was not necessary; all he needed was miracles and blessings,
so he blessed him. This is a mighty reward of solitary living; being alone with
God pays a lot. As you choose to separate yourself unto the Lord and away from
the world, I pray that the blessings of the Lord shall characterise your
separated life in Jesus’ name.
Action Point
Decide to dedicate
some solitary time for prayer and have meaningful fellowship with your Maker.
Bible in one year
Ezekiel 25-27, Psalms
71:14-24
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