Memorise:
Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me. Psalm 35:1
Read: Luke 18:1-8
1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7 And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Message
One of the sins that God hates so much is the sin of murmuring. During the mass exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, the reason why God destroyed some of them was due to their incessant murmuring. They kept on murmuring instead of discussing their problems with the One who has severally demonstrated the capacity to solve them. A reoccurring scene in their journey is described in Numbers 14:1-2. The consequence of this demonstration of faithfulness in God was that He denied them the joy of making it to the Promised Land. They all died in the wilderness, according to what they had said against themselves while murmuring.
We must be careful of what we use our mouth to say in times of challenges (Numbers 14:28).
When confronted with the challenges of life, we should learn from our Bible reading and our memory verse what our attitude should be. In our memory verse, the Psalmist asked God to come to his aid against enemies that fought against him. He chose the correct Ally for the battle of life he was confronted with – the One whose Name is the Lord of hosts. He would rather report his enemies to the Captain of his battle rather than murmur about them. When you consider the end of David and the posthumous glory accorded him till date, you will see a man whose Ally was the Almighty God. Also, the widow in the parable of Jesus did not go to the house of the judge to murmur. She knew what she wanted: that the judge should fight her cause and grant her justice. Nobody knows what her adversary did to her; probably the adversary killed her husband and took their properties away. We are not even told for how many days, weeks, months or years she had been going to the judge for justice. But one thing we know is that, she kept on saying to him. “Avenge me on my adversary” (Luke 18:3). The judge had no choice but to avenge her. Hear the Lord’s conclusion from this parable in Luke 18:7-8a:
“And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.”
This is so comforting and reassuring. I therefore urge you to cultivate the habit of reporting your adversaries to your sure Ally: the All-powerful God. Don’t engage in murmuring which you think you are praying.
My prayer for you is that the Great God of heaven will avenge you of your adversaries this season, and you will know peace in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer Point :
Father, You are the All-powerful One, arise and avenge me of all my adversaries in Jesus Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : 1 KINGS 11:1-12:15 and LUKE 3:23-4:13
AUTHOR : Pastor E.A. ADEBOYE
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