DCLM Daily Manna 6 July 2022 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Mastering Your Circumstances
TOPIC: Mastering Your Circumstances (DCLM Daily Manna 6 July 2022)
TEXT: Proverbs 20:1-15 (KJV)
1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
2 The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.
3 It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
6 Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
7 The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
8 A king that sitteth in the throne of judgment scattereth away all evil with his eyes.
9 Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?
10 Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord.
11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
12 The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them.
13 Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.
14 It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.
15 There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
KEY VERSE: “The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread” (Proverbs 20:4, 13).
MESSAGE:
There is a two-way relationship between God and man reflecting the quintessential love of the Creator towards human beings. The deal sees Him put in place, an environment fit for habitation. Around man, there are rich and limitless resources to exploit for his good. The Lord has also kitted man with vast intelligence to apply in benefiting from this abundance. God requires that as He has played His part in providing these essentials, man must complete the equation by “dressing the garden and keeping it”.
King Solomon’s take suggests that it is dangerous and disastrous to be complacent about God’s endowments. Man must not use his God-given wealth to engage in drunkenness. This calls for temperance that should also apply to how he honours constituted authority, family and neighbours. In the perfect environment provided by his Creator, man is not expected to give himself to undue control by the weather that may lead to too much sleep and poverty.
In God’s order, it is abomination to do fraudulent business, because it is not compatible with the lifestyle of the Lord’s saints. Solomon says the Lord is also seeking parents who will pass on the virtue of integrity to their offspring. There is need, likewise, for judges who will deliver the just from the oppression of the wicked.
While the Lord has given man all he requires to succeed, He expects him to take maximum advantage of the grace at his disposal to be disciplined in the use of his wealth, time, skills, liberty, education, etc. Those who surrender to Jesus as Lord and Saviour must, in turn, surrender all these for God’s use and the advancement of His Kingdom.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Partnership with heaven is sacrificial stewardship.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Genesis 17-20
Prayer Points:
- Lord, write all these words of wisdom in my heart.
- Give me more love for wisdom and make me to be increasing in wisdom.
- Lord, knock off every forms of foolishness hidden in my being.
- Lord, let your word we are hearing be ejecting every form of folly from our mindset.
HYMN: Lord speak to me.
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.