“But you will not leave in haste or go in flight; for the Lord will go before you, the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” – Isaiah 52:12 NKJV
Welcome to the 44th devotional recap of the year. This week, we learned that we are God backed, light has come because we are here, we are to be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, and we are to contend for the faith.
We started this week by learning that we are God backed. When God sends a person on an assignment, He goes with and backs the person up. God has a track record of showing up for His people; hence, understand that even in the presence of challenges, God is with you (Matthew 28:20) and He can be trusted! (Psalm 89:8, Proverbs 3:5-6).
On Tuesday, we learned that light has come. God has revealed the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in Christ through faith in the message of the gospel and He desires to spread that light through us to all men (2 Corinthians 2:14, 4:6). Through Jesus Christ, we give light and order to this dark and chaotic world; light has come because we are here.
Wednesday’s devotional taught us to be wise as serpents. The world around us, with which we must interact, is deliberately hostile. Hence, like the serpent, we must be shrewd and subtle in our approach by understanding the world around us, the people and carefully target crafting our presentation of the gospel to maximize its impact.
On Thursday, we learned to be gentle as doves. Gentleness is a fruit of the spirit that must be discernible in the life and conduct of every believer (Galatians 5:22). We ought to ensure that we approach people with gentleness and respect even when our faith is challenged (Colossians 4:6, 1 Peter 3:15). We must take on the attitude of our Lord, whom we emulate, to be gentle and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:29).
We rounded up the week on Friday by learning to contend for the faith. We must stand firm in our convictions and defend the truth of the gospel (Jude 1:3-4). We must faithfully preserve the integrity of the message of the gospel and ensure that the specific message that was preached us goes to the world uncorrupted (2 Timothy 2:2).
Dear believer, you are the light of the world. The knowledge of Jesus Christ through the message of the gospel is the light you carry, which also you must spread to all men. While on this assignment and as you earnestly contend for the faith, you must be wise and gentle in your approach and understand that you have God’s backing.
Bible Reading Plan: Jeremiah 30-31