Monday Open Heavens Devotional - Run, Don't Rest

MEMORISE: For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. Hebrews 13:14.

READ: 1 Kings 13:7-14.
7.And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 8.And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 9.For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 10.So he went another way, and returned not by the   way that he came to Bethel. 11.Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which   he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. 12.And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 13.And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, 14.And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

MESSAGE
In today's Bible reading, we have a very sad story of a young prophet sent by God to the city of Bethel with strict instructions. After he delivered the message, he took a different route homewards as instructed by God. But along the way, he felt danger had passed and so he decided to take a rest. While taking his rest, an old prophet came by, lied to him and convinced him to return with him. He obeyed this old prophet and eventually met his death. If only he had delayed his rest, the false prophet would have come looking for him without finding him. Just as it happened to this young prophet, resting too soon has terminated the Christian race of so many believers. In some races, we sometimes see a contestant that is running so fast, leaving other contestants far behind. For the contestant ahead, there is   always the temptation to relax, reduce speed and to take the rest of the journey easy, due to a false sense of having won the race already. Many a contestant has yielded to such  temptations and got the shock of a lifetime. You will do yourself a lot of good to know that on earth, while on our way to Heaven, we have no resting place. For this reason, Hebrews 4:9 says: "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." What the devil or your flesh is suggesting to you as a rest is actually meant to activate your spiritual death warrant. Our rest in Heaven is eternal, and this is partly to compensate us for the no-rest race we have to run on earth. If you want rest, wait until you get to Heaven.
Sometime ago, I visited Australia. While there, a brother shared a testimony that made me weep inside. This old man testified that some time ago, a particular man of God who was highly anointed came to Australia. People brought their dead and they were raised back to life. Within one week, there were ambulances bringing in dead people to the crusade. I could recall this particular man of God. He started very well and was mightily used of God, but along the line, he began to bring in some strange doctrines. He said all that was needed now was
only faith; there was no more need for fasting, holiness, etc. He did not end up very well. Beloved, since you have started the race, focus on it and continue to run. Receive all the grace that you can muster from the Lord and continue running the race. Refuse any proposal to slow down or rest, as this is meant to terminate your race.

PRAYER POINT: Father, let me never encounter the rest that would terminate my race to Heaven, in Jesus' Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: LEVITICUS 17:10-19:18 AND 1 CORINTHIANS 11:17-12:11.