Monday Open Heavens Devotional - Help After Losing Hope

MEMORISE: For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion. Ecclesiastes 9:4.

READ: Luke 7:11-15.
11.And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. 12.Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. 13.And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14.And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15.And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

MESSAGE
It is so awesome to experience God's favour. One day of God's favour is better than a lifetime of labour. One of the awesome things that God's favour delivers to you is unsolicited help. When your day of favour dawns, help will be volunteered to you; you will not be the one asking to be helped; instead, your destiny helpers will offer to help you. In John 5:2-9, we see a man at the pool called Bethesda, who had been there for 38 years. All those who were assisting him when he just got there had all gotten tired and left. He was now on his own.
While other people had someone to help them, he had no one to help him (John 5:7). It is a very frustrating experience, when all those who were helping you become fed up of doing so. They can even discourage interested people from being of help to you. In this state of helplessness and hopelessness, his day of favour dawned, as Jesus Christ went through the crowd of sick folks to meet him. When the Lord met him, he offered him healing by asking, "Would you like to be healed?" That very hour, this man went home healed, while others watched in amazement. Another recipient of volunteered help was the widow of Nain in our Bible reading. Just after she lost her husband, her only son also died. On this fateful day, she was already on her way to the graveyard for her son's burial. She was not asking for any help. In any case, what help could anyone render to the dead? Yet, Jesus stopped the procession to the graveyard, raised the boy back to life and left, even without being invited.

Sometime ago, while rounding up a programme we held at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, God asked me to tell everyone in the congregation to ask for a special gift from him. In that meeting, a particular lady was there. She had trusted God for a husband for years, but she remained single, and now she had attained menopause. On that blessed day, she said to God, "The time to ask for a husband has passed. Having a husband now has no more meaning. I will just worship you till I die. So there is no need to bother you." Two weeks later, a brother came to ask her hand in marriage. "You have come to the wrong person. Please go and pray again", she said. Bewildered, he asked her why. She told him, "I have passed the age of child-bearing. Or don't you want children?" But to her surprise, he exclaimed, "Glory be to God! You are surely the one I need!" Unknown to her, this man was a widower who already had children. He wanted a mother for his children. They got married, and she got pregnant, eventually being delivered of a set of twin boys. This season, the Lord will volunteer help to you. He will intervene even without being invited.

ACTION POINT: Don't lose your hope for any reason; but if you do, look up to God and He will restore it.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: DEUTERONOMY 4:15-5:33 AND EPHESIANS 1.