Today's Devotion (Wednesday)

Don’t Frustrate Your Leader

2 KINGS 12:1-7

Key Verse:

"But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house" (2 Kings 12:6).

Most times, leaders have wonderful agenda for their people. They come up with the sincere desire to make meaningful impact on the society. But a lot of times, we find them failing. A good look at this will show that the failures of these leaders are not mostly due to their weakness or unwillingness to perform; but the failures of their subordinates who deliberately fail to discharge the duties assigned them. King Jehoash saw the need to repair the house of God, made arrangements on how to raise funds and instructed the priests to carry out the repairs. But the priests failed to carry out the instructions. Leadership is a collective responsibility. The success of the good plans of the leader does not only depend on him, but also on all his subordinates and the entire citizens. We all have our roles to play in the success of our leaders, be it in the homes, churches or the society at large. We must see that we play our assigned roles well enough to bring about the success of our collective goals. It is bad leadership when leaders assign duties but fail to check up on this. This negligence can result in the failure of the leaders. Whatever leadership privilege we have, we must ensure we don’t assign duties and totally abdicate our roles. Ultimately, we take responsibilities for whatever happens under us. But we must know that the success of a leader is not all up to him; we should play our part well and see that we do not frustrate him by our own negligence. Whether we are leaders or followers, we should demonstrate diligence, faithfulness and accountability in all that we do.

Thought for the day: An evidence of sonship in Christ is the possession of the servant attitude.

Bible Reading in one Year: JUDGES 13-15

Today's Devotion (Tuesday)

Let Us Pray

ISAIAH 26:6-16

Key Verse:

"With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9).

There is no doubt that everyone is tired of the current trends in the world. The crimes, corruption, injustice, rebellion, insecurity, etc., fill all and sundry with fear. Everybody desires a change that will bring relief and respite to our world. The search for this is ever ongoing, with conferences, seminars, researches, consultations among nations, increased religious activities, among others. But all these efforts seem to be taking us farther away from our desire. What then is the way out? According to Prophet Isaiah, the establishment of God’s judgment on the earth is the only way out to make the people learn righteousness. When the people are thus made righteous, all the evils plaguing the world will be a thing of the past. To have God’s righteousness established on the earth, the prophet resolved to seek the Lord in prayer with the whole heart and all-day round. There are many things around us that talking and complaining will not change. At times, we may notice trends among children in the family or members in the church that call for great concern and worry. What most people do at such a time is to complain, murmur and blame it on one thing or the other. But that will never bring the desired change. We need to borrow a leaf from Prophet Isaiah in order to find the relief we desire. Let us learn to wait on the Lord in fervent prayer which is centred on seeking His glory in our homes, churches and nations. Let us move away from the dry, self-centred prayers that are focused on carnal, material and fading desires and cry to God for true righteousness. We will thereafter see the changes we desire in our homes, churches and society.

Thought for the day: Only on bended knees can we experience genuine righteousness and peace!

Bible Reading in one Year: JUDGES 10-12