“Things are about to Change” by Gbile Akanni

Posted on April 26, 2011 by Bode Ososami

There was a famine in the promise land!
Things were hard and everyone was affected!
Yes! But not everyone decided to leave the land like Elimelech.

This is not the kind of famine that kills everybody or flushes everybody out. This kind of famine simply brings a spate of suffering . . . a difficult but endurable hardship allowed of God to test the faithfulness of God’s man, especially those whom He is considering for glory and leadership. He sends this kind of famine to find out who will hold on to God’s promise, stay put and be true to God’s commandments in the face of hardship or who will leave in search of relief, comfort and convenience outside of the will of God.

And it comes to all of God’s people in one shade or the other. There was a famine in the days of Abraham, there was another famine in the days of his son Isaac and there was yet another famine in the days of his grandson Jacob. All three encountered their different season of suffering, hardship and difficulty and all three responded differently. This period of suffering or hardship you are going through is not strange neither are you strange for going through it. It’s your own time of famine and how you respond determines your future.

Concurrently, in the time of these famines, God normally allows for there to be food, pleasures and convenience in a nearby land of disobedience. When this kind of famine comes to Israel, there’s always corn in a nearby Moab or Egypt. In order to be a real test of individual faithfulness, God never fails to leave a “tree of good and evil” within reach of his beloved man that is only made “out of boundaries” by clear instructions and commandments. Elimelech decided to take the easy way out, so he packed his bags and baggage, picked up his wife and two boys and headed out for the country of Moab.

This decision not to endure the famine was borne out of an individual’s response to endurable hardship; a selfish, self-seeking expedition. “I’m checking out, whatever happens to everyone left behind is their business, this is my chance to escape and have a breath of fresh air!”

Whatever be the cause of the famine, either of national punishment for forsaking the Lord or just the normal seasonal and cyclic phases of famine and plenty, it never lasts forever. God will soon visit His people in sending them Bread. God never punishes His people to the extent of extinction, he never forgets to remember mercy! If we endure and walk with the Lord, we will still prosper in the land though it be a time of famine.

So, there was a Boaz!, a near kinsman, a contemporary . . . . who remained behind in God’s Bethlehem Juda. He endured the hardship, “roughed the suffering” and continued planting in famine. The result? He became “a mighty man of wealth” in the same land from where Elimelech ran.

The decision to run was personal, it was individual even though he could have been influenced. It was “a certain man” that went to sojourn, it was “he” and “his” wife and “his” two sons. It was his decision. It is a man that takes the decisions for the family, it is a man that takes the lead, it is a man that determines the future and destiny of his household. That is usually the case, that is the way God ordained it.

Unfortunately, it is never “he” alone that bears the repercussion of “his” decision. Many times, his wife, his sons, his posterity . . . . all partake of the fruit of a man’s wrong decision or indecision. In the end, Elimelech lost it all . . . his life, his two sons – his two opportunities of perpetuating his lineage and becoming famous in Israel. Only his wife escaped the cataclysm and returned to tell the tale of woe.

I don’t think you should take that journey! Whatever it is, if it is in response to a sense of being squeezed and choked by economic hardship or some other environmental hardship. I don’t think you should change your job, if it is only for greener pastures sake! I don’t think you should pack out of your husband’s house or abscond and leave the household simply because some pressure have come to which you have no answer. I don’t think it will augur well in the end, if you leave the man of God you were posted to serve under while waiting for when the Lord will visit you. Don’t leave that Church, no matter the hostility of the Pastor! Don’t leave your duty post because there’s a famine!
Famines are short-lived, it will soon be over. God will soon visit you and send you corn and wine and you will eventually dip your foot in butter! Think of tomorrow, think of posterity, think of your testimony!

(By Gbile Akanni – Originally posted in www. Livingseed.org ”An Individual response to hardship”)

Beloved of God, stop, think and pray! Things are about to change. The Recession will soon be over. it will soon be over.

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Haven from the famine of Recession

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Bode Ososami

Genesis 26[12] Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him.

II Kings 8[1] Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.

There are special blessings reserved for those who have made themselves special to God. This confirms once again that God treats us the way we treat Him. How are you treating God today? When a seven year famine was coming upon the land, Prophet Elisha saw many people but singled out the Shunammite woman for that piece of information. Not only that He guided her away to other lands without famine. If you are close to God, He will guide you away from danger. One thing we learn is that God has a solution recipe for every famine. In Kings 17:1-16, after self-inflicted famine, God asked Elijah to leave for the place He had arranged for him to be provided for. God always has a place of refuge in times of famine. Sometimes that place may be outside the area affected by famine but at other times it is within the famine-ravished land, as in the case of Isaac in Genesis 26:1-16Genesis 26:1-16
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
26 ¹ And there was a famine in the land, beside the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. ² And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: ³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; ⁴ And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; ⁵ Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. ⁶ And Isaac dwelt in Gerar: ⁷ And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon. ⁸ And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife. ⁹ And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her. ¹⁰ And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. ¹¹ And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. ¹² Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. received: Heb. found ¹³ And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: went...: Heb. went going ¹⁴ For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him. servants: or, husbandry ¹⁵ For all the wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. ¹⁶ And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.

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Isaac thought of escaping to Egypt to avoid the famine but God warned him to stay there and sow. He obeyed and got so great a harvest that he became the envy of the Philistines. When he had become prosperous and enlarged, Gerar could no longer contain him. Apart from a secure location, there are things you can do to escape famine. Quite a lot of people travel out searching for greener pastures. Many Nigerians in Nigeria are living better lives than some who left these shores hoping to escape the hard times. Even in your profession, trade or business, if you are precious to God, He will warn you of imminent storms and give you the recipes to apply. Cultivate a working and lasting relationship with the Lord and you will access relevant information that could affect your today or tomorrow. Remember God is the original haven from famine.

Famines affect people differently. While the majority may be experiencing its worst times, a minority may be experiencing its best moments. (Pastor E.A. Adeboye)

Culled from “Open Heavens –Daily Devotional 14 February 2010” by Pastor E.A. Adeboye who is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Sin is sin and merits punishment, whether you acknowledge it or not…Martin Luther

“If I am afraid to speak the truth, lest I lose affection, or lest the one concerned should say, “You do not understand,” or because I fear to lose my reputation for kindness; if I put my own good name before the other’s highest good, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” ‘IF’ by Amy Carmichael

“If I am content to heal a hurt slightly, saying “Peace, peace,” where there is no peace; if I forget the poignant word “Let love be without dissimulation” and blunt the edge of truth, speaking not right things but smooth things, then I know nothing of Calvary love.” ‘IF’ by Amy Carmichael

God bless you,

Bode

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Does God want you to be wealthy?

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Bode Ososami

I have received few reactions that question the motive of writing on wealth from a Christian perspective. Indeed some are more bold to declare that seeking wealth in Recession is greed and not Christian. Even worse, appearing to be taking advantage of the hungry by offering them God – through a book - in their vulnerable times of trouble is repulsive if not criminal etc.

At the heart of the issues are some pertinent questions. Does God want us to be wealthy? Does God want to help the poor and afflicted by offering them wealth? How can we be sure of motives in a wicked world of greed and lusts? Listen to the conversation between a poor widow and a prophet…

I King 17[12] And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. [13] And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

Elijah knew some vital truths that emboldened his mission in this troubling situation.

Wealth and provision is of the Lord and God is the controller and owner. A genuine encounter with God brings (without exception) us to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond our dreams.
God had sent Him to a woman who had been prepared by God to respond by releasing her substance even as she played the role divine destiny had scripted.
It mattered little that it was a great famine or that he asked for her last meal

If Elijah was not sent by God or directed his request to the wrong widow – he would have been justifiably driven off like a shameless beggar or a crafty criminal…but the wrong widow would also have died in misery.

3 John[2] Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

This reminds us that as our soul receives true salvation in Christ, God wants us to fulfil all He has planned and enjoy His provisions of substance and health – which is more than adequate to meet all our needs. The prosperity of the soul blessed with divine contentment in Christ therefore must come first – otherwise our wealth is but a preparation for greater slaughter.

Is God moved by poverty and affliction like UNICEF etc? Before we rush to answer yes or no, we should perhaps reflect that God sees all unsaved humanity without exception as lost and poor (whether billionaire or pauper) compared to what He has prepared in eternity and His limitless vaults which are like the inexhaustible waters of the ocean. He also sees the saved as joint-heirs with Christ to a glorious blissful inexpressible and incomparable eternal wealth. God therefore must see all missions as inferior to that of saving souls. God is indeed merciful but He responds unapologetically to His perspective and not ours.

It was the widow’s obedience and part in divine destiny that saved her as there were indeed poorer and more desperate widows from perhaps “better” qualified places…Zarephath of Zidon, where she resided, also being the home base of Jezebel – the enemy of God’s people. God helped and used someone from the enemy camp. God helped her as she became useful, available and obedient in the fulfilment of God’s vision. Our first act of obedience is to surrender to Christ.

On the issue of motives of all men, hear the wisdom of Solomon.

Proverbs[16:1] The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD. [2] All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits. [3] Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established. [4] The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

Everyone somehow serves the purpose of God whether for good or for evil. Our prayer therefore should be – Lord, help us to be channels of that which is not evil…Help us to commit our ways to you so that our thoughts and plans may be established – for your good purpose and missions only. Amen.

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