’And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, what saith my lord unto his servant?’ Joshua 5:13-14

The man with the sword here had been sent to take charge of the command of the army of God! Think about it. He is neither for Israel nor against Israel, he came to fulfil a divine mandate! Joshua’s response is insightful – what do you say to your servant?!

Many times when we are faced with challenges of life, we usually expect God to move in ways we can imagine or see, or used to; but that is not always God – He works in ways we cannot see. Pr. 3:5 says, ‘Trust in the Lord; and lean not unto thine own understanding’. Verse 7 says ‘Be not wise in your own eyes’!

Our response should be like Joshua – fall in line behind the Lord of Host. Tell Him ‘Lord, what do you say to your servant?’ At such time, stick with the instructions or promises in God’s word about the situation, and make it your decision. Make up your mind to be on God’s side at such time, and victory is certain for you. Imagine, it was in that disposition that God released to them the word of victory (Josh. 6:1-2) – ‘See, I have given into your hand Jericho, and the king and the mighty men’!

But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land’. Jonah 2:9-10

You would remember from yesterday’s devotionals that ‘Jonah looked again’ unto the Lord in prayer.

He described his situation as one being in hell! Yet he could summon courage and hope to cry unto God, and he obtained mercy and found grace. I noticed however in verse 9 that his calamitous situation was not finally turned around until he turned the gear of his prayers to thanksgiving!

When your thanksgiving and praises goes up, heaven comes down to your situation. Bible says, the Lord inhabits the praise of His people, and anywhere the Lord inhabits experiences fullness of joy. You might have been praying and praying in hope, without any visible positive change in your situation; you now need to turn the gear to thanksgiving and praise unto God.

Remember Paul and Silas. They prayed, yes, but they sang praises too. They were so bold at it that in spite of their situation in the prison, they kept praising God aloud such that all their prison colleagues heard them! Their faith was loud and clear through their praises! The heavens showed up, and everyone in the prison partook of the power of deliverance. If you can dare to praise God in your ‘belly of hell’, the word of the Lord will come forth and the fish will vomit you – from the depth of the seas to your dry land, in Jesus name. Amen.

Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly, And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. ³For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. ⁴Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.               Jonah 2:1-4

If you are familiar with the story of Jonah; how he ran away from the Lord in disobedience, you would probably not be too surprised that he ended up in the belly of the fish, in the depth of the sea! That would have been his end, but for God. I believe it was mercy that found Jonah and gave him another chance.

You might be in the position of Jonah today – may be you ran away from His presence, from His will for your life; and all hell broke loose against you, I am telling you today that there is yet hope for you. Mercy is still available to you today. Consider what Jonah said in verse 4, ‘then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again towards thy holy temple’.

Please take courage and look again towards the throne of grace, and you will find the help you need. Dare to arise in hope, approach the presence of God by the everlasting Blood of Jesus Christ and seek God in prayer again. I am sure that God will do you good, and your mouth will be filled with testimonies, in Jesus name, amen.          

 ‘For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more’. Heb. 8:12

This scripture states clearly that no one is too bad to experience God’s mercy. Sometimes we are not confident enough to approach God and ask him to show us mercy, all because we think we have done too much bad to deserve God’s help – and rightly so, is this your situation? From today’s scripture, what your unrighteousness would have brought upon you in form of calamity, God is saying ‘His mercy will wade-in and overlook it’. What good news!

It does not matter how deep you have been in error, sin, or wickedness of any kind, if you would turn to the Lord and say ‘Lord I come to you just as I am, show me mercy and forgiveness’.

Mercy is available for us because God remembers the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for us (Heb. 4:14-16). That blood still speaks today! You become qualified for God’s mercy, no matter what unrighteousness you did; and you obtained mercy and forgiveness. You just need to make a fresh commitment with the Lord now that you will follow Him all the remaining days of your life, and you can begin your life afresh on a clean slate.

Today, God is releasing His mercy on your health, marriage, career, or ministry. Now, based on your positive response to today’s scripture, confront the devil in faith and cast out every sense of guilt and condemnation. Today is a new beginning for you in God. Face your future in faith and confidently. It is well with you in Jesus name. Amen.

 ‘O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.’ Ps. 90:14

Each day you are alive, your heart longs for the fulfilment of some desire! What brings the happiness and the sense of satisfaction in your heart would defer from that of another. Whatever your daily aspirations though, you can only experience satisfaction by the mercies of God.

It does not matter how many good things of life man can possess, or how long she/he might live; the most important question to ask is ‘are you satisfied with the mercies of  God, to the extent that you rejoice and you are glad everyday’? If you are living each day in sorrow or with heavy burden at the back of your mind, then you are not satisfied! It does not matter how long you live, or how much earthly goods you possess; you could be married and yet unsatisfied; highly placed in the society, and yet lonely and internally frustrated!

Despite the acclaimed wisdom of Solomon, and after all the great accomplishments and earthly goods and pleasure he enjoyed, he said ‘yet, when I surveyed all that my hands have done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gain under the sun’ (Eccl. 2:11, NIV). So, if you are lacking in joy and satisfaction today, don’t be discouraged – there is yet hope for you. Do what the psalmist did – cry out unto God, not for the ‘things’ you think you lack, but cry out to God to ‘satisfy you with His mercy’ that you might rejoice and be glad all your remaining days on earth. God bless you with peace, in Jesus name. Amen.     

‘Let thy mercy O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee’. Ps. 33:22

This is a key prayer you can and should pray as you face each day. This way, you set yourself for daily victory, and I am sure God’s mercy is still available! Let’s pray right away – ‘let your mercy O Lord be upon me because as I hope in you’!

This scripture establishes a condition of experiencing God’s mercies – Amplified version says ‘in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You’ (‘You’ here meaning God). You might have a financial burden on your neck, or needs of any kind – as you pray this, and you patiently wait on God for divine intervention, all your anxiety will be taken care of. Listen; grace is unmerited favour, i.e. you will obtain favour that you do not deserve; whereas mercy will prevent you from suffering what you were doomed to suffer! So, mercy averts whatever difficult things that was due to come upon you.

The problem with which you are currently faced, which might even have been caused by yourself, and your mind is telling you that you deserve to face the consequence; but I tell you today that God’s mercy will deliver you as you put your hope in Him. Approach the Lord today with all your anxieties, hope in Him, and He is literally saying to you ‘my mercy will reach unto you – even today’! Receive the manifestation of His mercy today, in Jesus name.  

 ‘Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine’ Ps. 33:18-19

This scripture fascinates and refreshes me each time I read it. God’s eyes are upon those that hope in his mercy! When the Lord sets His eyes upon a man to show him mercy, you will agree with me that that person is well secured all the times. Verse 19 clearly states what God’s mercy will accomplish in their lives and situation: a) to deliver their soul from death; b) to keep them alive in famine. The word ‘deliver’ here literarily mean ‘to snatch away’ or ‘to rescue’. And the word ‘death’ could also represent any kind of ‘pestilence’, ‘disaster’ or ‘ruin’. Life is full of negative situations – and God is giving you an assurance for safety – if you will only hope in His mercy! When you are faced with life’s hopeless situations and you feel helpless, you can cry unto God for mercy, and He will send His deliverance and enlargement!

Your challenge could be in the area of health, finances, or marriage. Once, the Jews were faced with the crises of imminent extermination; they cried unto God with fasting. God showed them His favour and sent deliverance and enlargement to them. (Esther 3 to 10). God will do the same for you today. Whatever your challenges, call upon God NOW – tell Him ‘Oh Lord, have mercy on me, for I hope in your mercy’.  The Lord will deliver your soul from your troubles today, in Jesus name. Amen.

 ‘Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and shield’ Ps. 33:20

I pray for you today that God will give you understanding and grant you access to in-depth revelation and insight about the power and efficacy of God’s mercy. This will help you to experience the best of God in your Christian walk. God’s help will enhance you to move ahead in life, while as your shield, He will defend you from any battle that may want to confront you in any area of life. When you focus on God, this will be your experience. The psalmist says ‘some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God’ (Ps. 20:7).

When you put your trust in the Lord, you position yourself to have access to the totality of God’s power and ability. His help becomes available to you; and He defends you from all troubles in life. Psalm 20:8 says while others are brought down and fall, you are arisen and stand upright. Praise the Lord! I like the good news version of today’s scripture ‘we put our hope in the Lord; he is our protector and our help’.

This is a new day for you, yesterday’s challenge has passed, but His new mercy today will help you overcome every new challenge. The mercy of God brings forgiveness of sins, and delivers you from the cases that you think are too difficult for you to handle. In fact, God’s mercy, when in effect, actually delivers you from going through the challenges that you should have gone through due to your fault – this is what mercy does! Whatever you might have as a challenge today, God is offering you His help, based on His mercy.

“Be strong, be courageous, all you that hope in the LORD.” Ps. 31: 24 GNB

“Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all ye that hope in Jehovah.” Ps. 31: 24 ASV

“Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect GOD to get here soon.” Ps. 31: 24 MSG

“Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” Ps. 31: 24 KJN

When your hope in the Lord is strong, you will remain strong and courageous. The worst battle you can fight in any situation of life is the loss of hope. Whatever you face today, determine to stay in hope in your God. Don’t ever give up; He will soon appear with the desires of your heart.

The Message bible says: ‘Be brave’, keep moving positively – on, in the face of the challenges and oppositions, ‘Don’t give up’; the Lord will show forth for you soon, in Jesus name. You must have heard the phrase ‘courage is not an absence of fear’; so, despite how scary the situations you face might be, summon all the courage you need from the strength of your hope in God and His word. Look at God’s promises again about that situation, declare them to yourself confidently, and be courageous as you wait for the Lord to show up – He sure will. May the Lord give you reasons to sing a new song of testimonies shortly. In Jesus name, you are blessed of the Lord.

‘There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy’                Ps. 33:16-18

In our scripture reading today, you will notice that human source of strength is not adequate to deliver when trouble comes. You therefore cannot depend on your own ability. In the same vein, you need not be in despair because of your inabilities. In most cases, our confidence is on our ability to pray, and may be on the fact that we have great faith!  However, if we would learn to approach the Lord on the platform of his mercy, there will certainly be a light at the end of every tunnel we find ourselves.

You might have a family problem, or a case pending in court, ask God for His mercy; if you have any trouble in the marketplace, you just need to ask God to show you mercy. Remember this; a horse is vain thing in the day of battle, there is no king that is saved by the multitude of a host.

Whoever you might know, whatever you might have is not your source of safety. Whichever area of life you need help, ask God to show you His mercy, let your dependence be solely on him, and as you cry unto Him in faith, you will experience the divine assistance that you need. May you experience the mercies of God in all that you lay your hands upon to do today, in Jesus name. Amen.