‘Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall’ Proverbs 16:18 NKJV

Pride precedes destruction! The moment you notice pride in someone; watch out, he or she is on the way down if care is not taken. Pride will bring down a man! The bigger a man’s ego is the greater the fall will be.

The earlier you can identify this problem in you, the quicker you would present yourself to God for help and therefore prevent the catastrophic danger that goes with pride, the better for you. Do not allow what you have or possess go to your head. It leads to arrogance and this result in a great fall.

Proverbs 16:5 says ‘everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to God’. Notice that pride is a thing of the heart. Nobody else may know it but you. You need to search your heart today and determine to desist from pride. Pr. 15:25 says ‘The Lord will destroy the house of the proud: but he will establish the border of the widow’. This is an interesting verse – usually a widow is assumed to be helpless. However, this scripture makes it clear that a widow has God’s help, while a proud man experiences God’s wrath! Pr. 29:23 says ‘a man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit’.

Think through because this may be what has delayed your promotion till date; this might be the reason why your spouse has been having problems with you. It could even be the reason why those who should have helped you seems to run away from you! I pray you will be wise and deal with any trace of pride in you, and may God bless you in Jesus name, amen.

‘For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.’ Psalms 5:12

Take note of some key words in the passage.

1. God will bless
2. God will favour
3. God’s favour will protect you.

God’s favour will be your shield – it will protect you. By God’s favour you will, instead of experiencing trouble or failure, be defended, and excel in life. Bible says ‘The Lord will bless the righteous’. You should believe, receive and claim the divine favour and blessing of God on your life today because you are a beloved of God. When you receive the favour of God your natural capacity gives way, your inadequacies give way, but the capacity of heaven takes precedence.

When the grace and favour of God descends upon your life there will be no space for struggles. Every area of stress and struggle in your life will be overcome. You will have favour in business and your ministry.

Psalms 102:13 says: ‘Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.’ May you enjoy mercy and favour that God has declared concerning you today; may God go before you today, may you return with the fullness of the manifestation of the favour of God in Jesus’ name. Amen.

‘Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished’. Proverbs 16:5

The subject of pride is very important and it is very difficult to teach. This is primarily because as this verse clearly states; it is a ‘thing of the heart’. More so, there is both positive and negative dimension to it. You are the only one that can determine if you are proud in the negative sense of it – although people might detect it through your behaviours.

The proud offends God by self-exaltation; offends other people by self-preoccupation and bring themselves problems with self-declaration. The delusion increases until one fancies oneself so high as to be invulnerable (Oba. 3). Hear what God says in Obadiah 4 to the proud in heart, ‘Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, says the Lord’.

The Bible describes pride as an abomination to the Lord! Abomination is: ‘anything that offends the spiritual, religious, or moral sense of a person and causes extreme disgust, hatred, or loathing’. It is something which is morally disgusting. It is in the same category with the worship of idols (Deut 7:25-26; 17:2-5); sexual transgression (Lev 18); practice of magic, witchcraft, and engaging in occult activities (Deut 18:9-14). Most of the Hebrew words translated “abomination” has the meaning of “impure,” “filthy,” and “unclean”- that which is foul-smelling and objectionable to a holy God.

‘And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.’ Habakkuk 2:2

When you have reached the point where you have asked of the Lord, have received a word, and you have understood it; the next step is to agree with the word you received. Many people are burdened by the weight of their purpose because they do not agree with God’s purpose for their lives. They move to and fro between their God ordained purpose and what they personally want to be. They slow down their life journey simply by not accepting God’s divine plan for them. Do not let your journey be slowed down. Resolve in your heart to fulfil the purpose that God has revealed to you. Do away with all else and focus on Gods words for you. You only have one life and one purpose, and it comes from the Lord, the maker of all things.

Here is my advice for you today, if you have not done so, set apart an appropriate time, go to your quiet corner, place before you all that you know God has revealed to you. Talk to yourself, and commit yourself to pursuing that purpose, make God your witness in the closet, and come out determined to keep your word. God will help you as you take one step at a time. I can assure you, you will find fulfilment, and your life will be a blessing to many.  May God bless your day in Jesus’ name. Amen.

‘Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate: For the Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoil them’. Proverbs 22:22-23

When the bible talks about ‘the gate’ – it is a description of the place or position where the elders and the people of authority and power meet. Someone might be described to be powerful either because of position, wealth, prestige or share popularity. ‘The gate’ is also relative – it could be within a community, within a company or a defined group of people.

Whatever the arena in which you might have power, today’s wisdom warns us to be careful how we deal with the poor in our sphere of influence.  A poor person may be someone who is helpless in some way, or who does not readily have anyone to help them out in their situation. A poor person may be at your mercy employment-wise or accommodation-wise or someone in financial lack.

The word of wisdom today states that we should be careful how we deal with this category of people. When any action is taken that indicate that one is taking undue advantage over someone else that can be described as being poor, God is saying He will personally plead their cause and spoil the soul of those that spoil them! The Common English Bible version says in verse 23, ‘The Lord will take their case and press life out of those who oppress them’. So think twice before you deal wrongly with the poor, otherwise, you will be an opponent of God in the same ‘boxing ring’ – that would be very disastrous!  As you face today, let the wisdom of wisdom dwell richly in your heart. God bless you.

‘And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.’ Habakkuk 2:2

‘The Lord answered me …’ It is a promise from God. If you ask Him about the purpose of your life He will answer you. The verse goes on to say ‘…Write the vision, and make it plain…’ As you hear God write it down, but also seek understanding.

Note these points when seeking the purpose of your life:

1. Pray; ask the Lord for direction
2. Listen for what God will say
3. Hear what God is saying to you specifically
4. Seek understanding of what He has said

These specific steps will help you clearly write the vision that God shows you, so it can be very plain to you. Then you will be able to run with it. This principle can be applied in every segment of your life – what course to study in college, where to live, who to marry, what business to do, or career to pursue, what ministry you are called to fulfil, etc.

Your first priority is to invest time to understand what God has purposed for your life. So, today slow down, ask from God, listen for what He says (it may come in bits and pieces), write it down as you hear God, and seek His face for clear understanding.  As you do this, you are laying a solid foundation for your purposeful, peaceful and prosperous life ahead. God bless your day.

 ‘Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard’. Proverbs 21:13

In yesterday’s devotion we learnt that we should not cheat or mistreat the poor. Today, God is telling us to go a step further. You might not have cheated nor mistreated the poor, but you probably have closed your ears to the poor, you have not gone the extra mile to help them.

The cry of any poor person in need of some kind of help might not be an audible sound, but if we would notice they have need and we respond, God would be happy with it. When we notice the need or the lack, and we ignore their needy situation, we have simply ‘stopped’ our ears at their cry. If we do this, God says when we cry ourselves, we will not be heard!

What does God expect us to do? He expects us to go out of our way as much as we have the capacity, to attend to any need we can notice with the poor. We should go out of our ways to visit the orphanage, the widow, the old age home, etc., and provide the help they need. If we find people who need a job, or an accommodation, etc., we should go out of our way to render the help we are capable of rendering to them. When you do this, when you are in need, even before you cry out, your voice will be heard on high and help will gravitate towards you. Today, you will prosper, great will be your peace, and may you find help when you need it, in Jesus name. Amen.   

¹ I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. ² My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2

In today’s devotion, we should start by asking ourselves a very simple question. ‘Where have you been turning to for help?’ Yourself? Another human? Your degrees? Your Bank account? May be your level of knowledge? Well, the Bible says ‘My help cometh from the Lord’. God is trustworthy and dependable. He is the maker of the heavens and the earth. If you would cry for help from the Lord, there is no situation for which you cannot find solution.

Turn to the Lord; that is where help comes from. Turn to the Lord and He will surely help you. He will heal the sick of all their sickness, He will deal with every financial problem; He will solve all marital problems. He promised that if all that labour and have heavy burden comes to Him, He will ease and relieve and refresh their souls (Matthew 11:28, AMP).

I encourage you to keep your eyes on Jesus in all your situations, your help comes from the Lord. May you find divine help as you face your day in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 ‘Good people will have wealth to leave to their grandchildren, but the wealth of sinners will go to the righteous’ Proverbs 13:22 GNT

The way to prepare for the future of your children and their own children is to lay a good foundation for them. This can be done in many ways. First, by being good, faithful and loyal in serving others today, you sow a good seed that your children will reap from in future. Secondly, living a godly life as an example to your children lays a solid foundation for their future. Consider today’s scripture in amplified version; ‘a good man leaves an inheritance (or moral stability and goodness) to his children’s children, and the wealth of the sinner (finds its way eventually) into the hands of the righteous, for whom it was laid up’.

It is a godly desire to work hard and gather great wealth to leave for your offspring. You however need to be determined to live a godly life, and to invest time and energy in raising your children in a godly way. The way to secure the future of the wealth of your children is to gather your wealth legally, live a godly life in front of them, and to raise them godly.

My prayer for you as a father (or mother) or as one hoping to become one in future, is that you will prosper, and you will find joy in raising your children, and that you will find joy in your later days when you see your children and their own children living a godly life, and enjoying the wealth you have laid up for them, and also seeing them growing their own wealth in a godly manner, and enjoying it.  May you find joy in your latter days, in Jesus name.

²² It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. ²³ They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed. His compassions do not fail. God’s compassions are new every morning. As you read this text Gods compassions spring forth anew and it is reaching forth to you. His faithfulness is the basis for the renewal of his compassion. No one can qualify to receive mercy, but we receive mercy because of Gods compassion and Gods compassions are new every morning. We have not suddenly changed, it is a display of Gods faithfulness which brings God’s compassions anew to us every day; in order for us to have access to His mercies. Today by the faithfulness of God, the compassions of God is available to you, giving you access to the mercy of God.

Why not receive it! Why don’t you give the Lord your heavy burdens? Let the Lord’s mercy make a difference in your life. The fact that you will receive divine help from God if you cry to Him now is not based on how good you have suddenly become, it is all based on how gracious and merciful God is. You can receive that mercy today, because God has compassion on you. Call upon Him right now about any burden and cast all of them on Him. Have a great day.