DCLM Daily Manna 9 October 2021 Devotional By Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — When Affliction Knocks
TOPIC: When Affliction Knocks
TEXT: Lamentations 3:1-10
1 I Am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.
2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.
3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.
4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.
5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.
6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.
7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.
8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.
9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.
10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.
KEY VERSE: “I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.” – (Lamentations 3:1)
MESSAGE:
Oswald Sanders said, “Suffering is the heritage of the bad, of the penitent, and of the Son of God. Each one ends in the cross. The bad thief is crucified, the penitent thief is crucified, and the Son of God is crucified. By these signs we know the widespread heritage of suffering”.
Our text shows the lamentations of Prophet Jeremiah over Jerusalem. Israel sinned against God and He was not happy with the nation. As a result, they were conquered by the Babylonians who plundered the land and carried the people into captivity. For Jeremiah, afflictions had brought him low. He felt that God had hedged him in as an enemy because he had been sorely afflicted both in body and mind such that he was not able to discern any way of escape or deliverance since God had turned a deaf ear to his prayers. His neighbours made a laughing matter of his troubles and he was desperate for relief and deliverance.
Afflictions are not peculiar to Christians. Unbelievers and sinners also experience dark days. Backsliders too are not free from sufferings, especially because they compromised their faith. Afflictions have the capacity to affect every human being on earth no matter the country, or continent. But when afflictions hit us, we should go beyond complaining and look up unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.
The prayer of faith will deliver from all forms of afflictions. If the affliction was as a result of sins committed, confessions of sins must first be made to God so that He can forgive. It is also important that we make our ways right with those we might have offended. God is merciful and He will surely forgive. Let us go beyond lamenting over afflictions. Pray to God today and He will deliver you.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
Repentance and prayer of faith are the panacea for affliction.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:
Isaiah 13-17
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
