Open Heaven 7 February 2023 TOPIC: Your Tomorrow Shall Be All Right
MEMORISE: “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.” – Psalm 42:5 (KJV)
READ: Psalm 42:3-5 (KJV)
3 My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday.
5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Numbers 1-2
MESSAGE:
Beloved, I have one simple message for you today: Don’t write yourself off. In our memory verse for today, David told his soul to hope in the Lord and know that he would still praise God for His help. Any time you feel despair, any time you feel there is no hope, tell yourself, “No, I am not going to end like this; one day, I too will testify of the help of God in my life”.
Many years ago, when my wife and I just got married and things were tough, I would tell her, “Don’t worry, things won’t go on like this; our tomorrow will be all right” and indeed, God has been faithful. I am saying to you reading this devotional today: your tomorrow will be all right in the name of Jesus.
Not long before Sarah had Isaac, she had written herself off. The Almighty God said she would have a son and she laughed because she considered it impossible as she was ninety years old already. No matter how long you may have been waiting for that miracle, don’t write yourself off. My God is a master at reversing the irreversible; He will show up for you, in Jesus’ name.
In Luke 5:1-11 the Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised Simon Peter that he would no longer catch fish, but men. Three and a half years later, at a time that it appeared Jesus needed him the most, Peter denied the Lord and then wept bitterly because he saw himself as a failure. He was supposed to be catching men for Jesus but rather, he was denying ever knowing Him (Luke 22:55-62). After Jesus died and nothing seemed to be happening, Peter decided to go back to fishing (John 21:3). May you never backslide, in Jesus’ name.
By verse 4 of John 21, Jesus had shown up for Peter. This time Jesus said Peter would not only catch men, but also feed them. The first sermon Peter preached after that brought 3,000 souls into the kingdom of God (Acts 2:41). In Acts 3:1-8, he made a lame man walk in the name of this same Jesus who he had earlier denied. By Acts 5:14-16, his shadow had started healing the sick. No matter how many times you may have denied or disappointed Jesus, as long as you are truly repentant, God can restore and use you as mightily as He did Peter; all you have to do is repent and never go back into sin.
KEY POINT:
It is not over for you yet; God is still coming to reverse the irreversible for your sake.
HYMN 5: Blessed Assurance
1 Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.
2 Perfect communion, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight.
Angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
3 Perfect submission, all is at rest.
I in my Savior am happy and bless’d,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
