Maximum Victory Center

Genesis 31:2, 3 ”And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.”NKJV. God specifically instructed Jacob to the land of his fathers because that was where he belonged and according to God’s plan Jacob could only be safe and prosperous in the promise land. Jacob made all necessary plans to obey this Word, and indeed he started to move out of the land of Padan Aran where he had dwelt for the previous twenty years. He was accompanied by his two wives and eleven children. He obeyed the Word but again he had other challenges to overcome, Laban his uncle/father-in-law, his brother Esau, the terrain he was to pass through before getting to Canaan.

He left in a hurry while Laban was shearing his sheep. He intended to obey the Word of God and go back to the land of his fathers. However after encountering the angel of God and later the dreaded encounter with his brother Esau. Through all these things God saw him through successfully.

When he was near the land he changed his mind and went to settle in Succoth as the scripture shows. Genesis 33:17-20 ”And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth.Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan Aram; and he pitched his tent before the city.  And he bought the parcel of land, where he had pitched his tent, from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money.  Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel, NKJV . It is evident that Jacob didn’t do as God instructed him instead he settled according to his thoughts and judgment of what was good with him or not. God knew what was good for Jacob, but as we see Jacob found it necessary to trust his own judgment of the situation and went aside. He did well to make an altar unto God, but where did he do it? In a strange land from what God wanted. This means that what good we do outside God’s instructions doesn’t matter to Him.

When God gives His instructions, He does so with understanding for He really knows what is good for us. He always has the our best interests at heart and no matter our read on situations and circumstances we should listen to the voice of God alone. We live a world full of voices, some discouraging, some genuinely encouraging, others with strings attached, others intentionally misleading and heart breaking.

Our judgment of situations could be erroneous and we sometimes don’t seek God’s will for everything that we are doing at any specific time. As born again people it is imperative that all our interactions should be led by the word of God. It is only in the Word of God that we are guaranteed success, anything else is a struggle, all requests put to God are always be with understanding that the same is fulfilled at His own time, for God works according to His timetable and not ours. Brethren it is the high time we started to work under God’s timetable and not trying to fit God into ours, He simply can’t fit into ours but we can fit into His. The scripture in 2 Peter 3:8 ”But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” NKJV . Much as we like to be in charge (control freaks) that’s what we are in most cases. We don’t like to let go without a struggle, isn’t it, for you to realize the true work of God in your life you should learn to listen to one very important voice, the voice of God and not the side shows. The side shows claim a lot of our time, and in the meantime we forgo the most important aspect of our lives which is to look up unto God for everything we need.

For our lives to change we need to focus entirely on the voice of God. Jacob disobeyed God in not returning to the land of his fathers- Canaan. He instead went to Shechem, there we consequences for disobeying God. Genesis 34:1, 2 ” Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.”NKJV. Had Jacob gone to straight to Canaan, this could not have happened to his only daughter, this, God let it happen because He wanted to show Jacob the futility of disobeying Him. God can cause adversity to teach us His will.

Do you really want to obey the right voice the hard way? No, I don’t think so. Because if you don’t go as instructed or go half way, you can expect repercussions. Kindly plan and go all the way. You may not like it but you have to go because He Who is instructing you knows all there is to know about you, your mission, your ability; He knows the benefits and losses; He knows the dangers, the difficulties you are likely to encounter, you can only anticipate them but God knows them and He has beforehand prepared your escape routes.

What I am saying my dear brethren is that listening to the voices of reason, pride,        discouragement, diversion, disillusionment,  knowledge, self wisdom and any other voice apart from the voice of God is disastrous for us, we should at all times, despite the prevailing conditions, circumstances and situations seek to hear the voice of God. In it you can be assured of protection, success, prosperity, and the good things we like in this life.

We should always pray for the gift of discerning that tells you whether  we are on the right track or not, that tells when we are being deceived or not. This is all to the benefit of all believers who seek to worship God through obedience to His voice and His voice alone. Let’s shut out other voices no matter how enticing they become, how sweet they are to our ears, how reasonable and logical they may sound. The enemy is at work in this world, and he is acting on overdrive due to the limitation of timing that he has at his disposal.

Let us be cautious about every voice we hear because Revelation 12:7-9, 12 says ” And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.  So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him…….Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Let’s not get caught off guard, let’s be ready, in season or off season to listen to the right voices knowing that our salvation depends on it, our very life depends on it.

This devotional was written by Bishop Joseph Koburu Mukiira of Maximum Victory Centre Nairobi Kenya and brought to you courtesy of Journey to Joy International Ministries, Inc. USA.