Luke 9:7-9

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him. NKJV

Bishop Joseph Mukiira

Herod committed sin of incest by marrying his brother’s wife and when the man of God, John stood up to him, his accomplice the Herodias had him put in prison and later nhad him beheaded. This accomplishment pleased her greatly and she thought that she had conquered the man of God and finished his ministry. She thought that no one could stop her evil schemes to remain next to the seat of power. Herod on the other hand believed that John was a man of God but due to his callous, drunken oath he had to fulfil that which he promised the daughter of the evil Herodias. In order to save face he had him killed and his head given to the daughter on a platter.

That was done and dusted but the matter didn’t end there, or so they thought but they started hearing of great miracles being performed from every corner of the kingdom. People were healed left right and centre, the lame were made whole, the dead were being raised all this brought a lot of confusion to Herod. He had put a lot of effort to destroy the early church but to his dismay, all his energies did not bear the intended fruit. He had John the Baptist killed so that his ministry would not continue but to the contrary the ministry prospered in leaps and bounds.

Herodias and Herod both were ignorant of the fact John knew and indeed testified to the effect that he must decrease while Jesus increases. John 3:30 -He must increase, but I must decrease. NKJV Herod was more perplexed and at loss for words, he groped in the dark for an explanation but none was forth coming.He didn’t know who was doing all these great things he was hearing about because this was something that he and his cohorts were not privy to.

Before Jesus was crucified He gave His disciples’ power over all principalities and demons; they were empowered to heal the sick and make the lame whole. We are the disciples of today and therefore partakers of the same promise and as I have previously said Herod in Biblically always represent the devil; this is to say that we too have been given authority to confound the devil at every turn and twist. The devil is perplexed by the progress of God’s servants and  the church both spiritually and numerically despite his concerted effort to derail our people and ministries both collective and individually.

Herod represented the principalities that were out to destroy the church of Jesus Christ then and today but instead the church prospers from one glory to another glory. In as much as the devil fights us also we are given power from a more powerful source and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. When he tries to kill our marriages they end up being stronger and stronger. The bonds he intended to severe are strengthened from strength to strength and that is why we are happy despite all the attacks Satan throw at us.

Satan seeks to destroy our children through consumption of hard drugs and prostitution but in the end they emerge better citizens for the future. The only problem is if they don’t embrace the power given by Jesus Christ through salvation. Only the salvation of Jesus can overshadow the influence of every principality successfully, it can also break generation curses and accord the recipient freedom from this enslavement of the devil completely.

Herod could not comprehend the power that was unleashed even after killing John the Baptist because he was not given to understand such things; in the same way the devil remains perplexed when he thinks he has seen the last of us! God’s people thrive in midst of adversity because God’s gives them strength to soar like eagles. Isaiah 40:29-31

He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. NKJV

And the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint NKJV. Young men are known for their strength and stamina, yet ordinary stamina cannot take them through the rigors and challenges of life only those who are in the Lord have such strength to outlast any challenge. The secret is not in the age or status but in the fact that they wait upon the Lord! The enemies will never know what happened after he assaulted you with all sorts of temptations, when he is sure that he has conquered you only to realize that you have come out of it stronger, wiser and rearing to go and complete your mission and calling for Christ.

When the children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt they were subjected to very hard labour in order to decrease but they increased instead, the Egyptians intention was not for them to increase but decrease because they were afraid of them. Exodus 1:12 – But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were in dread of the children of Israel – NKJV. as much as the Egyptians intended to decimated the Israelites, God reversed all their intentions. In the same way we too have that protection upon us once we receive Jesus Christ our personal savior.

The power that is given unto us by Jesus Christ as Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me NKJV. This is awesome power that defeats all principalities that are unfortunate to come attacking us.  What he meant is that no matter what adversity he faced he overcame not by his own power but through Christ who strengthened him. Through this power we too can overcome every adversity thrown at us by the enemy and come out of it stronger and better.

Today a great number of Christians are distracted by the onslaught of the enemy and sometimes they don’t know where to turn. Sometimes it is because of plain ignorance, some other times because of spiritual immaturity. Christians were called so because of their resemblance to Jesus Christ and therefore they should possess the same power as that of Jesus Christ. He overcame the world and its principalities and so should everyone who is called after him, nobody who professes faith in Him should be held in captivity anymore.

Perplexities are a preserve of the devil and not ours, so we should walk as conquerors that we are.  Romans 8:37 – Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. NKJV. We have been given the knowledge that it is not through our strengths that we do what we do but through power from our Savior Jesus Christ. Herod could not comprehend what was happening around him and though he was the reigning king, he was perplexed by all the things he was hearing.

Like Herod, the devil is perplexed that you can survive all of his constant attacks and move out of it with a smile to accomplishes that which he sought to stop you from achieving. This is so because of the promises of God; Romans 8:17 – and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together – NKJV. We are children of God and therefore as Christ overcame the world so shall we. The bible clearly says that we might be down now but we are not cast out completely, we may undergo much tribulation yet we shall overcome.

2 Corinthians 4:8-12

We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you- NKJV.

The Bible clearly does not hide the fact that we are vulnerable to all kinds of temptations, tribulations and attacks from the enemy. Yes we do receive persecutions but the strength to bear, overcome and emerge victorious is from the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore by whatever means the devil intends to kill our ministries we should not be discouraged because he will soon hear of the great things happening through you in Christ Jesus, his dumbfound will be so great that he will not have anything to do about it at all.

The pressure might seem very intense but but the escape route is prepared for you from the very beginning. Stand firm in this knowledge and do what you must do and forget evrything else the enemy might be using to distarct your ministry and life for that matter. Many are the times that you feel you are down as if you would not rise again but I say you don’t belong down there but up and about. Remember Elijah was down for some but later on God took him away in a whirlwind. Discouragement is not equals to defeat, no, never. It for the devil to be perplexed while we rise up again in victory, check out your attitude. God bless you as you move out in confidence for Him because  you are  always the head and not the tail, you are blessed and not cursed. Amen.

This devotional was written by Bishop Joseph Koburu Mukiira of Maximum Victory and Joy Worship Centre Nairobi Kenya and brought to you courtesy of Journey 2 Joy International Ministries Inc. USA. ©All rights reserved by Bishop Joseph Mukiira