Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria Grace for Living Devotional Monday December 11, 2023 TOPIC: STRANGE, BUT DIVINE VISITATION

BIBLE READING:

GENESIS 18:1-10

1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; 2 And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, 3 And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: 4 Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree: 5 And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said. 6 And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7 And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. 8 And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. 9 And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. 10 And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.  

KEY VERSE:

“And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said.” Luke 21:1  

MEDITATION:

James was a fervent, but indigent Christian student at Kenyatta University, Kenya. He had zero Kenyan Shillings in his pocket. He had not eaten all day. He was not sure where his next meal would come from. Then came this strange visitation by his childhood friend, Kariuki, who worked for an international NGO in neighbouring Somalia.  Kariuki was headed for a conference in Mombasa, Kenya, but upon arrival in Nairobi, instead of crossing to the domestic terminal to catch his flight for 8.00pm, he came out of the airport and drove to James’s hostel at about 5.00pm. He handed over USD600 (about 42,000 Kenyan Shillings) to him, gave him a hug, and left in same taxi. James was shocked, but he was sure the strange visitation was orchestrated by God!  

In today’s bible reading, Abraham had strange visitors too. He did not know them but entertained them all the same. In the previous chapter, God had promised him a son, Isaac. How it was going to work out remained a puzzle to Abraham who was now 99 years! The visitors made their mission clear, “And I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life”. The strange visitation turned out to be a divine one. Sarah had Isaac at the set time (Genesis 21:2). The strange visitation activated the word spoken by God to Abraham at the set time.  

Are you expectant of your own strange visitation over an issue for which you have cried and prayed, and it seems as if there is no hope?   

PRAYER:

Oh Lord, pay me a divine visitation today to change my story for good.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:

HOSEA 1-3, 3 JOHN 1