LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Tuesday 26th October 2021
GOD TEACHES US TO PROFIT
Scripture Reading: Isaiah 48:12-22
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go. Isaiah 48:17
We usually view profit as a concept related to trading or accounting. However, in this verse, God speaks beyond trading and accounting. He wants us to increase in all that we do. That includes growing in wisdom, faith, godliness and in spirit.
In line with our study of fruitfulness, God teaches us to live profitably by guiding our thoughts to various activities.
1. When God teaches us, He makes learning easy. The Lord directs us into paths He has already prepared for us. In those places, we have our greatest success. Each one of us has an area in life that we master easier than others. There are specific ideas, subjects or activities which connect more deeply with us than others, and there are particular areas in which we are more successful than our peers. God makes us fruitful by pointing us to those areas where we function most effectively.
2. When God teaches us, He gives us fulfilment. Nothing makes us feel more profitable than the deep-seated sense of pride in our work. Most of us get paid for the work we do. However, the salaries we get paid should not be the only basis for our satisfaction. We do some things out of obligation, and there are things we do because we love doing them. The Lord leads us to do things that resonate with the seed He has planted in us. These are things that we would do even if no one paid us to do them.
3. When God teaches us, He gives us the passion for something. Passion is the energy that drives human effort. Passion makes us committed to a cause, giving it 110% of our attention and energy. Each one of us has something we are passionate about. When we are passionate about something, we devote time, money and other resources to it, without those sacrifices being a burden to us. Passion is what drives us beyond tiredness, procrastination and excuses and propels us to achieve desired results.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, teach me to make the right choices and take the right actions in all I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.