DCLM HIGHER EVERYDAY 2 June 2022 — Time for troubleshooting
DCLM Higher Everyday 2 June 2022 Devotional by Pastor W. F. Kumuyi — Time for troubleshooting
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TOPIC: TIME FOR TROUBLESHOOTING
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 11:1-11
2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel.
3 And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee.
4 Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept.
5 And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh.
6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
7 And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent.
8 And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
9 And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you.
11 And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.
MEMORY VERSE: “And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus shall ye say unto the men of Jabeshgilead, To morrow, by that time the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad” (1 SAMUEL 11:9).
MESSAGE
Troubleshooting is a problem solving strategy to fix a process of a machine or a system. Troubleshooting helps us to identify a potential problem, to pave way to how the problem can be solved. Be guided against a wrong understanding of the word troubleshooting, in terms of perceiving it to mean “trouble making.”
From our text, Jabeshgilead was under threat from the enemies, but received interventional support from Israel under the leadership of Saul who came to their rescue. The men sent to Israel for a diplomatic relationship returned home with glad tidings as Israel willingly pledged to support them. The enemies were put to shame because Israel decimated them, giving the men of Jabeshgilead a glorious victory.
Today, there are many youths who are under threats of the enemies and demonic monsters who have vowed to stop them from making progress in their academic, spiritual and social lives. If you are facing a situation that is putting you on the edge, you need to begin to troubleshoot so that you can come out with a solution to the challenge, relying on God’s unfailing promises.
QUOTE: Begin to troubleshoot.
CHALLENGE: Strategy solves problems.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to apply the right strategy to solve my problems.
1. Admit that you are a sinner. "For all [humans] have sinned, and comes short of the glory of God....[and] the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 3:23)
2. Repent now. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out ...[for] if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness " (Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9)
3. Believe that God loves you and Jesus died for you. "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet Sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8)
4. Invite Jesus into your life through prayer of faith. Jesus says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Revelation 3:20)
