Habakkuk 3:17-19
‘Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield now meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The joy of The Lord God is my strength,…
DAILY READING – Mark 11:1-14; 1 Kings 1; Hosea 4:11b-5:4
Pastor Nick Vujicic is one of the most widely recognized evangelists in the world. Yet he has no arms or legs. Though born without limbs, God has used him mightily. He travels the globe to preach the gospel and instill hope in people’s hearts.
This 35 year old Australian Christian evangelist was born on 4th December 1982, with a very rare disorder, called tetra-amelia syndrome, which was characterized by the absence of all four limbs. But despite being disabled, he has pulled through to become an international symbol of victory over adversity.
At the tender age of 17 years, he established his own non-profit organization called ‘Life Without Limbs’. Since then he has been presenting motivation speeches all over the world. He has shared his message of hope to more than 5 million people across 44 countries. Hundreds of thousands of people in different countries have also come to faith in Jesus Christ through his preaching.
He has written books and featured in films. He is happily married with children.
Though today, Nick has abundant smiles and positive energy, he didn’t start out in life that way. As a young boy he was so depressed by his condition, he almost committed suicide. But after many years of wondering why God allowed him to be born that way, one day God spoke to him from John chapter 9. In this place, Jesus said a blind man was born the way he was, so that the works of God could be made manifest through him. Nick after reading this, realized God also had a purpose for allowing him to be born without limbs. Thereafter he gave his life to Jesus, and began a relationship with God, which changed everything for him. He became joyful, trusting that God was in control of his life. He decided not to worry about the things he didn’t have, but rather to be thankful to God, for the things which he had. Having learnt the secret of contentment, he then began to enjoy his life. He became full of joy, and full of smiles. That joy became the door opener to his glorious destiny. One day their school janitor seeing how happy he always was, despite his circumstance, said to him, “Nick you are very happy even though you don’t have arms or legs. But others are very disappointed on their very silly problems. Can you just speak to them?’
Nick agreed and at the age of 17, he began to conduct classes where he spoke to encourage other students. One day he was speaking to 300 sophomore public high school students and half of the girls began to cry, touched by his speech. From that moment God ignited his heart with a passion, and he realized that he was called to be a worldwide evangelist.
In 2005, he founded an international non-profit organization and ministry, Life Without Limbs, and he also owns the motivational speaking company, Attitude Is Altitude. Nick has travelled all over the world preaching to millions of people. And today he is doing far more than many people with arms and legs. Indeed he is a great blessing to people around the world. But his change of story came when he decided to be joyful, despite his circumstance.
Indeed the joy of The Lord is our strength. We need to be joyful in order to be successful. Not only do we need joy to be successful, we equally need to be joyful to maintain that success. Your high places in life are inaccessible without joy. Joy is God’s mystery for taking us to the top. The joy of the Lord enables us to carry His presence always and this brings us to our high places. Joy causes us to rise above our fellows in life.
Psalm 45:7 says ”Thou lovest righteousness and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows’.
God wants us to be above our fellows. He has reserved the top of the success ladder for us. But joy is our access to it.
Also to ride upon our high places we need extraordinary insights. Isaiah 12:3 says ‘Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.’
It takes joy to draw insights and knowledge from The Word of God.
Proverbs 24:5 says “A wise man is strong, yea a man of knowledge increaseth strength.” So Joy gives us access to knowledge from God’s Word, and this knowledge increases our strength and causes us to do exploits.
However, it is the Holy Ghost that imparts to us Joy. He is the one that enables us to be joyful despite whatever circumstances may surround us.
1 Peter’s 1:8, says ‘though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.’
Unspeakable joy, is unexplainable joy. It is the joy you can’t explain in natural terms. You are just on top, even when things are not working out as you expect. You refuse to be moved despite your circumstances.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 says ‘Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield now meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The joy of The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
So no matter the situations around you, maintain your joy. This Joy is the source of your rising to your high places. But depression or lack of joy can stop you from getting there. Depression is the enemy’s trap for stealing your joy, so he can steal your colorful destiny. Don’t allow it! Once the devil succeeds in stealing your joy, he has succeeded in stealing your strength. Do not allow money, relationships or anything to control your joy, because they are inconsistent. But God remains constant, reliable and He never fails.
Let us therefore trust Him, no matter what situations come our way. Let us remain ever joyful, knowing that God is working it all out for our good.
Let us therefore begin to engage the mystery of joy, so as to move up to our high places. Miracles are no myth or magic, but faithful compliance with the demands of scriptures. When we remain Joyful, we will walk upon our high places. Pastor Nick despite the impossible situation he was born into is riding upon his high places today through engaging the mystery of joy. Those who walk in God’s way, cause waves on earth. Only the joyful become fruitful, because Joy secures for you divine Presence which causes you to win all the time.
PRAYER: Lord, please help me to remain joyful and keep praising You despite any situation, let nothing ever stop the continual flow of your praise from my mouth. As I praise You, I know indeed that I must surely ride upon my high places in Jesus Name.
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Praise always guarantees you power for a raise, learning to praise God in season and out of season is key to fulfilling destiny. – WORDBITE 222.
[ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK REJOICE]
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