EXPOSITION FOR THE WORD OF THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2024
Word for the month: OBEDIENCE
Text: Psalm 40:6-8, Exodus 19:4-5, 1 Sam 15:22
Happy New Year, this year is filled with a lot of the promises of God and a lot of manifestation of the will of God in our lives. The word for the month of January is Obedience and it calls for our utmost attention to know what the will of God is regarding the month. If there is something
that we need to do every day of our lives to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives, if there is anything that could contribute to our growth just as we would grow normally, then that should be Obedience.
Folks around the world believe that we have to make a lot of sacrifices to fulfill God’s purpose in our life, we sometimes go days fasting, sacrificing a lot and many other good spiritual things, but at the long run, the best decision any believer can make is to obey. 1 Samuel 15:22 makes us to understand that to obey is better than to sacrifice and to hearken is better than a fat of rams, that is, no amount of sacrifice can ever be as effective as obedience.
Here are the emphasis surrounding the word for the month and the things we need to understand to walk fully in the will of God this time.
1. To obey, you need to know what God is saying: Here is where the primary issue lies, the most important thing to a believer should be to know the mind of God in every situation we find ourselves. If we find ourselves in a condition we are unsure of, the next question we should ask before making any move should be “What is God saying about this matter?”. We should not proceed in taking any further action until we are clear about what God is saying. To know the mind of the Lord would require that we wait upon the
Lord just like Habakkuk said in the second chapter of his prophetic book: “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved”.
2. You need strength from God to obey His will: To fulfill God’s will, there has to be strength available for us. It is God who works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure; meaning that the desire to do the will of God and the working out of that will to do the will of God depends on the working of God in us. In addition, the bible also makes it clear to us that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us; in addition, the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man makes power available. Thus, we can come to a premise that for God to work in us to both desire and to do His will, we need His working power in us which is made available by our effectual fervent prayer. The key prayer thus is that we be strengthened with might by His Spirit in our inner man.
3. You need to walk in the Spirit: Walking in the Spirit cannot be overemphasized, that is our daily need as believers; it settles it all for us as the bible makes it clear that by walking in the Spirit, we would not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Temptations would arise because of the word of God, but we need to be connected to the Spirit of God especially what He is saying at every time to be able to obey Him totally. As we grow in faith, we would eventually discover that we need to rely more on the Spirit as every other support system has to be replaced by that which the Spirit of God can provide.
PRAYERS
1. Lord, I thank you for the word of the month, thank you for revealing yourself to me in the month (Luke 10:21)
2. I ask that the blood of Jesus presents me blameless even before the throne of grace, as I draw nearer to you (Hebrews 10:22)
3. Father, I receive grace to walk in the Spirit at all times this month (Galatians 5:16, 2Corinthians 8:7).
4. Father, I receive grace to wait on you to receive that which you are communicating to me even this month (Hebrews 4:16, Habakkuk 2:1)
5. Father, I receive grace to be obedient as the Spirit of God would be requiring of me this month (1 Samuel 15:2)
6. Thank you for you have answered my prayers (Ephesians 5:20)