GOD’S TRAINING GROUND Tuesday 26 April

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E.A. Adeboye

MEMORIZE: “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (Job 23:10).

READ: Exodus 2:1-4

To be chosen as a Kingdom leader, it is good to possess faith, meekness, obedience, knowledge of God etc. God therefore wants His candidates for ecclesiastical leadership to go through some training. No one is a custodian of all vital leadership traits. This means we may lack one or more qualities we need, to be what we are meant to be. The good news is that through the process of training, such missing traits can be acquired.

God is the best Trainer in the universe. Also, He hardly uses those He has not trained. Before He pushes you into the battlefront, He will first ensure that your fingers have been groomed to fight (Ps. 144:1). Similarly, God is the One who decides the place and duration of your training, vis-à-vis His purpose for your life. However, your input also counts. That is, if you easily cooperate with Him, you may not exceed your appointed training period. But if you prove to be tough, stubborn or slow at learning, you may extend the divine timetable. Do you learn from the events, situations and circumstances that you go through? If you don’t, you may need to repeat those classes and examinations. Hence, God wants only those who are teachable.

God decides the location of training. He also determines whether we are prepared for an assignment or not. Before using Moses, He arranged for him to go through formal education in the palace of Egypt for 40 years. Some people are in palace now, but do not know that they are undergoing some training for a period, to enable them fit into God’s original purpose for their lives. Moses’ peculiar education also tells us that your academic qualifications can still be relevant, and may just be part of God’s preparation for you. However, it is not enough. Even if you have 10 doctorate degrees, you will still need another form of training. For this reason, Moses had to go to the wilderness for another 40 years training, to learn what University education could not teach him. He learnt meekness and patience through the tough task of leading sheep. What you cannot learn from men, God may send you to learn from animals, even ants. Are you ready to learn from God?

KEY POINT
Moses spent 80 years to prepare for a 40 years long ministry. This means that years of preparation may sometimes be twice as much as years of service. How prepared are you?

Bible in One year: Luke 4-6