Sunday 19 August ARISE

Open Heavens Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye

Memorise: Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1

Read: Isaiah 60:1 – 3

Isaiah 60:1 says Arise. Arise is a command. God is not begging, pleading or advising you to arise. This is an order coming from the Commander-in-chief of the heavenly hosts. The command to arise can mean different things to different people depending on their present spiritual location or situation. If you are already dead, arise could mean come back to life. That was the kind of order Jesus gave to Jairus’ dead child (Mark 5:35-42). In any way you are spiritually dead, today here your Master’s command, Arise! On the other hand, to the sleeping, arise could mean wake up. When the Lord took Peter, James and John with Him to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane in Mark 14:40-42, they were sleeping spiritually? In the name of Jesus, arise today!

If you were not dead or asleep but sitting, arise could mean stand up and begin to move. In John 14:30-31, the disciples were sitting as Jesus talked with them. If you are sitting, it means there is work to be done but you are yet to do them. Are you procrastinating over the souls you should win to the Kingdom? Arise. Are there pending jobs for you to do? Arise! But if you are already on your feet, what does arise mean? It could mean jump into action. For instance, when Samuel came to the house of Jesse in 1 Samuel 16:11-13, and could not find God’s choice there, he said nobody should sit down until David was brought from the backside of the desert. By his orders to arise; he was saying move into action now. Are you already on your feet in certain areas? God is saying put in more effort, more life, and more you, arise means start running like David did towards Goliath (1 Samuel 17:48). But if you are already running, to arise means grape some wings and do some flying. A woman delivered a baby in Revelation 12:13-16 and was being chased by the dragon so she arose by getting wings and soaring high above its reach. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says you should move from glory to glory. Wherever you are, God is saying to you, arise!

PRAYER POINT:

Father, wherever I am presently located, help me to arise and make a difference in your Kingdom.

Bible in one year: 2 Kings 18-22