Message
Today, I will discuss material burdens as another category of burdens. The devil seeks to put material burdens on people because he knows that when someone is living in poverty, it will be easier for him or her to fall into temptations that involve material things. The widow of Zarephath and her son watched their food supplies deplete daily until they had only one meal left. To make matters worse, a severe famine had struck the land; everything was dry, and they had no hope of finding another meal. Therefore, they resolved to eat the only meal that was left and prepare for death. However, the Burden Bearer stepped into their situation and turned things around such that what wasn’t enough became sufficient to sustain them throughout the famine (). I pray that the Almighty God will deliver you from any material burden that may be in your life, in Jesus’ name.
There was once a very wealthy man who had a quarrel with his wife. As the quarrel got heated, she told him that by the time she was finished with him, he would travel everywhere within Lagos on foot. The man laughed because at the time, he had 14 cars. Unfortunately, however, things began to go downhill for him, and at one point, he had only one car left and 50 kobo in his pocket. Then he began to think to himself, “If I use the 50 kobo with me to fuel my car, I will have nothing to eat. However, if I buy food, I will have to walk everywhere I need to go, just as my wife had said.” That was when he came to Jesus Christ, and Jesus took over his situation. When he shared the testimony of his turnaround, he was dedicating two new houses at once.
In today’s Bible reading, Haggai rebuked the Israelites for abandoning God’s house and living just for themselves. He told them that they were experiencing a lack of material resources as a result. The people sowed much but reaped little, and the little they earned wasted away. Beloved, if you want to experience material prosperity, seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness wholeheartedly. Mind His business, and He will ensure that you live in material abundance all the days of your life. If you have lost any material thing, turn to God today, and He will restore it to you, just as He promised in today’s memory verse.