Shepherd Daily Devotional

Just as we go to school to be trained, God also enrolls us in His training program.

Written By Benjamin Dankaka

Joseph was a young man whom God had preordained to be a great leader.  But he was a small Jewish boy who didn’t have the right qualifications. He only knew how to take care of sheep and run errands for his father. Joseph didn’t even have the toughness of a leader because his father pampered him. To prepare him for the opportunity ahead, God had to let him go through some challenges. At first, his brothers sold him into slavery, then his master’s wife framed him and he was sent to jail. But while he was in prison, a situation arose which led to him, fulfilling what God had originally planned for him. When he reunited with his brothers, he didn’t curse them. Instead, he said “God sent me before you”. Joseph had realized he had been a student in God’s training camp, all along.

Just as we go to school in order to prepare ourselves for opportunities, God also enrolls us in His training program. But unlike our school’s training program, God’s training takes place without our permission. When God enrolls us in his training camp, we don’t have to pay any money. The cost is patience. In God’s training camp, you may not understand what He is teaching you until He finishes the training. While your school’s training program may focus on building your professional skills, God’s program is often about building your character. Just as you will be tested in school, God will allow life to test you with trials. It is after you have proven to your school that you can pass every test that you would be deem fit for graduation. In a similar way, God will make you sure you are strong enough to pass and withstand every test before He will promote you.

Prayer: Lord, give me the grace to pass the test. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 105:17; Genesis 45:7

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Your achievements are the things that draw people to you.

Written By Benjamin Dankaka

Too often, we want to be celebrated the moment we start pursing our dreams. You may have a great project in mind; you may have an idea that could make you and others rich, but if the idea is still in your head, people aren’t going to support you as you would expect them to do because people are more interested in what you have done than in what you intend to do. Several years ago, when I told people I wanted to start an NGO, I didn’t get the support I needed. Within the first few months, my volunteers abandoned my project when they didn’t see any meaningful results. At that time, the ideas I had about the project was inside my head and I couldn’t convince others that it was profitable. Later, when my project was selected and honored with an award, people began to show interest in the project.

People prefer to support an idea that has been tested. What you intend to do isn’t what people want to hear. Your achievements are the things that draw people to you. When Saul was made king, there were some Israelites who didn’t embrace the idea of having Saul as king because they didn’t know what he could do. In other words, they saw him as an idea that hadn’t been tested. So they despised him. But Saul was wise. He didn’t try to convince them. Instead, he kept silent and waited for an opportunity. Soon afterwards, his people were threatened by Nahash the Ammonite. Saul seized the occasion to prove himself. After leading a successful war against the enemies, the people discovered what he could do. That is, he became an idea that had been tested. So they decided to support him by reaffirming his kingship.

Prayer: Lord, enable me to prove my critics wrong by my achievements. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: 1 Samuel 11: 1-15; John 20:28-31

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Don’t try to run away from trials.

Written By Benjamin Dankaka

Job is one of the most inspirational characters in the Bible. When he was prosperous, he stayed faithful to God. When he lost everything, including his children, he remained committed to God. And as he held on, he got discouragements. First, his wife asked him to curse God and die. Then his friends tried to make him think he was suffering for his sins. But Job knew he was innocent. At the same time, He was aware that God wasn’t the architect of his predicaments. But then again, he still couldn’t figure out why he was surrounded by many troubles. What Job didn’t know was that he was going through a test. His trials were intended to test his commitment to doing God’s will. Like Job, maybe you are overwhelmed by the crisis in your life. 

Don’t think you are under a curse. If you’ve already accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, don’t be deterred. Not all problems are caused by sin or mistakes. As we have seen in the case of Job, even the rich and the most righteous person can be overwhelmed by indescribable challenges. If you are determined to follow God’s will, you will be tested with troubles from the enemy. Don’t try to run away from trials. Instead, make up your mind to be an over-comer. When Jesus prayed for his disciples, He said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.” Obviously, Jesus doesn’t want you to run away from trials. He wants you to be an over-comer. When Jesus reminded us that we will have trouble in this world, He quickly advised us to stay strong because He has overcome the world. Stay strong in Jesus!

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to overcome my challenges. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Job 5:17-19; John 17:15; John 16:33

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

If life is hitting you with dark experiences; stay strong!

Written By Benjamin Dankaka

We like to associate ourselves with light because it is one of the most universal and widely accepted symbols. Light is the principal force in the spiritual world. In religion, those who get revelations as a result of their understanding of God’s word are seen as the light of the world. In the secular world, light represents knowledge. We like to think of light as the source of goodness and the ultimate symbol of progress. Therefore, light represents leadership because the symbolism of light is used to show direction. We’ve been taught to believe that you cannot advance if you don’t have light. So those who represent light in our lives are seen as leaders. We follow them because they radiate our environment with their light. In other words, they make us see.

While light is considered a symbol of joy, immortality, higher power and of life-giving power, darkness is seen as a representation of death and destruction, in almost every religion. By reason of that, we often embrace light and then try as much as possible to avoid anything associated with darkness. But in reality, darkness plays an important role in the making of light. Indeed, light is a positive force but one cannot have light in any area of life without going through darkness. This means that darkness begets light. Before God created light, darkness was over the surface of the deep. Light, was therefore created out of the dark. Isn’t it amazing that we cannot see the break of dawn until we’ve passed through the darkness of the night? My friend, if life is hitting you with dark experiences; stay strong. You light will show up at the right time.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me the courage to pass through the dark. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 23

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Written By Benjamin Dankaka

The crisis you’re going through will move you from where you’ve been to the place you ought to be.

We don’t have to always blame ourselves for every crisis that shows up in our lives. You don’t have to make mistakes before getting into trouble. A crisis may come into a person’s life in the form of a strange illness through no fault of theirs. Or it may come through a sudden incident that occurred in a person’s business or career. For instance, a fire incident or the sudden death of a colleague or business partner can bring about a crisis. You may also find yourself in a financial crisis because of an economic recession. You are not the reason why your country is in recession, but somehow you are affected by it. So, crises are actually problems that come into our lives unexpectedly. Crises are uninvited troubles. There are times that troubles would meet you even while you were minding your own business.

If you are currently going through a crisis, as long as you stay strong and determined, you would overcome it. Crises do not come to stay; they always have an expiration date. While crises can be painful, they also have some benefits. Crisis comes to shake up certain things in our lives. No one goes through a crisis without growing. The crisis you are going through will move you from where you’ve been to the place you ought to be. Don’t let the crisis you are going through kill you. Use it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. The crisis in your life has come to wake you up. Above all, the troubles you are facing will bring you closer to God. David said, “It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees” (Psalm 119:71). Like David, you will be grateful in the end.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, give me the strength to stay strong. Amen.

REFERENCES/FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 119

Unless otherwise stated all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.