GLORY ABSORBS REPROACH- Open Heavens devotional by Pastor E.A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: Acts 24-26
GLORY ABSORBS REPROACH
MEMORIZE: “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5) READ: 2 Kings 5:1-14 Glory is the opposite of shame, failure, and defeat. Glory is also the opposite of reproach. Reproach is a ‘but’ in the life of someone. It is something that causes grief whenever you remember it. Reproach is something that causes people to hang their heads in shame even when every other thing appears to go well. It is that thing that rubbishes every good thing you have. In 2 Kings 5:1-14, we read about Naaman with such outstanding credentials but he had the most notorious disease in their day leprosy. A reproach is that thing that makes you to wonder if your God is alive (Psalm 115:1-3). The Lord is bringing an end to that ‘but’ in your life this season. For a user of this Devotional, the Lord is bringing an end to the pain and sorrow caused to your family by that impossible child. The Lord is turning your reproach around in Jesus’ Name. Other things that are opposites of glory are loneliness, curse, fear, barrenness, poverty, etc. In whatever way these have manifested in your life, an end has come to them today. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). God’s glory is like light that repels darkness on arrival. No matter how strong the ‘but’ in your life may be, when the glory of God comes down, all darkness in form of reproach will disappear. The issue is how to bring down the glory. You can do this through praise. Psalm 22:3 says God inhabits the praises of His people. Some people say I am different from other pastors because they do not see me bind demons before starting a program like others. I told them I do not see the need to do so because if you bound demons yesterday, they may be lose over the night; what is the guarantee that they will not be loose before the end of a program if bound? What I know for sure is that if you praise God, His enemies cannot stand by. Some 30 years ago, we went to Oturkpo for a program with some students. I planned to talk on divine healing. Then we began to praise God so intensely that the glory of God descended and I forgot every other scripture I had written but Luke 1:37. Suddenly, there were clusters of students kneeling and praying in tongues when they had not heard of the Holy Ghost baptism before. Others joined them praying in tongues and at the end of the day I could not preach. When the glory of God comes down, God takes over the ministry from you. Why not bring down the glory today to absorb all reproach? ACTION POINT: True ministry is allowing God to have His way. Pray that God’s glory will absorb every reproach in your life.