Prepare for His visitation, by Funmi Komolafe

Thanks be to God for life.   

You are a testifier.  That we are alive to witness the first half of the sixth month is indeed a testimony.

Beloved, the greatest testimony is that of life and the salvation of our souls.

Sleeping and waking up, isn’t by our power.  It is God that gives us the breath of life and this is why we must give thanks to God every day.

Last week we talked about the sixth   month being the month of good news.

However, something precedes the much awaited good news and that is visitation.

A visitor usually would come with good news, bad news or no news at all.  In other words, you many have a visitor that visits without a message for you.  Such a visitor may have come in, just to have a chat with you or share with you the challenges you have without any offer of a solution.

Today, we are considering Divine Visitation.    

As defined by Pastor Benjamin Ajayeoba, of Region 59 of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, “ Divine Visitation is the meeting between Divinity and Humanity”.

Every Christian surely looks forward to this type of visitation?

Why?  It is simply because, anyone that experiences the visitation of God will definitely have something change in his or her life.

We’ll take a few examples from the Holy Bible.

Luke 1 vs. 2-20 (Angelic visit to Zachariah) For our purpose, we’ll make reference to verses 11-14  ( NIV) : “ Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.

When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.

But the angel said to him: Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth   will bear a son and you are to give him the name John.

He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice   because of his birth”.

Brethren, are you in a similar condition? Are people calling   your wife barren?

Take steps like Zechariah.   He was prayerful; he was in the service of God.

It simply means that prayer for children isn’t the exclusive duty of the wife; husband and wife need to cooperate in prayer.

As we read here, the angel appeared to the man first.  What if he hadn’t been prayerful?   He probably would never have received the good news.

Note also that the angel brought a message from God.  

Let’s also note that the angel did not appear in a dream.  It was live and direct.

Your own angel may be your Pastor, he could be someone that God has put words in his mouth to speak to you about a particular challenge.

The angel delivered the good news and also to Zechariah what would follow when the message becomes a reality.

The angel said: “ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth”.

Even today, when childless couples have children after years of waiting, what follows is “ joy and celebration”. Many would rejoice with them.

Another example of the visitation of God is found in the story of the great prophet Elijah.

1st Kings 19 vs.  3-6 ( NIV)- Elijah the great man of God feared for his life,  when Jezebel  threatened to kill him/“  Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert.  He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die.

“I have had enough LORD,” he said. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors”.

Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, “ Get up and eat”.

Note that Elijah was tired and hungry when he fell asleep.   He knew that the enemy that pursued him was strong enough to kill him and he had no physical strength to overpower Jezebel and her killer gang.

Elijah had given up hence he asked the LORD to take him away from the danger that confronted him.

I may not know what is it that confronts you today.  

Are you trying to break away from poverty? Are you tired of loneliness?, or have you been working without progress.? Or are you confronted with a medical condition that doctors say is a 50-50 survival chance, don’t give up.

No condition should make anyone ask God to take his or life.  To do that is a demonstration of a lack of faith in the ability of the God of possibilities.

Verses 6-8 complete the story of Elijah.

“ He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread  baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again.

The angel came back a second time and touched him and said, “ Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you”.

So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God”.

My prayer for you is that the Lord will give you strength and peace of mind to overcome the challenge you are passing through.

One of the lessons for us in the story of Elijah is that he got fed up and would rather die.

Beloved, nothing must make you think of suicide when confronted with a challenge.  Neither should you condition your mind to ask God to take you away.

Going through a challenge should strengthen you.  It is the time to build up your faith and trust in God.

Prophet Elijah finally got more than he needed when the angel visited him.

It therefore means that when the Lord visits you, you are likely to get more than you asked for.

Which food can a man eat that would make him not to be hungry for 40 days? None.  But when God visits or sends a message, the miraculous that defies scientific explanation would manifest in that person’s life.

The question is are you prepared for the Lord’s visitation?

How pure is your mind?   Do not allow your state of barrenness to prevent you from going to naming ceremonies.

I’ll share a short story of a friend who trusted the LORD for the fruit of the womb.   Though her husband had been persuaded to try another woman.

She stayed in her marriage and continued to trust God prayerfully.

The lady attended the naming ceremony of her neighbour and openly she said, “ I use this baby as a point of contact for the Lord to give me my own”.

She gave presents to the mother and child and joined the celebration.

Barely, a year after she conceived and God blessed her marriage with a baby boy.

Beloved, God’s visitation could be in any form. 

The important thing is that it leaves you with a message that would change your story.

Cry not beloved, cheer up.

JESUS is LORD!

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