RCCG Open Heaven Devotion 2012 – Pastor E. A. Adeboye (ISBN: 978-36079-4-4)
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(Previously available online @: http://www.rccgna.org/Resources/BibleStudy/Devotionals.aspx)

Bible in one year: 1 Corinthians 4-6

Memorise: Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness: Colossians 1:11

Read: James 5:7-11

Between a promise and its fulfilment, there is a waiting period. The same pattern is observable in the natural world. For instance, the gestation period of a woman is normally nine months. She will be full of expectations of seeing what her child will look like, whether it’s a boy or a girl, whether the child will resemble her or her husband. Yet, she will not be able to realise all her expectations until the day of delivery. If she decides to go for an operation to deliver the baby after three months because she is so full of expectation, what she will see will not be what she was expecting. While it takes a woman nine months to see the joy in her womb, it takes an elephant almost two years – 22 months, while it takes a rat about 20 days. As it is in the natural world, so is it with us spiritually. If your expectation is small, your waiting period will be short. But if your expectation is very big, then, you might have to enrol into the University of Patience, College of Waiting. In the Department of Records of this college, you will find the list of those who have passed through this school and how long it took them to graduate. You will find Patriarch Abraham who waited for 25 years, Zacharias, etc. Their records will encourage you when they tell you your graduation will be earlier than Abraham’s.

Many people enrol into this school but before their graduation day, they dropped out. The Lord will definitely hear your prayer as you enrol in this school, but the question is: Will you still be there when He comes to grant your desire? In Luke 18:8, the Lord asked a question that everyone should answer personally:

Many have lost their blessings for failing to stay in this school for just one more year or month or one more week or one more day. Will you be ready to wait as long as it takes?

If you enrol in the University of Patience, you are a work-in-progress in God’s hands.

If you choose not to be there, you are on your own