Today’s Devotion
Topic: Repair The Broken Altar!
Text: 1 Kings 18:30
Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. Amen
Sometimes, it seems easier to blame God or others when our prayers appear unanswered than to look within and discover how we may have contributed to that. Accusing God as being insensitive to our plight or, accusing witchcrafts and demonic forces as being too interested in our lives, make us appear like the innocent victims of an unfair system and we really enjoy it that way. The truth however is, that may not be the reality after all.
From the passage above we identify that before Elijah prayed for the Fire of the Lord to fall, he first REPAIRED THE ALTAR OF THE LORD THAT WAS BROKEN. The altar serves both as a place of sacrifice and also the symbol that reminds us of the covenant with God which neccesitated the said sacrifice.
A broken altar may signify some disregard of our covenant with the Lord or a compromise of the sacrifice that comes from such covenants. Remember how the people of Isreal rejected the Lord and went after baal? They broke the altar by offering profane sacrifices to baal and by trying to entrench their covenant with foreign gods.
Ponder carefully about this; do you have any broken altars in your life? These broken altars may be promises, pledges, vows, agreement or even covenants you had with the Lord but have either failed to fulfill or even acknowledge. They may also stand for all the unforgiveness and bitterness we harbour against our fellow man even though we claim to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbour too.
Have a deep search within if there are any of such broken altars in your life. Begin to pray and ask God for forgiveness. Rebuild the broken altar by getting rid of all these “foreign gods” and ungodly philosophies in your life which make you compromise on the things of God.
Renew your vow, fulfill your own part of the agreement and see if the Fire of the Lord will not come down and consume your sacrifice. This fire does not only produce from our sacrifice a sweet aroma which is acceptable by our Father in Heaven, it also purifies and makes the sacrifice complete.
Once our sacrifice is considered ‘holy’ and ‘acceptable’, God opens the floodgates of heavens and showers us with every blessing that comes with His name. Repair the altar therefore and expect God in your situation.
He is the consuming fire who burns away all the chaff and makes us whole. No demon, infirmity or imperfection can stand His holy fire. Your life on the altar is in for heaven’s excellence once the broken altar upon which you lay, is repaired. Your life will never be the same again.
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