BE ESTABLISHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS

Dearly Beloved, BE ESTABLISHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS "In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you" (Isaiah 54:14 NKJV). In Isaiah 54:14-17, God promised that He would establish His people in righteousness. To be righteous is to be virtuous, blameless, morally upright, and be in right standing with God. A synonym of the word "righteousness" is justice: to be just, fair, impartial and honest. A person that wants tyranny and terror of the evil ones to be far from him must be righteous. Such person must have allowed God to really establish him/her in act of righteousness and he must remain in it. Allow God to establish you in righteousness by moving closer to Him in prayer and meditation of His words this year. Be just and fair with people around you. Be in right standing with your God. "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34 NKJV). Then, tyranny and terror of the evil ones will indeed be far from you. Being established in righteousness does not mean that there will be no hitch. In God‘s promise in Isaiah 54:14-17, God made it clear that His people will be attacked, but, such attack will not be His doing, and He will definitely give His people victory over the attackers. Jesus Christ gave the same assertion (see John 16:33). Three truths can be deduced from this assertion. One, the fact that God has established a person in righteousness does not mean such person will not be attacked. A child of God who is doing the will of God is not free from the attack of the enemy. This attack may come in any form. Two, such attack is not from God. In the Parable of the Weeds, Jesus said of the enemy, the Devil, who came while everyone was sleeping and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away (see Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43). Christians are facing many attacks today that are not God‘s doing, but the handiwork of the Devil and his cohorts. Three, no matter the attack, victory is sure for those that have been established in righteousness. The Lord will enable His loved ones to overcome any trouble that may come their way. No wonder, the Psalmist could boldly say, "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30:5 NKJV. See also John 16:20-22). In spite of the fact that many troubles will come this year, know that they are not God‘s doing. If you are established in righteousness, your attackers will surrender to you in Jesus’ name. Amen. God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth, and everything in them. However, the fall of man recorded in Genesis 3 distorted the good creation of God. In spite of this, God never disowns His creation. The fact still remains that He was, and still is, the Creator. This is what He was reminding His people in Isaiah 54:16. He does have the power to restrain the evils. No matter what man does to harm God‘s people, it shall not overcome them. In fact, God‘s people will triumph over such evil at the end of the day. The prophecy ends with the affirmation that it is the heritage of the servants of the LORD. Who are these people? They are the people that have dedicated their lives for God to be used by Him as instruments of honor in His vineyard (see 2 Timothy 2:21). These are people that are living consecrated or sanctified lives to the glory of God. It has to be noted that they are not people that are living self-achieved righteous lives, but people that have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ and have the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ through faith in Him (see Romans 1:17; 3:21-22; 5:17; 10:4; Philippians 3:9). The promises in Isaiah 54:14-17 and many other comforting promises of God in the Bible are not for all and sundry. They are for people that are ready to dedicate their lives to God and allow Him to sanctify them and make them His instruments for noble purposes. Are you one of those people? In His service, Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor). Prayer Point: O Lord, establish me in Your righteousness so that evils and the evil ones will not be able to overcome me.