MOMENT OF ENCOUNTER DEVOTIONAL

By Prophet Dr. Abiodun Adesida

Topic: Prosperity Begins with a Problem

Scripture Text

«"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."
— Romans 8:28»

«"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines... yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior."
— Habakkuk 3:17–18»

DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE

Have you noticed something? Nobody prays, "Lord, give me problems!" Yet almost everybody wants the blessings that problems often produce.

We admire Joseph's palace but would never volunteer for his prison.

We celebrate David's crown but politely reject Goliath.

Everybody wants the Promised Land, but nobody wants the wilderness. We even pray against mosquitoes in the wilderness!

Imagine a student praying, "Lord, let me graduate without attending lectures or writing examinations." Heaven would probably reply, "My child, even angels don't graduate that way."

The truth is simple: every genuine prosperity story in Scripture started with a problem.

God has a strange habit of wrapping miracles in difficulties. If He delivered them in shiny gift boxes, we would applaud ourselves instead of glorifying Him.

LOOK AT THE DIVINE PATTERN

SARAH HAD BARRENNESS BEFORE LAUGHTER (Genesis 18:11–14).

When Sarah looked into the mirror, she saw wrinkles. When God looked at Sarah, He saw Isaac. The same womb that doctors had mentally retired became Heaven's maternity ward. God's specialty is making impossible situations embarrass human conclusions.

ISRAEL HAD SLAVERY BEFORE FREEDOM (Exodus 1–14).

Four hundred years of making bricks without celebration. Pharaoh thought he owned cheap labor. God was actually preparing a nation. The Red Sea became God's graduation ceremony for former slaves.

THE WILDERNESS BEFORE CANAAN (Deuteronomy 8:2,18).

Israel complained because there was no supermarket. God replied with manna delivered every morning—Heaven's first home-delivery service. The wilderness wasn't punishment; it was God's classroom. Before giving them abundance, He first taught them dependence.

JOSEPH HAD A PIT BEFORE THE PALACE (Genesis 50:20).

His brothers sold him, Potiphar's wife lied about him, and the butler forgot him. If Joseph had a social media account, people would have commented, "Your life is finished!" But while men were forgetting Joseph, God was arranging Egypt.

DAVID HAD A CAVE BEFORE A CROWN (1 SAMUEL 22:1–2).

The future king's first headquarters was a cave filled with people who were broke, frustrated, and in debt. Not exactly the dream leadership conference! Yet God used that cave to build a kingdom.

HANNAH HAD TEARS BEFORE SAMUEL (1 Samuel 1).

Peninnah mocked her every year. Hannah could have organized a "Pity Party International." Instead, she organized a prayer meeting. Her tears became the ink with which God wrote the story of Samuel.

THE GREATEST EXAMPLE

Even our Lord Jesus Christ followed this pattern.

There was a cross before the crown...

suffering before glory...

the tomb before the resurrection.

If God did not bypass problems for His own Son, why should we think every inconvenience means He has abandoned us?

THE DIVINE PRINCIPLE

Your problem is not necessarily your enemy.

Sometimes your problem is Heaven's announcement that your next chapter is loading.

The enemy sees a crisis.

God sees construction.

The world sees a delay.

God sees preparation.

People may call it disappointment.

God calls it divine appointment.

Remember this: When God wants to advertise His power, He often begins with a human impossibility.

LIFE APPLICATION

- Stop asking, "Why me?" Begin asking, "Lord, what are You producing in me?"
- Don't waste your problems by complaining; invest them in prayer.
- Refuse to judge your life by today's chapter. God has not finished writing your story.
- Keep serving God faithfully. The God who transformed Joseph's prison into a palace is still in the business of rewriting destinies.

FAITH DECLARATION

Lift your voice boldly and declare:

"Every problem in my life shall become a platform for God's glory!

My pain shall produce promotion!

My tears shall become testimonies!

My delay shall end in divine acceleration!

In Christ, I shall prosper through every season, in Jesus' mighty name!"

(Luke 21:13)

Prophetic Prayer

Father, I thank You because You never waste the tears of Your children. Every challenge before me shall become a testimony. Every closed door shall become an announcement of a better opportunity. As You turned Joseph's prison into a palace, Hannah's tears into joy, David's cave into a kingdom, and Israel's wilderness into Canaan, turn every battle in my life into a breakthrough. I decree that my present struggles shall become tomorrow's testimony, and I shall return with prosperity, praise, and undeniable evidence of Your faithfulness. In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Shalom! Your present challenge is only the rough draft of your coming testimony. Don't quit—the Author is still writing.

Your Brother,

Prophet Dr. Abiodun Adesida
CAC IBUDO ÒNÀ ABAYỌ
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