![[Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Increase comes from God](https://thenewsguru.ng/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-21-at-5.48.27-AM.png)
Read: 1 Kings 19:1-21
Meditation verse:
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die and said ‘it is enough! Now Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” (1 Kings 19:1-4).
Elijah had just experienced a great victory on mount Carmel, where he called down the fire of God to consume the sacrifice he had laid out. He had just demonstrated before all Israel and the prophets of Baal that God was the Almighty. But then at the threat of Jezebel, he ran into the wilderness for his life.
As I read this story, I wondered why such a mighty man of God would experience a mighty victory one moment and then run in fear, the very next moment. Instinctively the answer came: ‘we are defined mostly by our thoughts rather than by our reality. Proverbs 23:7 says, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” Your thoughts are powerful. Your thoughts influence your emotions, your emotions influence your decisions, your decisions influence your actions. Your actions influence your outcomes in life and your outcomes again influence your thoughts”. Elijah became discouraged and afraid because he believed that he was the only prophet of God left. His thoughts were ‘I am all alone, and my enemies are many and too powerful’.
When asked to spy the land which God was giving them, the children of Israel saw themselves as grasshoppers. Their thoughts had a huge influence on their beliefs which evoked fear in them, leading them to say: “we are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we” (Numbers 13:31). Only Joshua and Caleb believed differently. They ended up being the only ones amongst the spying lot to enter the promised land.
Your internal beliefs about yourself have a huge influence on your external success. Your thoughts determine your behaviour or reaction to circumstances. How you behave will eventually become your habits and your habits will eventually determine the course of your life. Guess what, whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you are right.
IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).
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