Tag: devotional

Read: EXODUS 4:1-13

Meditation verse:

“But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves  among themselves, are not wise” (2 Corinthians 10:12).

Are you often afraid to tread unfamiliar terrains because of feelings of  inadequacy? Are you in the habit of comparing yourself with others and  concluding you do not measure up? Do you often downplay your achievements or discount the things you accomplish? If so, chances are you are suffering from  a low self-esteem. Your self-esteem is how you feel about yourself. It is the value  you place on yourself and your perception of that value, in relation to others. 

Moses struggled with feelings of inadequacy when God revealed his assignment  to him. He told God all the reasons why he wasn’t qualified for the job. Firstly,  he feared he was insignificant, no one would listen to his voice. Next, he argued  that his speech defect would stand in the way. Then, he pleaded with God to  send someone else. If you suffer from a low self-esteem, you will fear new  challenges and avoid them. You are likely to feel less capable than others and  would rather not express your own ideas in public. You will have a strong need  for approval and be overly dependent on others. You would also be overly  sensitive to criticisms but be very critical of others. Does this describe you?  

A low self-esteem is often self-imposed regardless of the original cause. “No one  can make you feel inferior without your consent.” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Begin to  think and speak positively about yourself. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is  he” (Proverbs 23:7). Recognize your strengths and celebrate them. Spend your  time doing resourceful things; action builds confidence, but inaction generates  fear. Set goals and commit to accomplishing them. Help others. Service to others  is a sure way of starting to feel good about yourself. 

Lastly, change what you can about yourself, but accept what you cannot change.  Basing your confidence on physical looks is a losing strategy for happiness Remember that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, created in God’s image.  Embrace who you are today, eliminate the need for approval and live an  authentic life. God loves you, just the way He made you.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: HABAKKUK 2:1-4

Meditation verse:

“I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart and watch to see what He  will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected” (Habakkuk 2:1).

When God speaks to you, do you hear or listen? Although hearing and listening  may sound like the same thing, truth is, there’s a world of difference between  the two. Merriam-Webster defines hearing as the “process, function, or power  of perceiving sound; specifically: the special sense by which noises and tones are  received as stimuli.” Listening, on the other hand, means “to pay attention to  sound; to hear something with thoughtful attention; and to give consideration. 

Hearing is a passive behaviour of perceiving sound by the ear. Listening is  choosing to do something; it is an action. Listening utilises more senses in your  body than hearing. In listening you move beyond perceiving the sound to  processing and understanding, to give a suitable response or act. Hearing is 

physical, listening is cognitive. 

Habakkuk set himself upon the rampart and stood his watch to listen to what  God had to say about the evil that was going on. That speaks of preparation and  positioning. And God spoke to him. God longs to speak to you all the time. He is  relational and He created you for His good pleasure. However, you will not hear  or understand what He is saying if you do not prepare and position yourself. God  cannot be heard in noise and chaos, only in silence. Your heart must be ready,  your ears open and He must have your full attention. I have come to realise that  the best way to position yourself to listen to God is to wait on Him in fasting and  prayer.  

A famous song says: “God has something to say, listen, listen, pay close  attention, for God has something to say”. God has something to say about every  area of your life- your marriage, children, health, career, relationships as well as  your walk with Him. He wants to give insight into that situation. He wants to  direct your path. Isaiah 30:21 says, “right behind you a voice will say, this is the  way you should go, whether to the right or to the left” (NLT). Will you listen to  the voice?

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Isaiah 30:15-16

Meditation verse:

“For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest, you  shall be saved; In quietness and confidence, shall be your strength. But you  would not” (Isaiah 30:15).

How can you begin to move from striving and fretting into the place of rest that  God designed for you? 

Lean on the One who is in control of all things including your circumstances and  future. Lean on His strength, grace, and love. You cannot do anything without  Him. So why fret? 

Wait on God. Be still in His presence and let him refresh your soul. Isaiah 30: 15- 16 In returning and rest, you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence, shall  be your strength. Isaiah 40:31 says they that wait on the Lord shall renew their  strength. How do you wait on Him? Meditate on His word, pray, fast, listen to  inspirational music. Do anything that opens your spirit to receive from Him. In  His presence, He releases Rhema. You must depend on Rhema and not on what  you see with the naked eye. Otherwise, you will continue to fret. 

Commit everything into His hands. He holds your future in His hands. Realize  that you cannot seek your future. You do not have that ability. Your future will  seek you by His guidance. 

Keep your eyes on Him. Isaiah 26:3 says He will keep him in perfect peace whose  mind is stayed on Him. So, focus on Jesus. Stop focusing on the challenges.  Whatever you focus on magnifies. If you focus on the problem, it will magnify. If  you focus on God’s ability to help you, that magnifies also.  

So today, lean on Him, trust Him, meditate on Him, and focus on Him. Stay away  from sin and disobedience. And you will find yourself moving from striving to  resting.

Read: Isaiah 30:15-16

Meditation verse:

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).

So much gets thrown at us daily. So, we are constantly in a state of striving and  fretting. Our prayer demands keep expanding. It seems that as we are coming  out of one struggle, we are entering another. We are beaten, tired, and weary  from the battles of life. We are anxious about our children, marriage, job,  finances, health, body, and so many other areas of life that we are struggling to  gain control of. John 16:33, says in this world, you will have tribulation but be of  good cheer. I have overcome the world. As long as we are alive, we are likely to be faced with one challenge or the other. 

However, Hebrews 4: 9-11 says, “there remains therefore a rest for the people  of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works  as God did from His. The big question therefore is: “what keeps us from entering this rest, that God has provided for us? 

Lies from the enemy. The devil wants to keep you in a state of unrest. So, he  sells lies to you that your situation will never be okay. He presents that situation  to you as bigger than it is. He tells you: ‘that you are not good enough and you  will never make it, and that situation will never change’. He knows that if he  keeps selling it to you, eventually you will believe it and begin to doubt God’s  ability to help you. And once you do that, he has you where he wants you to be;  in bondage, for without faith it is impossible to please God. 

Sin will cut you off from God’s best. Hebrews 3: 16-19, says “for who, having  heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?  Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned,  whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would  not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?” Disobedience will prevent 

you from entering God’s rest. So also, will fear, self-condemnation and discouragement.  

Hebrews 4:11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall  according to the same example of disobedience. Be diligent to enter God’s rest  today.

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Psalm 92:12-15

Meditation verse:

“They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing” (Psalm  92:14).

Anna May Robertson Moses was an American housekeeper born 1860.  Popularly known as Grandma Moses, she began painting in earnest at the age of  78. Her paintings became very famous. They have been exhibited, marketed in  greeting cards, and sold all over the world. And she was awarded two honorary  doctoral degrees for her works. Colonel Harland David Sanders founder of  Kentucky Fried Chicken popularly known as KFC did not achieve his remarkable  rise to success until his 60s. Up until that time he was relatively unknown. He is  quoted as saying “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something  if I could. And no hours nor amount of labor nor amount of money would deter  me from giving the best that there was in me”. He became an icon when he sold  his company at the age of 75. And he was given the tittle, Colonel by the state  of Kentucky.  

What do these examples tell us? That it is never too late to start leaving your  footprints on the sand of time and scriptures support this fact. Job 8:7 says,  “though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase  abundantly”. Haggai 2:9 says, “the glory of this latter temple shall be greater  than the former, says the Lord of hosts”. Psalm 92:14 says, “they shall still bear  fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing”.  

Who says it is too late for you to live a life of significance? Who says that your  best years are behind you? Who says that you are too old? Not God. If His word  did not say it, then do not accept it. But if His word saysit, you had better believe  it. Believe in yourself too. Discover your gifts, identify a need and be the solution.  Go out there and try it out. Be seen and heard. Life is about breaking our  personal limits and outgrowing ourselves to live our best lives for the good of  others. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be  hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,  and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men,  that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Mathew  5:14-16).

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

Read: Numbers 13:1-31

Meditation verse:

“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).

If you are on a surface and need to be pulled up by someone to a higher ground,  the person pulling you up must be on that higher level. You cannot be pulled up  by someone on the same level as you; you can only be dragged sideways. In  much the same way, for us to get to a higher level in life, our mindsets must first  get to that level. It is difficult to attain a level that the mind has not captured.  Your mind or mindset must change and rise to a higher level and then it wills  your body towards attaining that level. What your mind captures, your body  eventually aligns to. Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar is quoted as saying to be  successful, you must think big, act big and talk big. It always begins with the  mind.  

Your mind is powerful. “Your thoughts influence your emotions, your emotions  influence your beliefs, your beliefs influence your decisions, your decisions  influence your actions. Your actions influence your outcomes in life and your  outcomes again influence your thoughts”. It’s a vicious circle. For things to  change, you must change, and the change must begin from inside. This principle  applies not only to achieving success but also to changing an unhelpful  behaviour or habit. You must see yourself in the light of the new habit you are  desirous of adopting.  

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.  

The greatest disability of a man is the mind and not the body. Your mind can be  your greatest tool for success or your biggest weapon for failure. Guess what?  “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right” (Henry Ford).

IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

or call +2348155525555

For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.