THE PLACE YOU ARE

FAITH CAPSULE: Where you are now will soon change for the better. You will eat better food
than what you have missed.
 
Exodus 16:1-19
 It does not matter where you are now, it only matters how you are living in the place where you are. The children of Israel knew for sure that they were on a journey, they were on the way to the Promised Land: a land that is waiting for them to look after, a land flowing with milk and honey. They had seen the great hand of God at work, and that alone was a confirmation that He that began a good thing will take them to an expected end. The Bible recorded that, “…He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. (Psalm 103:7) Indeed they saw His acts and yet they could not maintain where they were with expectation. The children of Israel lost touch and could not hold on to the hand of God that brought them out of bondage of over four hundred years. It is also written, “They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, but lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tested God in the desert.” (Psalm 106:13-14)Is your story the same? Are you saying it cannot happen to you–that it is not possible to forget where he has brought you? Determination will fail you, but the grace of God will pass you. All you have to do is to constantly remember that you are on a journey and that He has given you all what is needed for you to go through that journey if you will carry with you always the Word of God. The children of Israel had what was necessary for them to go through into the land of promise, but they could not accept it all. God put in place good food, but they could not stop asking for tasty food. Exodus 16:3, “And the children of Israel said to them, ‘Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’” Where you are now will soon change for the better. You will eat better food than what you have missed. Trust in Him; He will take you to your expected end. Accept all that He has put in place until you get to the expected end.

Prayer for today: Ask God to help you entreat His favor with your whole heart; to be merciful to you according to His word.

FAITH CAPSULE: With contentment, Moses was in place — not out of place — for receiving the calling for his life.

Exodus 2:1-22

It is written, “Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.” (Exodus 1:8-9) The new king made life difficult for the children of Israel. All forms affliction were put in place to reduce the children of Israel until the king eventually gave a command stating, “…if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.” (Exodus 1: 16) According to the king, it was his time to terminate the Hebrew male. In God’s timing, it was the right time to send a male son who would bring deliverance to thousands of His people. What a mighty God! Moses escaped death as an infant, but later turned out to be a murderer that had to run from the palace where he was raised. He ran from Pharaoh’s reach after killing an Egyptian, and ended up in Midian. Nothing happens by accident. In the life of Moses, all that happened prepared him for where he was going. In order for Moses to become a shepherd in the hand of God, he had to be trained as a shepherd. You do not know where you will wind up; you only know where you are now. Are you paying attention to Him? While Moses was living in the palace, he could not have imagined becoming a shepherd. Nevertheless, he ended up becoming a shepherd in the hand of God. To be used by God is a great achievement that cannot be compared to or traded for anything. You know in whom you believe, and that enough is an encouragement for you to stand firm in whatever condition or situation you may encounter. If Moses had missed his training, he probably would have been out of place to be called by God, thus he would have missed his divine schedule for his life. When he was received by the priest of Midian, he did not let pride or anger get in the way of what God planned for Him. Character was in place in the life of Moses, Exodus 2:21, “Then Moses was content to live with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses.” Contentment is what made the difference in the life of Moses. For Moses, living in a palace was replaced with living in a tent. Life could never have been an easy transition, but Moses was content. Do you have God in your life? What about contentment? The word of God says, ““Now godliness and contentment is great gain.” (1Timothy 6:6) With godliness add contentment for your gain. With contentment, Moses was in place-not out of place- for receiving the calling for his life.

Prayer for today: Ask God to endue you with the spirit of contentment.

FAITH CAPSULE: Without understanding, a knowing edge (knowledge) over confronting situations will not be in place.

1Samuel 3:1-11

In the journey of life, nothing matters like having knowledge. With knowledge perishing in the journey of life becomes impossible. It is written, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6)The book of Isaiah 5:13 buttress Hosea 4:6 when it states, “Therefore my people have gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge; their honorable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.” (Isaiah 5:13) Truly, there is no way getting to expected end as expected, without knowledge. The challenges in life journey are numerable and it demands constant walk in knowledge.  It is the knowing that you have in the Lord that will determine the edge you will have over every confronting situations in the journey of life. It does not matter who you are or what you do in the house of the Lord; if the required knowledge is not in place in your life, it is possible for you to miss His direction or His call of assignment. I Samuel 3:1, “Now the boy Samuel ministered to the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation.” Age or number has never been a limitation in regard to whom God wants to use in furthering His purpose on the face of the earth. Man, however, can be limited if there is a lack of understanding in activating knowledge of Him. As young as Samuel was, he was the one to hear from God in the days when revelation was rare. Samuel was in the right location at the right time of his life. God located him for an assignment because age and number is not a determinant for God to move whenever or wherever He chooses to move. The point is Samuel was a minister and did not have the knowing that it takes to hear from God. Are you a minister that is not hearing from Him? Is knowledge a factor that denies inability to be hearing from Him? 1Samuel 3:7, “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD. Nor was the word of the LORD yet revealed to Him.” It was not that Samuel was too young; it was that despite his ministering to the Lord, despite being in the right location to be connected to heaven, he did not yet know the Lord.

Prayer for today: Ask God for an understanding to know how to hear Him in every calling that is placed in your life. Without understanding, a knowing edge (knowledge) over confronting situations will not be in place. He is a merciful God.

FAITH CAPSULE: Dwelling in the house of God is taking a shelter against the time of trouble.

Psalm 27

What the heart desires often come forth in life. King David stated, “One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.” (Psalm 27:4) What do you desire? Dwelling in the house of God is taking a shelter against the time of trouble. David went further to identify what is inhabited in dwelling in the house (presence) of God stating, “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:5) Manifestly, dwelling in the presence of God will hide one and set one high away from trouble. As one that believes in the name of the Almighty God, it is important to consider if you have only been entering into His presence and not dwelling? It is written, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD!’” Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.” (Jeremiah 7:1-3)It is not enough to be coming and going to the presence of God but to dwell. He who comes to God must believe that He is. Have you been coming long enough and nothing has changed in your spiritual life? There is a need to begin to come and seek Him diligently and make His presence become your dwelling place. Your level of belief is what will determine how you seek Him. Seek Him diligently and He will reward you because He is a faithful God. It is possible to come to Him and not believe. In the days of Jesus Christ, many came to see Him; some came to ridicule Him. Some did not go to Him because they did not believe. So many go to church on Sunday or on any given day, but are not able to identify in themselves if they actually believe in Him. Likewise in Jesus’ time, many went to Him, but did not seek Him. When you come with belief, you will not doubt Him but seek Him diligently. It is not enough to come to Him but to come and seek Him. Seeking Him is settling and dwelling in His presence. Just like David, desirer dwelling and God will deposit all that it takes to dwell in His presence.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to seek Him and continually and to dwell in His presence.

FAITH CAPSULE: Inhabited in the ways of God is life and not death.

1 Kings 9:1-16

It is written concerning Moses and the children of Israel. “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7) The ways of God and the acts of God are His direction and His testimonies. Inhabited in the ways of God is life and not death, for those that meditate on it day and night. Whenever one takes out of the ways of God to one’s own ways it leads to death. The bible recoded, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12) In God’s calling His ways are made known. When the Lord calls you, it does not matter who you are, where you are, what you have done, or what you are doing in the Lord. He does not call you to hide and if you do, you will end up in a back slide. He does not call you to run, and if you do, you will be replaced. Elijah, a man who was great in the hand of God, spoke to the rain and it ceased for three and a half years. God commanded him to go into hiding where provision is least expected. He obeyed and he lacked nothing because it is God’s way for him. In the name of God, he delivered a great blow to four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal by bringing them to open shame and by executing them all. After executing the prophets of Baal, Elijah got a message from Jezebel, 1 Kings 19:2, “Then Jezebel sent a message to Elijah, saying, ‘So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them tomorrow about this time.’” After having received the message, Elijah ran without hearing from God, he took to his own way. 1 Kings 19:3, “And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” Elijah was constantly moved by God’s direction, but in this situation he was moved by the message of Jezebel. He ran away though God did not speak to him to run. He could run, but not hide from God. When the voice of God came to ask Him what he was doing where he was, he gave a reasonable excuse. He was commanded by God to return to the Wilderness of Damascus. Inside of God’s command was a new way for Elijah stating, “Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Mehola you shall anoint as prophet in your place.” (1Kings19:16) Eventually, Elisha took the place of Elijah.

Prayer for today: Ask that the placement of God for your life shall not be taken away from you in Jesus name.