Good morning people who walk with the God who is so much greater than the enemy.

1 Kings 17:13 MEV Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make a little cake for me first, and bring it to me, and afterward, make some for your son and you.

Do not fear – easy to say, but not so easy to do.

Many people – many good and wonderful people who love the Lord – struggle with fear (and its close cousin worry). I most certainly have, and I still do at times and in certain circumstances. Therefore, I feel prompted by the Lord to simply look at what the Bible says about fear. May we learn together as we meditate on the truth of God’s Word.

Psalm 23:4 MEV Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

The greatest antidote to fear is a revelation that God is with us.

There are times that the truth of God being with us, in us and for us feels more of a concept than a reality. There are times when we feel alone and when we wonder, “Where is God?” In these moments, God is just as close as He has ever been. This is the truth.

I encourage you to slowly meditate your way through the whole chapter of Psalm 139.

2 Timothy 1:6-7 MEV Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God, which is in you by the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and self-control. 

Sometimes fear is a spirit that needs to be dealt with.

I do not believe that fear is always a harassing spirit, but sometimes it most certainly is, and therefore, it needs to be dealt with spiritually.

The greatest antidote to the spirit of fear is stirring up the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

When Paul laid hands on people, he said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Also, the gifts of the Spirit are not in us, but rather, we are anointed in moments to operate in a spiritual gift. The gift of God which is in you is the Spirit of God Himself.

Isaiah 41:10 MEV Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, yes, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Good morning people who walk daily with Jehovah Jireh.

1 Kings 17:7-9 MEV After some time, the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. The word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

The brook which was God’s provision of water for Elijah dried up.

It is important for us to understand times and seasons in God. Because He provided one way through a word does not mean that there won’t be a different word for a different season. We need to have heard from God and we need to continue hearing from God.

Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.

Sometimes God provides a coin in a fish’s mouth. Sometimes God provides through other people. Sometimes God provides through the supply of a job or a pay rise. Sometimes God provides through ravens and sometimes God provides through widows.

I believe that the greatest key to walking in God’s provision is obedience to all that God has said. I also believe that God’s provision can look very different than what we expect or even want.

I’m not sure that I would have been overly happy with eating bread or meat that a dirty scavenger bird dropped from its beak! In fact, I’m pretty sure “No thanks!” would have been my instinctive response. But if that was my response, I would have missed the provision of God for that particular season.

God can provide through who He wants, when He wants, how He wants and for how long He wants. My part is to be where He wants and to receive what He provides.

And I must understand that there are times that the provision comes in the form of grace and peace, not bread and meat. Selah.

Watch ‘God’s covenant of provision with people’ from the ‘Fathering in the Prophetic’ video series.

Good morning people who partner with the words that God speaks and that He has spoken.

1 Kings 17:2-6 MEV The word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go from here and turn eastward and hide by the Kerith brook, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and lived by the Kerith brook, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

The word of the Lord came to him…So he went and did according to the word of the Lord.

This is the essence of prophetic living: hearing what God says and doing what God says. Sometimes we try to make it more profound or “WOW” than this, but it is not. Many times it’s easy to overlook the simple in a search for something ‘more’. God is looking for people who ‘hear and obey’ every word that He speaks.

You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there… The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

While one could argue that drinking from a brook is normal, there is nothing normal about ravens bringing a person bread and meat every morning and every evening. This is a miracle!

I am drawn towards the reality of this prophetic word. God spoke it to Elijah and it happened as He said it would. Our eternal God spoke what already existed as a reality from His divine vantage point. This is the essence of the prophetic.

Are you living a prophetic life of hearing God and obeying God?

When you speak something prophetically, does it come to pass?

Good morning people who are careful with every word that you speak.

1 Kings 1:17 MEV Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was one of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives before whom I stand, there will not be dew or rain these years except by my word.” 

The normal response to error is to swing the pendulum to the opposite error. When we see something being handled incorrectly, we often determine to not have anything to do with what is happening.

The correct response to error is to reclaim the truth. When things are being mishandled, we need to go back to God’s Word and see what He says about it. We need to ensure that God’s Word, and not our circumstances or experience, is the filter and the determining factor for truth.

Our words are powerful because that’s what the Bible says. Yes, some have taken this to the extreme of saying that we can get whatever we say. I don’t believe this is true, and in fact, I’m glad that we don’t get everything that comes out of our mouth as there are times when it is careless and even dangerous.

But there is more power in our words than many of us realise. We need to go back to our origin as created beings, and that is that we were created by a spoken Word. Our intended design was ‘in the image and likeness of God’. It is for this reason that the Bible declares this eternal truth:

Proverbs 18:21 MEV Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

Matthew 12:35-37 MEV “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things. And an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word that men speak, they will give an account on the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Your words matter. Your words contain the power of life and death.

James 3:10 MEV Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

May our words glorify God and bless people today. May our words be in alignment with what God has said in His Word.

Good morning people who find God within the pages of the Bible.

I want to finish our meditation on Psalm 119 today by sharing the last eight verses. Please read them slowly and with thanksgiving, then we’ll briefly chat at the end.

Psalm 119:169-176 NIV May my cry come before you, Lord; give me understanding according to your word. May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise. May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees. May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous. May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law gives me delight. Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me. I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

God’s Word is right for you today. God’s Word contains what is needed, regardless of the situation that we find ourselves walking through.

God’s Word is for those who are crying out in pain.

God’s Word is for those who are making prayer-filled supplication to God.

God’s Word is for those whose hearts and lips are filled with praise.

God’s Word is for those who need to be saved and delivered.

God’s Word is for those who need strength and hope and life and peace.

And on this journey of life, there will be times that we stray. We may wander for a season, we may doubt for a moment, and we may let our questions be bigger than our faith. But praise God, there is always a way back home to the arms of our Father!

Today is your day to be close to the heart of God.