“And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David” (1 Kings 12:26).
TEXT — 1 Kings 12:16-33
Message
Neuroimaging has shown that as we age, our cognitive centre of gravity shifts from the imaginative right brain to the logical left brain. At some point, most of us stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory. That is the day we stop creating the future and start repeating the past. That’s the day we stop living by faith and start living by logic.
From the account in our text, Jeroboam, the king of Israel, started living by logic and no longer by faith. The nation of Israel broke into two, partly due to the harsh words of King Rehoboam at his coronation and remotely due to God’s promised judgment on Solomon, his father for his disobedience. Jeroboam was then appointed the pioneer king of the breakaway northern kingdom. Fearing that his subjects could easily shift their loyalty from him to Rehoboam, should they continue the mandatory worship at the temple in Jerusalem, Jeroboam set up his own gods to keep the nation under his rule. He made two calves, and installed them in Dan and Bethel; thus, leading Israel into the deep waters of idolatry. Jeroboam’s action was based on his unfounded fears and worries. However, experience has shown that a greater percentage of the things we worry about never materialises, or has already happened and our worries and anxieties cannot reverse them. The remaining legitimate issues that could potentially trouble our future are best addressed through prayers and faith than worry and fear.
Take control of your thoughts and stop worrying about the future. Fear can destroy you and your entire family, or even a whole nation. We should commit to walking by faith instead of fear. Worry and anxiety are two gravediggers. They dig your grave while you are still alive. A little negative thought can lead to greater consequences.
Thought for the day
An age-long insanity can begin with a harmless laughter.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
