But what happens to our commitments when things go downhill?  In 1 Kings 17, Elijah faced a downhill time, but he kept His commitment to God.  The prophet of God had to leave - this was God's command to him.  Not knowing where our commitments will take us at times leaves a lot of room for doubt, but when we are committed to God, He will be there.  Elijah had to take a stand; a stand to stay committed to God and what God called him to do - It takes courage to take a stand.  It takes commitment to keep standing...

1 Kings 17:2-3, 6, it reads..."And Word of the Lord came to Him.. 'Go away from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith 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 would drink from the brook.."

Even as he was in trouble, the Word of the Lord came to Elijah.  God's presence came to him when He needed it most... RESPOND to the presence of God in your life as Elijah did.  Know that God will come to you, but are we going to respond to Him.  In response to His presence, RELOCATE to the place of God...God's command was to go away; God had a place just for Elijah to go to... That will be the place that God will change and transform you.  And when you are in that place that God has you, RECEIVE the transformational provision of God.  Not only will God provide all you need to be committed to Him, He will transform you in the process.  He was set aside by God for this time, and Elijah's commitment to God kept him where God wanted him to be.  Keep committed in troubled times by RESPONDING to the presence of God in your life, RELOCATING to the place of God, and RECEIVING the transformational provision of God.

In 2 Chronicles 15, we can read about King Asa.  As a king, he wanted to lead his people in the right way to make a commitment to God.  First he REMOVED DISTRACTIONS.  In 2 Chronicles 15:8, it says he..."removed the detestable idols from the whole land..."  Distraction will keep us from fully committing to God.  It continues in verse 8, ..."he repaired the altar of the Lord..."  To keep your commitment strong, REPAIR YOUR PLACE OF WORSHIP.   Let God repair the broken down altar of your heart and life and build it up to help you fully glorify Him.  In verse 12, it says..."They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord the God of their fathers with all their heart and soul..."  Asa knew that the people needed to recommit to God...  RECOMMIT YOUR HEART.  They vowed together to seek God with everything.  2 Chronicles 15:15 continues..."All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly..."  REJOICE IN YOUR COMMITMENT...  know the joy of your commitment to God, because He's committed to you.

When we make a commitment to serve God, it's easy to pull away, and seek our own way at times.  Even Asa struggled; 2 Chronicles 16:7 - "Because you relied on the King of Aram and not on the Lord, the army of the King of Aram has escaped from your hand..."  RESIST INDEPENDENCE FROM GOD.  Keep your commitment to depend on God, to look to Him as your everything.  Verse 9 of chapter 16 says this - "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."  He's looking for people that have had themselves committed (to Him). 

RECOGNIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITIES - to begin to understand opportunity, follow the word, devote to prayer, and raise your level of expectation.

REALIZE THE COST OF LOST OPPORTUNITIES - Don's miss your moment.  Get into a watch and pray mode because missed opportunity is costly.  Sow your seed and stop looking at the clouds and the wind.

RISE TO THE CHALLENGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY - Give your excuses over to God, because opportunities come disguised, and God can use us even in our weaknesses.

He will take what is in your hand and use it if you are willing to make the most of every opportunity.

If ever there was a person that reframed the perspective of his pain and life, Paul did.  In Acts 16, we can read the story.  He had the ability to zoom out and refocus.  Through Paul, we can learn that our focus determines our reality. And we can do the same by...

REFRAMING OUR WOUNDS - refocus on the work of the cross and God's unconditional love for us.  Our ability to help others heal is limited to where we've been wounded.  Let the healing begin, you'll be stronger than before.

REFRAMING OUR WORSHIP - Paul and Silas were chained, but their spirits could not be chained.  Worship changes the atmosphere and changes our hearts.  Be a worshipper of Him today.

REFRAMING OUR WORST DAYS - Many times it takes a bad day to put into perspective the good ones.  Paul reframed his worst days with the cross.  God can turn them into the best days.

If you want to go places you've never been before, you have to think in ways you've never thought before - you have to "rethink."

RETHINK THE PROBLEMS OF YOUR LIFE - Look at problems as possibilities and unlearn senseless worries and misguided beliefs that hold you captive.

RETHINK THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE -  Evaluate your relationship experiences and choose to keep people near you that energize you and see things differently.

RETHINK THE PRAYERS OF YOUR LIFE - Too many of us pray that God's primary object is to keep us from being scared, but those very things prepare us for future victory.

It's time to rethink, laugh big, live bigger and think bigger with God.

A mother's blessing will reverse a curse - Pharoah had already given the command, "Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River..."  Yet she saw something special in her child, and her desire to live in faith and give life to her child reversed the curse in his life.  A mother's blessing refuses to give up.  Every day was dangerous for Jochabed and her son, and when she could no longer hide him, her faith was stirred and God gave her a plan - His plan.  She made a little ark, placed him in it, and trusted God to care for him.  Because of her faith, she had the opportunity to spend the formative years of his life with him.  And because of God's plan - a mother's blessing willingly releases her child to God.  It must have been difficult to send Moses back to Pharoah's daughter, but, for all of us, our children are not our own - we have to release them to God.  When you release those bitter moments of pain to God, He turns them into blessing.  Moses never forgot his roots - his mother taught him in those few short years with her.  Mothers are partners with God.  Their blessing is a way of deliverance - reversing the curses in our lives, refusing to give up, and willingly releasing us to God - bringing us to greater blessing in our lives.

Look at the lives of two brothers in Genesis 27 & 28, Jacob & Esau.  They were expecting the blessing from their father over their lives.  Too many of us are waiting for that blessing to bring breakthrough, but your next breakthrough has already been proclaimed as blessing over your life!  God's blessing can be experienced through His many PROMISES.  The spoken blessing over Jacob was a powerful thing, and he received what would have been given to his older brother.  God will not go back on His Word - He's proclaimed it over your life and it will follow you wherever you go.  He will remind you of past promises and His fresh promises in your life.  Don't confuse the broken promises of man to the promises of God - His blessing will prevail in your life.  God's blessing can also be experienced in many PLACES.  His blessing upon your life is not limited to a certain location, you can experience His blessing in the middle of nowhere.  Everywhere Jacob went, He was blessed.  When God's face is turned toward you, His favor will follow your life.  And God's blessing can be experienced through many PEOPLE.  His blessing will come to you through many people, just as Jacob was blessed to be a blessing.  God wants to work through you no matter your struggle and His intention to bless you will never change!  Respond to His blessing upon your life today and you can experience it in your life.  The blessed life is not something you struggle for, but, rather a life of surrender.  Surrender - give up your struggle to work for His blessing and just receive His hand of blessing upon you right now.

In Genesis 48, we can understand the power in a blessing.  Two brothers are being blessed by their grandfather, and while the younger was not usually the primary recipient of the blessing, God turned the situation in His hand.  You see, God's blessing reaches to the UNDERPRIVILEGED.  His blessing reaches past all human barriers - if God says "I'll bless you!" He will direct it into your life.  It doesn't matter your age, your looks, your background - God says, "I'll bless you!"  Secondly, God's blessing raises the UNDERESTIMATED.  So many people are haunted with the words, "You don't have what it takes," but God's favor smiles down upon us and raises us to receive His blessing.  His blessing in our lives means that He believes in us regardless if we feel unworthy or underestimated.   And everyone loves to cheer for the underdog.... We can look at Ephraim and see that God's blessing restores the UNDERDOG.  His blessing happens when His face is turned upon your life, and He will cross His hands to bless you, passing over the pain of the past and blessing the fruitfulness of your future.  So many of us have not received His blessing - position yourself today and come as you are and He will cross His hands and bless your life because your destiny is not a matter of chance, but a choice to receive God's blessing.

The first key is LISTENING.  Daniel 9:6 - "We have not listened to your servants, the prophets who spoke in Your name..."  To listen you need to be quiet - eliminate all distractions and get alone with God.  Take the time to hear from God - get to that place where you can focus on Him.  Next, the key of PRAISING.  It takes your eyes off of this life and puts it on God.  Daniel 9:4 says, "O Lord the great and awesome God..."  Problems don't seem as big when you lift your praise to God and release the supernatural in your life.  In Daniel 9:5, Daniel shows the key of CONFESSING - "We have sinned and done wrong..."  God will shine the light into your heart and life to reveal His truth to you.  Confessing is agreeing with God and saying, "You are right...", not beating yourself up and walking in condemnation.  1 John 1:9, "...He is faithful and just to forgive us..."

As we continue on in Daniel 9:17, we see the key of PETITIONING.  "Hear the prayers and petitions of your servant..."  Be specific in your prayer to God.  What do you need?  Where do you need God's touch?  In Matthew 20:32, Jesus asked the blind man, "What do you want?"  And as you pray, use the key of PLEADING, Daniel 9:3, "So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him..."  Pray and don't stop praying.  We can see in Luke 18 that Jesus tells the story of the widow who kept pleading her case.  We have the authority as well to keep pleading our case to God.

And as we pray, we need the key of EXPECTING.  When Daniel prayed, he was expecting God to do something.  Are you expecting God?  What is God putting in your heart to pray for?  When God gives you a prayer desire, pray and expect.  And lastly, hold on to the key of BELIEVING.  Have faith and trust in God.  Daniel 10:12 - "Since the first day...your words were heard..."  Daniel was in captivity and God still heard his prayer.  Daniel knew in his heart that God heard him and believed that God would answer his prayers.  No matter where you are, there is no barrier that God cannot penetrate.  You have the keys handed to you by Jesus.  Hold on to the keys of prayer and expect God to do great things in your life.

Accept His grace - we need God's grace and it's enough!  Jesus' sacrifice covers it all, and we don't have to walk with guilt and condemnation.

Clothe yourself with His righteousness - don't wear your "own" clothes, but put on His garments of righteousness.

Cleanse yourself with His Word - spend time in the Word daily.  When we read it, meditate on it, study it, and memorize it, we transform our mind and thinking to be like Him.

Enter into worship - It's important to come every day and let Him cover you with His grace.  It's a walk of faith to come into His presence and worship Him.  Know the intimacy of relationship with Him.

Share the glory - We can't keep the glory to ourselves.  God gives us over and above of His blessing, and we must give it to others and back to God.  Mary offered her worship to Jesus, and then used her hair to wipe His feet.  She let go of her glory and gave it to Jesus.

Stay in His presence - you don't have to leave, but let go of your thinking, your ways, your plans, and let God transform your place into that meeting place with Him.

God delights in the person that is tired of just knowing about Him, but wants to know Him.  We can know Him, and it starts with gaining ACCESS into His presence.

When we are living in God's presence, His presence GUIDES us.  In Exodus 33:14, it says, "My presence shall go with thee, and I will give you rest..."  We need His guidance in our lives and He will guide us if we will go to Him.  When we do, we will receive His rest - comfort, mercy and confidence in His presence.  His presence also GUARDS us.  When His presence is with us, there is no one to fear.  Take the time to be guarded by His presence.  In Numbers 16:42, it says that..."suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared."  He will be with us - just seek His presence..  And isn't it good to know that His presence GRACES us.  When we pursue His presence , He will guide us to a point of revelation in our lives - revealing Himself to us.  In Exodus 33:18 & 19, God revealed Himself to Moses in a way that showed His goodness and mercy and compassion.  His presence will grace and adorn our lives with His mercy and goodness.  We all need this grace in our lives and it is freely offered by a loving God who gently brings us to Himself and reveals His very nature as we seek to live in His presence.  Let your prayers be divine appointments for God to bring the fullness of His presence into your life.

Many of us have a seed of promise in us that God has given to us, but sometimes roadblocks keep that promise from being fulfilled.  The road behind us seems too long and painful, and the road before us seems impossible.  We get conditioned by boundaries, but God wants us to live in the freedom of His promise.  In Joshua chapters 2 & 3, we find to get on the road to freedom, first of all, CLAIM your promise.  Today is your day to claim the promise over your life and let the limitations of doubt and fear go.  After 40 years in the wilderness, Joshua was ready to go after the promise for God's people (Joshua 2:24, 3:1).  To continue on the road to freedom, CONTINUE in His presence.  Joshua 3:3 says, "When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God... you shall set out from your place and go after it..."  Your road to freedom is likely a way you've never been before, and God knows the way and knows we need His presence.  God will make the impossible possible - He will make a way for you.

And when freedom is just a step away, CROSS OVER your boundaries.  God has promised a limitless life for you and at the moment you cross over, everything in your life will change.  It was not until the priests stepped into the river (Joshua 3:17) that the river stopped - God will make a way so you won't slip.  Take the steps of faith and cross over - God has a destiny of freedom for you.

A thought for today:  You will never cross over to the dream that God has promised you until you're sick and tired of the nightmare in which you've been living.  

Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, we can all end up trying to find our way home the hard way.  The hard way begins with dumb decisions and gets harder along the way, but you will make it home when you come to your dead end.  The Father has the right and joy to give you the promise and a place of blessing no matter how you make it home.  Just make it home - you'll remember the way!

The hard way home has plenty of valleys to pass and mountains to climb.  May they never overshadow the joy of the promise along the way.

In John 1:36-42, we find Andrew on the road trip of life.  Andrew ENCOUNTERED the joy of the road trip when he encountered Jesus, for he found what he was looking for.  One encounter with Jesus changes everything - don't miss your encounter - get to the right place with the right people, and follow the right road.  Then he EXPERIENCED the joy of the road trip; he didn't just stand on the sidelines when Jesus asked him, "What do you want?"  Taking the opportunity at that moment, he spent time with Jesus and found that the true joy ride of life is in relationship to Him.  Andrew's joy could not be contained, and he EXPRESSED the joy of the road trip and shared it with others.  When you find something wonderful, don't you want to share it with everyone?   We can get others to join in this adventure of a life changing road trip.  ENCOUNTER, EXPERIENCE, & EXPRESS the joy of the road trip, and remember that the best road trips are the ones that you share with your friends and family.