7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he..

Proverbs 23:7

So many Christians are yet to experience the untapped power in meditating upon the Word of God. Those who have cultivated the habit of meditation often do not follow it through with actions, which according to The Message translation of James 2:17 is outrageous nonsense.

I love to share an exciting testimony of a lady in her thirties who had believed God for a life partner for years. Twice, it seemed “Mr. Right” had found her but both times she never got to the altar. The enemy tried to sell her a picture of someone who had something wrong with her. The image was of someone who would always have a near-miss when it came to marriage.

Let me digress here and say that these are the kinds of experiences that give birth to unscriptural doctrines like, “near success syndrome.” That is one of the most terrible packages that the enemy has successfully sold to a lot of Bible-quoting, tongue-talking, believers. The fact that several things have happened to you should not define your identity. The enemy will always aim to make an alibi for the lie he is trying to sell to you. Apart from that, when you begin to see a “near success” pattern in all that happens to you, that will be your expectation and your expectations will propel your actions of fear and unbelief, which will eventually create your experience of another “near success” situation. The vicious cycle continues: you go deeper in bondage in your mind, and some so-called “deliverance” minister gets wealthier on your foolishness and you never attain the success that the sacrifice of Jesus purchased for you.

Back to the testimony, one day, the beautiful lady came to my office with tears in her eyes and asked me if some- thing was wrong with her. The Word in her spirit was struggling with the picture that the enemy was trying to sell to her, that she suffered from a near success syndrome in marriage. She had apparently asked one of her best friends, a real woman of faith, the same question and her friend had given the same response I gave to her. I looked her in the eyes that day and told her that she was beautifully and wonderfully made and God had reserved a husband for her and that he would come. She held on to the picture the Word had given her.

Confession: My identity is not defined by my experiences. I will hold on to the picture the Word has given to me and change every pattern of negative experiences in my life.