Discovering Destiny (Part 28): Your Thoughts Are Building Your Future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHcOQZt_8XI

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

Yesterday, in our “Discovering Destiny” series, we watched God multiply Jacob’s herd at the watering trough, and we learned that you become what you behold. Today I want to stay at that trough a little longer, because those peeled sticks have more in them than one day can hold. Then I want to show you what all of that increase stirred up in Laban’s house.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture(s) we will study today:

Genesis 30:38-39 NLT“Then he placed these peeled branches in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, for that was where they mated. And when they mated in front of the white-streaked branches, they gave birth to young that were streaked, speckled, and spotted.”

Genesis 31:1-2 NLT“But Jacob soon learned that Laban’s sons were grumbling about him. ‘Jacob has robbed our father of everything!’ they said. ‘He has gained all his wealth at our father’s expense.’ And Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him.”

Supporting scriptures:

Proverbs 4:23 ERV“Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life.”

Joshua 1:8 NLT“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

Proverbs 23:7 NKJV“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

Romans 12:2 NLT“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Habakkuk 2:2 NKJV“Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.”

Genesis 31:12 NLT“The angel said, ‘Look up, and you will see that only the streaked, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. For I have seen how Laban has treated you.'”

Genesis 26:14 NLT“He acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.”

Exodus 1:8 NLT“Eventually, a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.”

Setting the Stage:

Yesterday we watched Jacob peel white streaks into fresh branches and set them in the watering troughs, right where the flocks came to drink and to mate. And the babies came out streaked, speckled, and spotted. The flocks reproduced what they kept looking at. Genesis 30:43 says Jacob became very wealthy, with large flocks, servants, camels, and donkeys. After 20 years of working under a ceiling, the blessing finally landed in Jacob’s own account.

But I am not ready to leave that trough yet. Buried in those sticks is a principle that governs your whole life: what you keep in front of your eyes determines what your life produces. Then I want you to see what that increase did to the people around Jacob, because everybody in Laban’s house did not celebrate what God did for him.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. God Gave Jacob A Picture Before He Gave Him A Herd.

Do not rush past this. The sticks had no power. Peeled bark cannot change the color of a lamb. So where did the idea of the sticks come from? God showed Jacob the picture in a dream before there was a single lamb in the field. Jacob took that picture and set it at the trough, where the flocks would see it every single day. This is part of the law of meditation. God reveals it in your heart before He releases it into your life.

How this applies to you:

— The sticks were not magic. They were a point of focus. God attached the increase to what those flocks SAW, because that is how God designed you to work. The animals in this case are just an example of how God works with us. 

— The picture always comes before the product. Before God releases it into your hands, He reveals it to your heart. If you can see it by faith, God can bring you into it. But in the kingdom, if you can’t see it, you can’t have it. Like I’ve told you many times, your legs will never take you where your soul has never been. 

— Jacob did not see the picture one time and file it away. He put it at the trough, where the drinking and the mating happened, and he did it every day. A vision you glance at will not produce. A vision you live in front of will. This is the power of meditation.

— This is why Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.” God said write it plain and keep it where you can read it, because the picture has to stay in front of you until it shows up around you.

— A promise you cannot see is a promise you will not run with.

— The enemy cannot cancel what God showed you, so he goes after the picture. Lack, fear, offense, comparison. If he controls the picture, he pollutes the production.

— If the enemy can get you to meditate on the wrong image, then his images produce fear, and fear tolerated becomes faith contaminated. 

— So here is my question for you today: What picture are you living in front of? Whatever it is, your life is already reproducing it.

2. Be Careful What You Think, Because Your Thoughts Control Your Life.

Here is the verse I want you to carry all day. Proverbs 4:23 ERV says, “Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life.” Solomon did not say your circumstances control your life. He did not say your enemies control your life. He did not say Laban controls your life. He said your THOUGHTS do. What happened to those flocks at the trough is happening to you every day. You are not what you wish. You are not even what you want. You are what you continually think.

How this applies to you:

— Your life today is the harvest of your meditation yesterday. Your mind is never idle. It is always meditating on something, which means your life is always producing something. The only question is what you have been feeding it.

— Meditation is not an Eastern practice the enemy invented. It is a Bible practice the enemy counterfeited. In Joshua 1:8, God commanded Joshua to meditate on the Word “day and night,” and then He attached the promise: “Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.” God tied prosperity and success to meditation. Not to talent. Not to connections. To what Joshua kept thinking about.

— When you meditate on the Word, you medicate on the Word, and the medicine changes your condition from the inside out.

— Romans 12:2 says transformation comes “by changing the way you think.” Not by trying harder. Not by willpower. Transformation is a thought-life issue. If you want a different life, start with different meditation.

— You cannot meditate on the problem and give birth to the promise. You cannot rehearse offense all day and produce peace. Whatever your mind keeps mating with, your life will keep birthing.

— What you think about most is a prophecy of where your life is headed. Show me your dominant thoughts, and I will show you your direction. Solomon said it plainly: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”

— Fill your eyes and your ears with the Word every day, and give your mind something worth reproducing. Your meditation determines your multiplication.

3. When God Increases You, Some Will Get Uncomfortable With It.

Now watch what the increase stirred up. Laban’s sons watched Jacob serve their father for 20 years, and they never said a word. Nobody grumbled while Jacob was making THEIR house rich. But after they saw an increase in Jacob’s account, and suddenly they had plenty to say: “Jacob has robbed our father of everything!” Robbed? Jacob did not take a single animal. God did a transfer. Here is what I want you to see: envy never tells the truth about your increase. Envy looked at a miracle and called it a robbery.

How this applies to you:

— Nobody has a problem with the blessing on your life as long as it is producing in their house. The grumbling starts when the blessing starts producing in yours.

— Laban’s sons said Jacob “robbed” their father. Jacob did not rob anybody. God moved the wealth, and God had every right to move it.

— People who never saw your seed will always have opinions about your harvest.

— This is a pattern in the Bible. Genesis 26:14 NLT says Isaac “acquired so many flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.” Isaac reaped a hundredfold in a famine. The Philistines had no problem with him when he had nothing. They could not handle him when he had plenty.

— Increase draws attention, and attention is not always applause.

— Do not let the grumbling of others make you apologize for the blessing. Some of you are still explaining yourselves to people who never prayed for you. Jacob did not defend himself, and he did not downsize what God gave him.

— Never apologize for a harvest to people who never saw your seed.

— If God gave it to you, you do not owe anybody an apology for having it.

— When operating in a system that functions on sowing and reaping, you don’t ever owe anybody an explanation or an apology for your harvest when they have no idea how much seed you have sown in the ground. 

4. Pay Attention When The Atmosphere Changes.

Genesis 31:2 says, “Jacob began to notice a change in Laban’s attitude toward him.” Look at what is not in that verse. Laban did not fire him. Laban did not confront him. Nothing official happened. His face just changed. Jacob had spent 20 years reading that man, and he could tell the atmosphere in the house had shifted. It was an atmosphere shift, and here is why it matters: a season will start closing before anybody says a word. God allowed Jacob to feel the shift because the shift was part of the setup.

How this applies to you:

— Seasons rarely end with an announcement. They end with an ATMOSPHERE. The favor that used to flow starts to dry up, and the room that used to welcome you goes cold.

— This happened to Israel in Egypt. Exodus 1:8 NLT says, “Eventually, a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.” The atmosphere shifted in one verse, and the season shifted with it.

— A cold atmosphere is God loosening the soil around your roots.

— Favor is attached to assignments, and assignments are attached to seasons. Our purpose is lived out in times and seasons, levels and stages. When an assignment is complete, do not be surprised when the atmosphere starts to shift.

— What God is finishing, you cannot force to continue.

— Do not take the shift personally. Laban’s cold face was not Jacob’s failure; it was Jacob’s notification. Some of what you have been crying about is actually God changing the atmosphere so you will be willing to move.

— Stay discerning. If you are too comfortable to feel the atmosphere change, you will still be standing there when the season is gone. Tomorrow I will show you what Jacob did next, because feeling the shift is one thing. Knowing what to do about it is another.

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that the blessing on my life came from You!

I am careful what I think, because my thoughts control my life!

I meditate on Your Word day and night, so I prosper in all I do!

I keep the picture You gave me in front of my eyes!

My meditation determines my multiplication!

Envy cannot cancel what God has assigned to me!

I will not apologize for the harvest God gave me!

When the atmosphere changes, I will not panic; I will pray!

This is my season of increase, and I receive it!

In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, I guard my thoughts, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!