DEFINITIONS OF ICHABOD: Ichabod is an Hebrew word that means:- The glory has departed or- Where is the glory?
Many are excited about the beginning of things.Beginnings are characterized by the start of something new, accompanied by overconfidence. Usually, the beginning relative to the end is characterized by ignorance. The book of Job 8:7, says “Though thy beginning was small, Yet thy latter end should greatly increase.”When the Bible says, “should”, it does not necessarily mean that thing will be, because there are certain conditions attached to its manifestation. (Job 8:7). Your true stamina is not measured by your ability to start, but by your ability to remain and sustain what you started. Starting is not enough.
WHY GREATNESS IS SHORT-LIVED AMONG MANY:
- Pride. (Proverbs 16:18, 18:12, 29:23, James 4:6-8)
Pride is the unashamedness or refusal to acknowledge God as the basis, the reason, and the principal factor for any result you may have.
Before any man falls, he may always look like he cannot fall, until it happens. There is nobody who cannot go down.(James 4:6-8). In the presence of greatness, pride will always come to test you, because something happens to men when they become great.The pride of life is the inevitable self-exaltation, that comes as a result of obvious results. One indicator of pride is your inability to place value on people’s meaning to you. _When people do not matter to you, it is an indicator that you are suffering from pride.
As God lifts you and you rise, the first thing to verify is if pride is present. Being simple does not automatically equate to being humble. You have true victory, when you have victory over the pride of life. Be careful when men applaud you and communicate that nothing works without you. Every house is indeed built by someone, but God is The Master Builder of all. Humility can be discerned and can be felt. A humble person is always conscious of lifting Jesus at the center of results, not self. The need to prove a point is indicative that you have not actually succeeded.Success is clear, visible, and loud. (Matthew 5:15)
A prayer point you should never graduate from praying, no matter your level of results is “Lord, keep me humble”.The world we live in, makes you look like a fool when you project Jesus, more than you project yourself. Your passion to remain must exceed by far, your passion to be known.If your passion to be known is greater than your passion to remain, you will be popular, but you won’t last.
The solution to dealing with pride, is to acknowledge God in all your ways. (Proverbs 3:6). Reject pride and decide that your life will never become a lesson for or a memorial of a life that did not last, due to pride. When you go down in life, it takes God’s mercy for men to remember your exploits.
WHY GREATNESS IS SHORT-LIVED AMONG MANY:
- An arrival mentality. (1 Corinthians 8:2)
One way to know champions is that they always carry an unassuming personality and attitude, with a passion for learning: They are forever students.
Nobody applauds you twice. Maintain the heart of a learner.Yesterday’s excellence will always be tomorrow’s mediocrity; celebrating yesterday, at the expense of today’s impact, is a recipe for disaster. May you never lack fresh testimonies and may it not be that the only things you have to say, are the things that happened yesterday, in the name of Jesus. Champions learn; they learn with their hearts open.Those who fail are usually the commentators of people’s destiny, with no stories to tell of their victories.
It is easy to study when you have not yet become great in stature. As many rise, with visible results, it becomes difficult to humble themselves and continue learning. We must give ourselves to continuous learning.(1 Timothy 4:15-16)_Arrival mentality is the cancer of great men. Reject an arrival mentality, so that the word “Ichabod”, is never used to describe you. The victor’s path is a path of continuous learning. When it has to do with knowledge, nobody has the monopoly of knowledge. Don’t just learn from fathers or contemporaries, learn from subordinates and learn from children.
WHY GREATNESS IS SHORT-LIVED AMONG MANY:
- Distractions and Compromises. (Galatians 5:7-9, Philippians 3:13-15, Ephesians 4:7, Acts 6:1-4)
Your ability to discern your area of grace and to stay with it will profit not only you but also, The Body of Christ.
When you function within your area of grace, it insists that you function excellently
Be comfortable where God has placed you and serve with excellence. You are a king in your own kingdom. God has designed a throne and a seat for you, to the end that you respect another area of graces not given to you.God never sends one man to do everything.
Just because you are spearheading a vision, does not mean you know everything. Give room for others sent to the vision, to express their intelligence, skills, and graces, for the success of that vision given you. As a leader, if you do not train people under you, you are destroying your future. It is impossible to know so much to the extent of not needing people in your life and destiny. It is wisdom to protect your area of focus. Declare: In the name of Jesus, I obtain grace to protect my focus.
It is the will of God, plus the strategy given by God, that results in victory. No system fails, as long as they maintain its winning strategy.
Do not celebrate wins only. Teach your children, subordinates, and those around you, how and why you win. Teach them your God-given winning strategy. If you teach them, they will reproduce and preserve your wins. If you don’t, they will lose it.
Beyond getting the anointing, understand what keeps it. A Samson’s secret to his strength, is his hair. A David’s secret to his ceaseless victories is his worship. Behind every sustainable result, is a winning strategy. God honours covenants. Some consecrations and covenants enforce longevity and impact.If God tells you what your winning strategy is, make sure you keep it.If it is prayer, keep praying. If it is fasting, keep fasting.
There is a covenant with God that sponsors supernatural results. Pray: Father, reveal to me where I have thrown away my winning formula. Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. Show me where I have violated my winning strategy and help me return to it. If you do not want the name “Ichabod” to be associated with your life, find out the secret behind your glory and do all it takes to preserve and protect it.
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