Evangelist Joshua Orekhie Ministries
EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL:
Saturday, November 7, 2026
TOPIC: GIVE UP ON SOMETHING AND START SOMETHING ELSE!
OPENING SCRIPTURES
Deuteronomy 2:3 (KJV)
“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (KJV)
“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Jonah 3:1-3 (KJV)
“And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.”
Luke 5:10-11 (KJV)
“And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.”
MEMORY VERSE
Isaiah 43:19 (KJV)
PRAISE AND WORSHIP
Sing any of your favourite songs.
Give Up And Start Something Else! – EJOM DAILY DEVOTIONAL: November 7, 2026
One of the biggest reasons people refuse to let go of something that is not working is the fear of what others will say. “They will laugh at me.” “They will say I am a failure.” “After announcing it to everybody, how can I now change my mind?”
So they keep going in the wrong direction just to protect their image. They would rather suffer quietly than be seen starting again. Some people refuse to let go because their identity is tied to that thing. “I am a trader.” “I am a contractor.” “I have always been a footballer.”
“This business is my life.” If the thing ends today, they feel they have lost themselves. But when you understand that your identity is in Christ, it becomes easier to let go of a role or a venture without feeling that your whole life is collapsing.
Some people feel that if they stop now, all those years they have been building that things were a waste. But in the hands of God, nothing is wasted and anything that seems like a waste can be restored back within seconds by God.
David spent years in the bush looking after sheep. He killed a lion and a bear there. He learned to use a sling there. He learned to worship there. When he faced Goliath, everything he learned in the bush became useful (1 Samuel 17:34 to 37).
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
The skills, lessons, relationships and even the mistakes from your old season can become tools for your new season. Ask God to show you what to carry forward.
Beloved, some people remain trapped in situations that are going nowhere simply because they are afraid of being called failures. They keep pouring money into a business that is sinking because they don’t want anybody to find out it is struggling.
They keep borrowing money to keep the business running. They pretend everything is fine with them through their post on social media. Meanwhile, the debt the business accruing keeps rising and their peace keeps falling apart.
Unfortunately, others refuse to change their plans because they have already announced them to the whole world. They told their family about it. They told their friends or pastors about their goals. Now, changing direction feels like public shame, so they keep going the wrong way just to save face.
But hear me: it is better to be embarrassed for a moment than to be ruined for years. Proverbs 16:18 warns that “Pride goeth before destruction.” Sometimes what is keeping you stuck is not the devil; it is pride dressed up as determination.
Let me balance this. When you decide to change direction, some people will criticise you. That is guaranteed. Some will criticise you whatever you do. Jesus said of His generation, “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.
The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber” (Matthew 11:18–19). They criticised John for being too strict, and they criticised Jesus for not being strict enough. You cannot please everybody.
And some people will try to stop you from changing because they are used to or comfortable with the old arrangement. When Jacob wanted to leave Laban after twenty years, Laban did not want him to go, because God had been blessing Laban’s house through Jacob (Genesis 30:27).
But when Moses wanted to take Israel out of Egypt, Pharaoh refused, because he was benefiting from their labour. Even some of the Israelites, when things got hard in the wilderness, said, “Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt” (Numbers 14:4).
People who are comfortable with your old life may not support your new one. But beloved, don’t throw away every voice that disagrees with you. Not everybody who questions your decision is against you.
Some are genuinely trying to help and support you, and the Bible says, “In the multitude of counsellors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). So listen carefully. Ask yourself, “Is this person speaking from the place of wisdom and love, or from fear, jealousy or comfort?”
Take what is wise, leave what is not, and make your final decision before God. At the end of the day, you will not stand before your friends, your colleagues or your critics to give account of your life. You will stand before God. So let His voice be the loudest.
Some things you must give up are inside you. When we talk about giving up something, people usually think about businesses, jobs or relationships. But very often, the thing you need to give up is a habit.
You may need to give up laziness. Proverbs 6:9 asks, “How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?” You may need to give up procrastination, the endless “I will do it tomorrow” that has cost you years.
You may need to give up dishonesty, the small lies and shortcuts that keep closing doors you cannot see. You may need to give up unnecessary spending, buying things you don’t need to impress people you don’t even like.
You may need to give up poor time management. Ephesians 5:15 to 16 says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Some people have twenty four hours like everybody else, but they waste half of it on their phones, on gossip and on things that add nothing to their lives.
You cannot start a new season with the same old habits. If you change your business but keep your laziness, the new business will also fail. If you change your job but keep your dishonesty, the new job will also end badly. The habit must go before the new thing can thrive.
Make sure the goal is truly yours. Beloved, some people are chasing goals that were never theirs in the first place. They want to open a business because their friends opened one.
They want to buy an expensive property because their colleagues buy something similar. They want to enter a profession simply because someone else is succeeding in it.
They want to travel abroad because everybody is travelling. They want to get married by a certain age because all their mates are married. They are not following God’s direction. They are following the crowd.
2 Corinthians 10:12 says that those who measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves among themselves “are not wise.” Galatians 6:4 says, “But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
Look at this: When Israel asked Samuel for a king, they said in 1 Samuel 8:5, “make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” They did not want a king because God told them to. They wanted one because everyone else had one. God gave them Saul, and it ended in tragedy.
When David was about to fight Goliath, Saul dressed him in his own armour. But David said in 1 Samuel 17:39, “I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.”
Saul’s armour was good for Saul, but it was not right for David. David went with what God had prepared him with, a sling and five smooth stones, and he won.
What worked for someone else may not be what God has for you. Their armour may look impressive, but it may only slow you down. After Jesus restored Peter, Peter looked at John and asked, “Lord, and what shall this man do?”
Jesus answered in John 21:22, “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.” Stop looking at what God is doing in another person’s life. Focus on what He has called you to do.
So ask yourself honestly: Is this goal from God, or am I just copying someone? Am I pursuing this because it is my calling, or because I don’t want to be left behind?
Beloved, some people will criticise your decisions no matter what you do. If you say no, they will say you are stubborn. If you leave, they will say you are unstable. If you succeed, they will say you were lucky. If you fail, they will say they knew it all along.
Jesus pointed this out in Matthew 11:18 to 19: “For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber.”
John fasted, and they criticised him. Jesus ate, and they criticised Him too. You cannot please everybody, so stop trying.
There is another group: people who discourage you from making necessary changes because they are comfortable with the way things are. Your change will affect their comfort, so they resist it.
When Jacob wanted to leave Laban’s house and start his own life, Laban did not want him to go. Why? Laban admitted it in Genesis 30:27: “I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.”
Laban was benefiting from Jacob’s presence. Jacob’s departure would cost him. When God wanted to bring Israel out of Egypt, Pharaoh resisted again and again, because Israel was his free labour.
Even Jesus faced this from His own people. When His ministry began to grow, Mark 3:21 says His own family “went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.”
Beloved, could it be that you have been on that thing for a long time, and it is just not working out?
You have tried almost everything. You have prayed almost every prayer. You have invested your time, your money, your strength and your emotions. Year after year, you keep going around the same mountain, and nothing changes.
You keep facing disappointment in the same place. You keep knocking on the same door, and it keeps staying shut. Hear the word of the Lord this morning: “Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”
There is a time to keep pushing, and there is a time to let go. There is a time to hold on, and there is a time to turn in a new direction.
Many people have finally found peace, fruitfulness and fulfilment, not because they kept struggling with what was not working, but because they gave up on what God did not assign to them and stepped into what He actually wanted them to do.
Sometimes the problem is not that you are not trying hard enough. Sometimes the problem is that God never assigned you to that thing in the first place. Or the season for it has ended, and you have not noticed.
Many people today are holding on to something God has already released them from. They are mourning a dream God has already rejected. They are digging in a place where God is no longer sending water.
And because they will not let go, they cannot take hold of the new thing God wants to do. Jonah had his own plan. God said Nineveh, and Jonah said Tarshish. It took a storm and the belly of a fish to make him give up his own plan and go where God was sending him.
Notice that Jonah paid the fare. He invested in his own plan. He spent money on the wrong direction. And what did that plan bring him? A storm. Sailors throwing their cargo into the sea. Jonah himself thrown overboard. Three days and three nights in the belly of a fish.
Many people are paying the fare for their own Tarshish. They are investing everything in a plan God never gave them, and then they are surprised when storms keep coming.
But thank God for second chances. In the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed and gave up his own way. And “the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh” (Jonah 3:1–2).
This time, “Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD” (Jonah 3:3). And when he preached, the whole city repented, from the king to the least person.
Beloved, the thing God wanted Jonah to do was the thing that brought a whole city to salvation. His own plan only brought storms. Sometimes giving up your own plan is the doorway into the greatest assignment of your life.
Today, the Lord may be saying to you: “You have dwelt long enough on this mountain. Turn, and take your journey.” By the end of this devotional, may God give you the wisdom to know what to release and the courage to start what He is calling you into, in the name of Jesus.
Today, the Holy Spirit wants to show you what you need to give up, and what you need to start. But we will also learn how to tell the difference between something God wants you to release and something God wants you to keep fighting for.
Not everything difficult plan should be abandoned, and not everything familiar should be kept. Let us seek His wisdom.
When Israel was in the wilderness, they camped at Mount Horeb for a long time. That was the place where God gave them the law. It was a holy place. Great things had happened there.
But one day God said, “Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: Turn you, and take your journey” (Deuteronomy 1:6–7).
Notice something. Horeb was not a bad place. God had met them there. But it was never meant to be their final destination. Their inheritance was in Canaan, not at the mountain.
Later, they were walking around another mountain, and God said again, “Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward” (Deuteronomy 2:3). They were going round and round in circles.
Beloved, some of us are going round and round the same mountain. The same kind of job that never pays enough. The same kind of business idea that keeps failing in the same way.
The same kind of relationship with the same kind of person that always ends in the same pain. And God is saying, “Long enough. Turn.”
Something can be good and still not be your destination. Something can have been from God in one season and still be over in the next. The Bible says, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
There is “a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted” (Ecclesiastes 3:2). There is “a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away” (Ecclesiastes 3:6).
Samuel loved King Saul. He was the one who anointed him. He had invested years in that relationship. But Saul kept disobeying God, and finally God rejected him as king. Samuel was so grieved that he kept mourning for Saul.
And God came to him and asked, “How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).
Look at that. While Samuel was still crying over Saul, God had already provided David. The new king was already in the field, waiting. But Samuel could not anoint David while his horn was empty and his eyes were full of tears for Saul.
Beloved, how long will you mourn that thing God has already closed? How long will you keep crying over that relationship that ended, that contract you lost, that business that collapsed, that opportunity that passed?
God is not saying your pain is not real. Samuel’s grief was real. But there comes a time when God says, “Fill your horn with oil and go.” There is a David waiting for you somewhere, but you will not see him while your eyes are fixed on Saul.
Beloved, let me tell you something that may set some of you free this morning. Not everything you started is something you must continue for the rest of your life.
Sometimes what you need is not more strength to keep going. Sometimes what you need is the courage to stop, and begin something better.
A lot of people are suffering today because they are holding on to things that stopped working a long time ago. I know a man who has been running the same business for seven years, and for seven years it has been losing money.
Every year he says, “This year it will pick up.” But he has never sat down to ask why it is failing, never changed his strategy, never asked for advice. He just keeps pouring money into a bag with holes.
And it is not only business. Some people have habits, lifestyles and friendships that have been holding them down for years. They know it. Their spirit detects it. But they keep going, because that is what they are used to.
Beloved, there is a difference between perseverance and stubbornness. Perseverance is staying committed to something God gave you, even when it is hard. Paul said, “Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).
That is perseverance. But stubbornness is refusing to change direction even when everything is telling you that what you are doing is not working or is hurting you. Pharaoh was stubborn. Plague after plague, he would not let go, until he lost his firstborn and his army.
Many of us think that if we stop anything we have been trying, it means we have failed. We think that once you start something new, you must finish it, no matter what it costs. But that is not always wisdom.
Think about a farmer. If he plants a crop and discovers the soil is not good for it, he does not keep planting the same thing every year and crying when it fails.
He plants something different that will grow in that soil. If a trader discovers people are no longer buying what he sells, a wise trader adjusts.
If a student keeps reading for hours but nothing is entering his head, maybe he needs to change how he studies, not just study longer. And if somebody keeps deceiving you in a relationship, again and again, it may be time to set boundaries, or even to walk away.
Beloved, sometimes what you need is not another year of the same thing. What you need is a new direction and strategy. Solomon said, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted” (Ecclesiastes 3:1–2).
He also said there is “a time to keep, and a time to cast away” (Ecclesiastes 3:6). There is a time to hold on, and there is a time to let go. There is a time to push harder, and there is a time to step back and ask God, “Lord, is this still what You want?”
I am not telling you to abandon your marriage because you are going through a hard time. I am not telling you to resign from your job tomorrow because your boss shouted at you.
Neither am I telling you to leave your ministry because the members are few, or to run away from your spouse or responsibilities because they are heavy and difficult to crush.
Maybe you are afraid to start again because you have already put so much into this thing for so many years with much money, and energy. And you feel that if you leave now, all your efforts will all be wasted.
I want to let you know that they are not wasted. But remember this: the fact that you have spent many years doing something does not automatically mean you must spend the rest of your life doing it.
What you have already lost should not cause you to lose even more. Jonah had already paid his fare to Tarshish, but paying the fare did not make the journey right.
At the same time, don’t let one bad month, one disappointment or one discouraging word make you abandon something God truly placed in your hands. The fig tree in Luke 13 was given one more year with proper care before any decision was made to cut it down.
Give things a fair chance with honest effort, then evaluate it through the lens of wisdom and by the grace of God, you will get it right.
Today, I want you to examine your life and ask yourself: Is there something I need to stop doing so that I can begin something more meaningful? And is there something I have been tempted to quit that God actually wants me to keep fighting for?
Ask God for wisdom to know the difference. James 1:5 promises that He gives it “to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.”
Some people cannot let go because they have made the problem their identity. At the pool of Bethesda, Jesus met a man who had been lying there sick for thirty eight years. Jesus asked him a strange question: “Wilt thou be made whole?” (John 5:6).
You would expect the man to shout, “Yes, Lord!” But instead, he started explaining. “Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me” (John 5:7).
For thirty eight years of excuses had become his life. He had become used to his affliction. He had been at that pool so long that he had more reasons why he could not be healed.
Some of us are like that. We have been in the same situation for so long that we have built a whole life around it. We know all the reasons why things cannot change. And when God asks, “Do you want to be made whole?”, we start explaining instead of rising up.
Beloved, Jesus did not answer the man’s excuses. He simply said, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk” (John 5:8). And the man did. Sometimes letting go is not about quitting; it is about total surrender to God.
God told Abraham to take Isaac, the son he waited twenty five years for, and offer him on Mount Moriah. Abraham did not understand it, but he obeyed. He built the altar, laid Isaac on it and raised the knife.
And at that moment, God stopped him and provided a ram caught in the thicket (Genesis 22:13). Abraham called that place “Jehovah-jireh,” the Lord will provide. Abraham did not lose Isaac. He got him back. But he had to be willing to let go first.
Beloved, sometimes God asks you to put something on the altar, not because He wants to take it from you, but because He wants to know that it does not own you. When you open your hand, He may give it back to you to multiply more blessings in your hands. Or He may give you something better. Either way, you will encounter great turnaround of miracle.
Now, I understand that letting go can hurt. When Samuel had to let go of Saul, he mourned. When Naomi lost her husband and sons, she said, “Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20). Letting go of something you invested your heart in is painful, and it is okay to feel that pain. Don’t pretend. Bring your grief to God.
But don’t stay there forever. God asked Samuel, “How long wilt thou mourn for Saul?” (1 Samuel 16:1). There is a time to mourn, and there is a time to rise. And the same Naomi who said, “Call me Mara,” later held her grandson Obed on her lap while the women of the town said, “Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman” (Ruth 4:14). Her bitterness did not have the final word.
And beloved, don’t be ashamed to start again. Some people won’t let go because they are afraid of becoming a beginner again. They are worried about what people will say. “At my age? Start from scratch?”
Moses was eighty years old when God called him to deliver Israel. Abraham was seventy five when he left Haran. Caleb was eighty five when he asked for his mountain. God is not limited by your age or by how many times you have started over.
“Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise” (Micah 7:8). “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again” (Proverbs 24:16). And God promised, “I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25).
The years you spent on the wrong thing are not beyond God’s power to redeem. Start small if you have to. “For who hath despised the day of small things?” (Zechariah 4:10). Learn what you need to learn. Ask for help. Get the right counsel. And take the first step.
So, beloved, open your hand. Throw away the cargo that is sinking your ship. Leave the waterpot. Cast away the beggar’s garment. Stop explaining why you can’t do it, and rise when Jesus tells you to rise. Put on the altar whatever God is asking for, and watch Him providing for you.
Beloved, God wants to pour new wine into your life. A new season. A new opportunity. A new level. But some of us are trying to receive it with old containers: old mindsets, old habits, old friendships, old ways of doing things.
And when the new thing comes, it bursts the old container, and we lose everything. Sometimes the reason God is not pouring the new wine is that He is waiting for you to get a new bottle. You cannot carry a new season with an old mentality.
When Israel left Egypt, God fed them with manna from heaven every morning. Bread from the sky! Yet after a while, some of them started complaining.
“We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna” (Numbers 11:5–6).
Imagine that. They had been slaves in Egypt. They had been beaten and oppressed by their slave masters. Their children had been thrown into the river. But now they were remembering the onions. Their bodies had left Egypt, but Egypt had not left their minds.
Beloved, some people have left a bad situation physically, but they keep going back to it in their hearts. They left that toxic relationship, but they still check the person’s status every day. They left that sinful lifestyle, but they still miss it and talk about the “good old days.”
They left that place God told them to leave, but they keep looking back. Lot’s wife was already outside Sodom when she looked back and became a pillar of salt. It is not enough to leave Egypt. You must let Egypt leave you.
Some of us need to give up old wounds. When Joseph finally came out of prison and became governor of Egypt, he had a son, and he named him Manasseh. “For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house” (Genesis 41:51).
Joseph had every reason to hold on to bitterness. His brothers sold him. Potiphar’s wife lied against him. The butler forgot him. But Joseph let God heal him so completely that he could name his son “forgetting.”
And then he had a second son and called him Ephraim, “For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52).
Notice the order. First Manasseh, then Ephraim. First forgetting, then fruitfulness. Beloved, some of us are not fruitful because we have not forgotten. We are still carrying what happened ten years ago. Let God give you a Manasseh, so that He can give you an Ephraim.
Beloved, have you ever counted the cost of not changing? People always talk about the cost of change: “If I stop this business, I will lose my capital.” “If I leave this relationship, I will be lonely forever.” “If I start afresh, it will take time to get myself back.” But have you thought about the cost of staying the same without progress?
If you keep that business that has been losing money for five years, how much more will you lose in the next five? If you stay in that cycle, how many more years of your productive life will it consume? If you don’t deal with that habit, what will it cost your health, your family, your soul?
The four lepers asked, “Why sit we here until we die?” (2 Kings 7:3). Sometimes staying where you are is the most expensive decision you can make. And beloved, after you give up something, don’t leave the space empty.
Start something new. If you give up wasting time, start a daily time of prayer and Bible reading. If you give up careless spending, start a savings plan, even a small one. If you give up a bad friendship, start building one godly relationship.
If you give up an unprofitable business, start learning a new skill or exploring the direction God is showing you. If you give up a sinful habit, fill that space with worship, service and the Word.
Jesus warned that when an evil spirit leaves a house and finds it empty, it comes back with seven worse spirits (Matthew 12:43–45). Don’t leave your house empty.
Beloved, the in-between season is not wasted. It is where God trains you, feeds you and prepares you for what is ahead. It was in the wilderness that Israel learned to depend on manna.
It was in the wilderness that David learned to lead. It was in the wilderness that Jesus defeated the devil before beginning His ministry. If you are in between right now, don’t go back. Keep walking. Canaan is ahead.
So when you are making the change, do it wisely. Pray very well towards. Plan well and be more strategic. If you are leaving a job, leave well without causing drama; don’t burn bridges.
If you are closing a business, settle your debts and obligations honourably. If you are starting something new, learn as much as you can.
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). Find people who have walked that road and learn from them. Be patient with the process. You will finish strong.
HOW TO KNOW WHEN IT IS TIME TO LET GO
How do you know if it is time to give up on something and start something else?
1. Ask God sincerely. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Don’t decide out of frustration. Decide out of prayer.
2. Check it against the Word. If what you are holding on to is sinful, give it up today. If what you want to start is against Scripture, don’t start it.
3. Look at the fruit over time. In Luke 13:6-9, a man had a fig tree that bore no fruit for three years. He said, “cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?” But the dresser said, “Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.” Notice the balance. Give it a fair season with proper effort. If, after real effort, there is still no fruit, it may be time to let it go.
4. Seek godly counsel. Proverbs 11:14 says, “in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” Talk to mature believers who can see what you may not see.
5. Watch for the peace of God. Colossians 3:15 says, “let the peace of God rule in your hearts.” When God is leading you, there is a deep peace even if the step is difficult.
6. Pay attention to closed and open doors. Like Paul, notice where the Spirit is forbidding you and where He is calling you.
7. Don’t hold on just because you have invested so much. Many people stay in dead situations because of what they have already put in: “I have spent ten years here.” “I have spent so much money.” But what you have already lost should not make you lose more. Jonah had already paid his fare to Tarshish, but he still needed to get out of that ship.
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
IN CONCLUSION (THE WAY OUT)
Beloved, there is a time to hold on and a time to let go. If you have been on that thing for a long time and it keeps failing, keep disappointing you and keeps bringing storms, it may be time to ask God whether He is saying, “You have dwelt long enough on this mountain.”
Stop mourning what God has already rejected, like Samuel mourning Saul. Fill your horn with oil and go. Give up your own Tarshish plan like Jonah, and go where God is sending you. When the brook dries up, listen for Zarephath. When they keep fighting you over Esek and Sitnah, move on and dig Rehoboth. Put off the armour that does not fit you, and use the sling God gave you.
But walk in balance. Not everything hard is wrong. Don’t give up on God, your calling, your marriage, your children or the promises He has confirmed. Ask God, check the Word, get counsel, look at the pattern, check your peace and examine your motives. And sometimes, don’t throw away the boat; just cast on the other side.
When you let go of what God did not assign, you make room for what He has prepared. The Potter is not finished with you. He can make you again into another vessel.
DAILY REFLECTION – ASK YOURSELF
- Is there something in my life I have been holding on to for a long time with no fruit, no growth and no peace?
- Am I mourning something God has already closed?
- Is there a Tarshish plan in my life that God never gave me?
- Do I need to quit something, or just change the way I am doing it?
- Am I letting go because God is leading, or because I am tired, impatient or afraid?
WISDOM FOR TODAY
Don’t keep watering a dead plant just because you planted it. And don’t uproot a living seed just because it is taking time to grow. Ask God to show you the difference.
PERSONAL CHALLENGE
Beloved, today I challenge you to sit with God and write down the things you have been holding on to for a long time without results. Beside each one, write honestly: Did God assign this, or did I choose it myself? Is it bearing any fruit? Do I have peace about it?
Pray over each one. Share them with one mature believer you trust and ask for their honest counsel. Then, for each item, decide with God’s help whether to hold on, change the side, or let go. If there is something you clearly need to release, especially anything sinful, let it go today. And if God has shown you a new direction, take one small step towards it this week.
EVANGELISM CHALLENGE
Many people are going around the same mountain without God. They have tried everything: different jobs, different relationships, different religions, different pleasures, and nothing has satisfied them. Today, share Isaiah 43:19 with at least two people and tell them that Jesus can give them a new beginning. Invite them to give up a life without God and start a new life in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
FURTHER STUDY
📖 Deuteronomy 1:6-8 | Deuteronomy 2:1-3 | Isaiah 43:18-19 | Jonah 1:1-17 | Jonah 2:1-10 | Jonah 3:1-10 | Luke 5:1-11 | 1 Samuel 15:35-16:13 | 1 Kings 17:1-16 | Genesis 26:17-22 | Acts 16:6-15 | Matthew 10:14 | Proverbs 16:9 | Proverbs 19:21 | Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 | Philippians 3:7-14 | Hebrews 12:1-2 | Luke 13:6-9 | Hebrews 10:35-39 | Luke 18:1 | Galatians 6:9 | James 1:5-8 | Proverbs 3:5-6 | Proverbs 11:14 | Colossians 3:15 | Revelation 3:7-8 | 2 Corinthians 5:17 | Romans 12:2
PRAYER ASSIGNMENT – MORNING
Thanksgiving
1. Father, I thank You because You are the God of new beginnings, in Jesus’ name.
2. Lord, thank You because Your mercies are new every morning, in Jesus’ name.
3. Father, thank You because You are the Potter, and You can make me again into another vessel, in Jesus’ name.
4. Lord, show me clearly what to hold on to and what to let go of, in Jesus’ name.
5. Father, instruct me and teach me in the way I should go, in Jesus’ name.
6. Lord, let me hear Your voice behind me saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it,” in Jesus’ name.
7. Father, send me wise counsel as I make important decisions, in Jesus’ name.
8. Lord, let Your peace rule in my heart and guide my steps, in Jesus’ name.
9. Father, deliver me from leaning on my own understanding, in Jesus’ name.
10. Lord, forgive me for every Tarshish plan I pursued against Your will, in Jesus’ name.
11. Father, forgive me for holding on to things You never assigned to me, in Jesus’ name.
12. Lord, forgive me for investing my life in directions You did not approve, in Jesus’ name.
13. Lord, give me grace to let go of everything You have not planted in my life, in Jesus’ name.
14. Father, help me to stop mourning what You have already rejected, in Jesus’ name.
15. Lord, give me courage to give up every sinful habit immediately, in Jesus’ name.
16. Father, help me to release every relationship You are not in, in Jesus’ name.
17. Lord, help me to put off every armour that does not fit me, in Jesus’ name.
18. Father, deliver me from looking back like Lot’s wife, in Jesus’ name.
19. Every cycle of going round the same mountain in my life, be broken, in the name of Jesus.
20. Every pattern of repeated failure in the same area, be broken, in the name of Jesus.
21. Every power keeping me stuck in a season God has ended, release me now, in the name of Jesus.
22. Every evil attachment to places, people or things God has closed, be cut, in the name of Jesus.
23. Every spirit that wants me to keep paying the fare for my own Tarshish, be bound, in the name of Jesus.
24. Lord, as You said to Israel, let me turn and take my journey, in Jesus’ name.
25. Father, fill my horn with oil and send me to where You have provided, in Jesus’ name.
26. Lord, as the brook dries up, lead me to my Zarephath, in Jesus’ name.
27. Father, take me from Esek and Sitnah to my Rehoboth, in Jesus’ name.
28. Lord, as You told Jonah the second time, give me another chance to obey, in Jesus’ name.
29. Father, give me the courage of Elisha to burn every bridge back to a life You have closed, in Jesus’ name.
30. Lord, let me leave my nets like Peter and follow You fully, in Jesus’ name.
31. Lord, where I need only to change my method, show me the right side of the ship, in Jesus’ name.
32. Father, where I have toiled all night and caught nothing, speak to me, in Jesus’ name.
33. Lord, let my net be filled as I obey Your word, in Jesus’ name.
34. Lord, do a new thing in my life; let it spring forth now, in Jesus’ name.
35. Father, make a way for me in the wilderness and rivers in the desert, in Jesus’ name.
36. Lord, as the potter remade the vessel, remake my life for Your glory, in Jesus’ name.
37. Father, open new doors for me that no man can shut, in Jesus’ name.
38. Lord, let my new beginning be greater than my former, in Jesus’ name.
39. Lord, give me strength not to give up on what You have confirmed, in Jesus’ name.
40. Father, help me not to be weary in well doing, for I shall reap if I faint not, in Jesus’ name.
41. Lord, help me to wait for the vision that tarries, in Jesus’ name.
42. Father, give me grace to fight for my marriage and my family, in Jesus’ name.
43. Lord, let me never give up on You, in Jesus’ name.
44. Holy Spirit, show me what I have been holding on to that You never assigned to me, in Jesus’ name.
45. Lord, show me clearly what I need to give up and what I need to start, in Jesus’ name.
46. Father, give me wisdom to know when to hold on and when to let go, in Jesus’ name.
47. Lord, help me to distinguish between a changing method and an unchanging mission, in Jesus’ name.
48. Father, let Your peace rule in my heart as I make decisions, in Jesus’ name.
49. Lord, send me godly counsellors who will help me see clearly, in Jesus’ name.
50. Father, deliver me from making decisions out of frustration, in Jesus’ name.
51. Father, let destiny helpers locate me in my new direction, in Jesus’ name.
52. Lord, release every resource I need for what You are starting in my life, in Jesus’ name.
53. Father, let my latter end be greater than my former season, in Jesus’ name.
54. Lord, let people see Your hand in my new beginning and glorify You, in Jesus’ name.
PRAYER ASSIGNMENT – NIGHT
1. Father, thank You for Your guidance throughout this day, in Jesus’ name.
2. I cover my sleep, my dreams and my home with the blood of Jesus, in Jesus’ name.
3. Every dream of going round in circles, be cancelled by the blood of Jesus, in the name of Jesus.
4. Every dream of being taken back to old places, old jobs or old relationships, I reject it, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every dream of working hard and catching nothing, be reversed, in the name of Jesus.
6. Every evil altar tying me to a dead season, catch fire, in the name of Jesus.
7. Every evil voice telling me to stay where God has released me, be silenced, in the name of Jesus.
8. Every ancestral pattern of stagnation in my family, be broken tonight, in the name of Jesus.
9. Every satanic storm sent to keep me in the wrong direction, be calmed, in the name of Jesus.
10. Every power fighting my Rehoboth, be scattered, in the name of Jesus.
11. Every attachment to the past that is blocking my future, be cut by the sword of the Spirit, in the name of Jesus.
12. Lord, heal every grief I still carry over things that have ended, in Jesus’ name.
13. Father, let me sleep in peace tonight, trusting You with my next step, in Jesus’ name.
14. Holy Spirit, reveal to me in my dreams what I should release and where I should go, in Jesus’ name.
15. Lord, as You spoke to Paul in a vision of Macedonia, show me my next direction, in Jesus’ name.
16. Father, let me wake up tomorrow with clarity and courage, in Jesus’ name.
17. Lord, let my family also move into the new season You have prepared, in Jesus’ name.
18. Father, make me again into another vessel as I rest in You, in Jesus’ name.
19. Angels of the living God, encamp round about me and my household tonight, in Jesus’ name.
20. Fire of the Holy Ghost, guard my life and destiny all through this night, in Jesus’ name.
21. Father, deliver me from the fear of what people will say when I obey You, in Jesus’ name.
22. Lord, help me to find my identity in You and not in what I do, in Jesus’ name.
23. Father, show me every lesson and skill from my past season that I should carry into the new, in Jesus’ name.
24. Lord, let nothing I went through be wasted; work all things together for my good, in Jesus’ name.
25. Father, give me grace to end every season well, with honesty, peace and honour, in Jesus’ name.
26. Lord, help me to settle my obligations before I move on, in Jesus’ name.
27. Father, deliver me from looking back with longing at what You have brought me out of, in Jesus’ name.
28. Lord, let me not stop halfway in Haran; take me all the way into my Canaan, in Jesus’ name.
29. Father, give me a new bottle for the new wine You are about to pour, in Jesus’ name.
30. Lord, help me to sanctify myself and prepare for the wonders of my new season, in Jesus’ name.
31. Father, deliver me from restlessness, boredom and envy disguised as direction, in Jesus’ name.
32. Lord, teach me to move when Your cloud moves and to stay when Your cloud stays, in Jesus’ name.
33. Every ungodly soul tie holding me to what God has ended, be cut by the sword of the Spirit, in the name of Jesus.
34. Every evil covenant tying me to a place, person or season, be broken by the blood of Jesus, in the name of Jesus.
35. Every family pattern that keeps pulling me back, be broken, in the name of Jesus.
36. Every spirit of stagnation, release my life now, in the name of Jesus.
37. Every power that makes me return to what I have left, be destroyed by fire, in the name of Jesus.
38. Holy Spirit, show me clearly what I need to stop and what I need to start, in Jesus’ name.
39. Lord, give me the wisdom to know the difference between perseverance and stubbornness, in Jesus’ name.
40. Father, help me to tell the difference between a hard season and a finished season, in Jesus’ name.
41. Lord, let me not quit what You assigned, and let me not cling to what You never assigned, in Jesus’ name.
42. Father, show me whether I need a new direction or just a new method, in Jesus’ name.
43. Lord, let Your peace be my umpire in every major decision, in Jesus’ name.
44. Father, surround me with honest counsellors who will tell me the truth, in Jesus’ name.
45. Every fear of being called a failure, lose your grip on my life, in Jesus’ name.
46. Every pride keeping me in a sinking situation, be broken, in Jesus’ name.
47. Every pressure to keep up appearances, I break free from you, in Jesus’ name.
48. Lord, deliver me from holding on to dead things because of what I have already invested, in Jesus’ name.
49. Every soul tie binding me to a season God has ended, be broken by fire, in Jesus’ name.
50. Every Laban benefiting from my stagnation, release me now, in Jesus’ name.
51. Every voice discouraging me from obeying God for its own comfort, be silenced, in Jesus’ name.
52. Every spirit of comparison and copying, depart from my life, in Jesus’ name.
53. Lord, help me to put off every armour that was made for someone else, in Jesus’ name.
54. Father, give me grace to give up laziness once and for all, in Jesus’ name.
55. Lord, break the power of procrastination over my life, in Jesus’ name.
56. Father, uproot every root of dishonesty from my heart and my business, in Jesus’ name.
57. Lord, deliver me from unnecessary spending and wasteful living, in Jesus’ name.
58. Father, teach me to manage my time and redeem every day, in Jesus’ name.
59. Lord, help me to break away from every association that is pulling me down, in Jesus’ name.
60. Father, help me to lay aside every weight and sin that easily besets me, in Jesus’ name.
61. Lord, give me grace to close every old chapter with honesty and honour, in Jesus’ name.
62. Father, help me to settle every obligation before I move on, in Jesus’ name.
63. Lord, deliver me from looking back with longing like Lot’s wife, in Jesus’ name.
64. Father, help me to stop mourning over what You have already rejected, in Jesus’ name.
65. Lord, let me not settle halfway in Haran; take me fully into my Canaan, in Jesus’ name.
66. Father, let the new thing You have planned for me spring forth now, in Jesus’ name.
67. Lord, make a way for me in every wilderness and rivers in every desert, in Jesus’ name.
68. Father, show me my Nineveh, and give me grace to arise and go, in Jesus’ name.
69. Lord, open my Macedonia and let me walk through it with power, in Jesus’ name.
70. Father, as my brook dries up, lead me to my Zarephath of provision, in Jesus’ name.
71. Lord, bring me out of every Esek and Sitnah into my Rehoboth, in Jesus’ name.
72. Father, give me a new bottle for the new wine You are pouring into my life, in Jesus’ name.
73. Lord, help me to sanctify myself and prepare for the wonders of tomorrow, in Jesus’ name.
74. Father, let every skill and lesson from my past become useful in my new season, in Jesus’ name.
AFRICAN PROVERB
“When the drumbeat changes, the dance must change also.”
Meaning: A good dancer listens to the drum. When the rhythm changes, he does not keep dancing the old steps; he adjusts to the new beat. In the same way, when God changes the season of your life, you must be willing to change your steps. Don’t keep dancing the old dance when God is playing a new rhythm. Listen to the drum of heaven, and move with it.
CLOSING REFLECTION
Beloved, not every struggle is a sign to quit, and not every comfort is a sign to stay. But if you have been going around the same mountain for too long, if the brook has dried up, if the doors keep closing, if you are running to Tarshish while God is calling you to Nineveh, then hear the voice of the Lord today: “Long enough. Turn you northward.”
Give up what God did not assign to you. Release what has finished its season in your life. Lay aside every weight and sin. But hold on tightly to your God, your calling, your covenant and your faith.
Jonah’s story did not end in the fish. Peter’s story did not end in the boat. Elijah’s story did not end at the dry brook. And your story will not end where you are now. God is doing a new thing. It is springing forth. Can you see it?
Stay blessed, stay obedient, and step into your new thing.
Joshua Orekhie
EJOM – Ministries
If you have any dreams, please don't hesitate to share it with me on my Youtube. I will be happy to proffer solutions to your dream requests.Evangelist Joshua TV
