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1 Kings 19:4-6
While he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it, and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.
 
When you’re stuck in a rut and feel hopeless, the hardest thing to do is the next thing. I know the feeling. You know what you need to do, but you just can’t do it. The task at hand seems insurmountable, the journey ahead is too far to travel, so you never even begin. Have you ever felt like that? Elijah felt that way in the verse above. He was a prophet chosen by God, but in his anguish, he prayed for God to take his life and fell asleep under a tree. An angel appeared and told Elijah to do the next thing. In this case, the next thing was simply eating, nothing profound. After he ate, he laid back down, then he ate again, then he had strength for the journey, and then had an amazing encounter with God. It’s no coincidence that this powerful encounter with God happened shortly after his biggest season of despair. That’s how it works, and the enemy knows that too. At your lowest point, the enemy entices you to quit, he prowls around wanting to take you out before you start. But God wants you to keep moving. We keep moving by doing the next thing. 
 
When in doubt, do the next thing. Don’t quit, you must start somewhere. If you are down by four touchdowns, you can’t score them all at once, but you can get the next first down. You can’t run three miles until you take the first step. You can’t conquer addiction without getting through the first day clean. Life is all about doing the next thing. Our journey with Christ is the same. The task is insurmountable without Christ. But His strength is sufficient to conquer what He’s called us to. When in doubt, don’t try to do it all, just do the next thing. The God that gives you strength for the next thing will be there for the next thing too. String enough next things together and watch what happens. Trust me, He’s faithful. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself.
 
Matthew 6:34
Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

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