GRACE TONIC

WEEK 51: DECEMBER 23RD, 2024 

TITLE - SUSTAINING THE BETHEL EXPERIENCE BY STRUCTURES

TEXT: GENESIS 36:1 KJV

And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. 

God’s instruction to Jacob to build an altar to Him upon his arrival at Bethel was a statement of intentionality. Through this, God was introducing Jacob to an ordered life—a structure for his life and destiny.

Structures are divine models designed to sustain the workings and dealings of God upon a life. It was God's methodology to preserve and consolidate Jacob's encounter at Bethel, and it remains His modus operandi to this day.

Structures create a system of obedience and adherence to divine instructions and processes, ultimately guiding one’s life toward the fulfillment of God’s plans and purposes. Structures preserve your dealings, sustain the intensity of your altar, and advance you in your calling.

The lack of a defined structure and the belief that your need to pray will be facilitated by feelings have destroyed many prayer altars. The discipline of intentionality is required for the consistency and vibrancy necessary on your prayer altar. A structure calibrates and conditions your person to do what needs to be done, even when you don’t feel like it.

Your devotional life cannot be left to "anytime." It must have a structure. Believing you can pray anytime and anywhere without structure is a lazy mindset, and no personal altar can achieve consistency with such a lifestyle.

A proper structure around your Christian life prevents you from faltering; as you you grow, accustomed to your routines, your physical body resists anything that disrupts the structure. The inconsistency you experience, and the reluctance of your body to cooperate at times, is a result of your failure to establish and maintain a structure.

Building a structure for your personal altar doesn’t have to be burdensome. You can start small—perhaps by setting an alarm daily—and build consistency from there until it becomes second nature, flowing in the unforced rhythm of grace that your structure has enabled.

When you grow with structure, your Elijah will be able to put his head on his knees at any age. The situations in your life will adjust to the structure you have cultivated.

Discipline is the function of a consistent personal altar. An altar without the discipline of structure will eventually break down. Elijah rebuilt the altar of God in Israel by following structure (picking 12 stones for the 12 tribes). Similarly, your altar can only be built through structure. Only then will the Lord respond with fire upon your altar.

May you receive the grace to build a working structure that ushers you into all God has for you. (Amen.)

Rev’d (Dr.) Oyelakin Olabiyi 

TARM Nigeria

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Grace Tonic is an online, inspirational, weekly devotional of Transfiguration Ark Revival Ministry.

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This week’s devotional is authored by Rev’d (Dr) Oyelakin Olabiyi. He is the President of Transfiguration Ark Revival Ministry International (TARM).

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