It’s interesting to notice that in Ephesus, increase came a little at a time.

The Ephesian church didn’t grow overnight from 12 disciples to multiplied thousands who were so committed to God they were burning their ungodly past in bonfires. The Holy Spirit had to bring that increase gradually. The more opportunity He had to work and prepare the way, the more He could pour God’s power out on the city. And the more of God’s power He poured out on the city, the more Paul’s results increased.

It was a marvelous progression that took place little by little.

That’s the way God almost always works. As much as we might want Him to, He doesn’t rid us of all our problems at once. He doesn’t take us from rags to riches or from utter failure to 100% success overnight. He usually does for us what He did for the Israelites when they entered the Promised Land. He drives out the giants little by little before us so that little by little we can increase and inherit the land.

Why must He do it that way?

Because real, sustainable increase always comes from the inside out. To increase on the outside, we must first increase on the inside, and that kind of inner increase takes time.

It takes time in the Word, meditating on God’s promises and fellowshipping with Him over them. It takes time spent in His presence just letting His Spirit expand and change us. It takes time in prayer, allowing the Holy Spirit to prepare our minds and hearts for the increase God wants to give.

My husband, Mac, and I learned that firsthand many years ago at a time when we were searching for a bigger building for our church. We’d outgrown the one we had and it was time to increase but nothing was opening up. Instead of just busting the doors down in the natural and trying to force our way into a new building with our own strength, we asked the Lord what we should do.

Do you know what He told us? He said, “I want you to give Me your mornings.”

If you are asking God for increase, get ready for Him to say something similar to you. I can tell you from experience, if you’ll give Him more of yourself, a little at a time, He’ll start getting a whole lot more increase to you.

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 7:1 – 22