# NEW MERCIES DAILY!
TOPIC: “Why Does It Feel Like I Am Always Starting Over?”
SCRIPTURE TEXT:
Deuteronomy 2:3 (KJV)
“Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.”
DATE: 01/03/25
BY: EFFIONG ETOK
Carrier of God’s Word
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
“Cycles are prisons disguised as progress-we are merely marking time, not truly moving forward.”
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever cried out, “Lord, why does it feel like I am always starting over?”
You take two steps forward, and suddenly, you are back where you started. The job that seemed like a breakthrough crumbles. The relationship you thought would last falls apart. The financial progress you made vanishes overnight. It feels like life is a never-ending cycle of trying, failing, and trying again.
The Israelites knew this struggle all too well. For 40 years, they wandered in the wilderness, circling the same mountain, fighting the same battles, enduring the same disappointments. But then, one day, God spoke:
“You have gone around this mountain long enough-turn northward!”
As we step into March 2025, some of us are still wrestling with battles from years past. We are two months into a new year, yet nothing seems new! But today, God is speaking to you-it’s time to break the cycle and move forward!
The story of Mephibosheth is a heart-wrenching example of a man born into royalty yet trapped in a life of loss, delay, and disappointment. Though he was destined for greatness, his life took a tragic turn, leaving us with a haunting question-was he ever truly restored?
MAIN MESSAGE
1. The Cycle of Delay Can Begin Without Our Fault.
2 Samuel 4:4 (KJV)
“And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame.”
Mephibosheth was only five years old when tragedy struck. He was born into royalty, yet in a single moment, his entire destiny crumbled.
It wasn’t his fault-his nurse dropped him, leaving him crippled for life. His father and grandfather died in battle the same day. His royal privileges were snatched away, and he became an outcast.
Some of us are stuck in cycles we never created-battling family struggles, betrayals, and inherited afflictions we did not ask for. The pain of being dropped by people we trusted has left wounds so deep that it feels impossible to move forward.
“O Lord, as I step into this new month, break the cycle of inherited struggles in my life! Every delay caused by situations beyond my control, be destroyed NOW, in Jesus’ name!”
2. Mephibosheth Was Taken to Lodebar-A Place of Stagnation:.
2 Samuel 9:4 (KJV)
“And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.”
Lodebar means:
❌ No pasture (A dry place—no resources, no opportunities.)
❌ No communication (A place of isolation and silence.)
❌ No growth (A place of stagnation.)
Mephibosheth was meant to sit on a throne, but instead, he lived in exile in Lodebar-forgotten, abandoned, and trapped in a cycle of nothingness.
Some of us are spiritually, emotionally, or financially stuck in Lodebar-places where dreams don’t grow, prayers feel unanswered, and progress seems impossible.
“Lord, move me from Lodebar to my place of divine fulfillment! No more stagnation, in Jesus’ name!”
3. His Own Servant Lied Against Him and Stole His Inheritance.
2 Samuel 16:1-4 (KJV)
“Then said the king to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth.”
When King David fled Jerusalem, Mephibosheth’s servant Ziba betrayed him.
•Ziba lied-telling the king that Mephibosheth had turned against him.
•Ziba stole everything that belonged to Mephibosheth.
•Ziba was rewarded for his deception.
Another crushing disappointment. Have you ever been lied against, robbed, or falsely accused?
“Lord, expose every ‘Ziba’ in my life-every hidden enemy working against my destiny, in Jesus’ name!”
4. Even After Vindication, He Still Did Not Get Full Restoration.
2 Samuel 19:29 (KJV)
“And the king said unto him, Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land.”
After years of suffering, Mephibosheth was finally vindicated. But instead of receiving full justice, he was told to share his inheritance with the very man who betrayed him!
•First, he lost his inheritance.
•Then, he lost his mobility.
•Then, he lost his royal identity.
•Then, he lost his freedom.
•Then, he lost his property.
•Then, he lost his full restoration.
Enough is enough! The spirit of Mephibosheth-that cycle of near success but never full victory-must be broken!
“Lord, let my restoration be total and complete! No enemy will take what belongs to me this month, in Jesus’ mighty name!”
CLOSING REFLECTION
Some of us have been fighting the same battles for years. Every time we think we have broken free, something happens to pull us back!
But March 2025 is different.
The Lord is saying: YOU HAVE COMPASSED THIS MOUNTAIN LONG ENOUGH-MOVE FORWARD!
No more delays, no more disappointments, no more stagnation!
CLOSING PRAYER
1.O Lord, the experience of Mephibosheth shall not be my portion from this month forward, in Jesus’ name!
2. I reject every prison of cycles-those patterns that disguise themselves as progress but only keep me marking time instead of truly moving forward, in Jesus’ name!
3. This month, I step into divine acceleration, my breakthroughs will be complete, and my restoration will be undeniable, in Jesus’ mighty name! Amen!
