REMOVE WHAT GOD HAS TOLD YOU TO REMOVE
DATE: 22nd of September 2026
AUTHOR: Evang Ademola Elemo
SERIES: GOD FORBADE IT, BUT YOU PERMITTED IT
đź“– SCRIPTURE READING
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…” — Hebrews 12:1
“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee…” — Matthew 5:29
🕊️ MEDITATION
There comes a time when prayer alone must be accompanied by action. You may pray: “Lord, help me overcome this.” But God may be saying:
“Remove what keeps giving it access to you.”
Sometimes we ask God to deliver us from something while continuing to create an environment that feeds it. We pray against temptation but keep visiting the place that triggers it. We pray against distraction but keep feeding our minds with distractions. We pray for freedom while maintaining the relationship, habit, environment, or opportunity that keeps pulling us back. You cannot continually protect what God is asking you to remove.
Jesus used extremely strong language in Matthew 5:29–30:
“If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee…”
Jesus was emphasizing the seriousness with which we must deal with sin. The point is not to physically harm ourselves.
The point is: Deal radically with whatever repeatedly leads you away from God.
If something is consistently taking you toward sin, don’t keep treating it casually. Remove the access. Change the environment. Establish the boundary. Seek accountability. Make the necessary decision.
When Joseph was confronted with sexual temptation, he did not stay around trying to prove how strong he was.
He ran.
đź“– Genesis 39:12
“And he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.”
Joseph understood something many people forget: There are some battles you win by refusing to stay in the wrong place. Sometimes your victory is not in resisting longer. Your victory is in leaving earlier.
🔥 WHAT NEEDS TO GO?
There may be things in your life that God has already been dealing with you about.
Perhaps it is: A relationship. A secret habit. An unhealthy environment. A recurring temptation. A destructive pattern of thinking. Unforgiveness. Pride. Dishonesty. An addiction to attention.
Something that continually steals your spiritual focus.
The question is not:
“How can I keep this and still remain spiritually strong?”
The question is:
“What is God asking me to surrender?”
🌱 THE MYSTERY OF EMPTY SPACE
When you remove something from your life, you must be careful about what replaces it.
Jesus taught about an unclean spirit leaving a person and later returning to find the house empty.
The lesson is important: Don’t only remove the wrong; fill your life with the right. If you remove a bad habit, replace it with a healthy discipline.
If you leave an unhealthy environment, build healthy relationships. If you stop consuming harmful content, fill your mind with God’s Word.
If you separate from a destructive influence, seek godly fellowship.
Freedom is not simply what you stop doing.
It is also what you begin doing instead.
đź“Ś KINGDOM TRUTHS
1. Lay Aside Every Weight
đź“– “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us…” — Hebrews 12:1
Not everything that slows you down is necessarily sinful, but anything that hinders your walk with God should be examined.
2. Deal Seriously With What Causes You to Fall
đź“– “If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out…” — Matthew 5:29
Jesus teaches us to take decisive action against sources of temptation.
3. Flee From Certain Temptations
📖 “Flee fornication.” — 1 Corinthians 6:18
There are moments when running is wisdom, not weakness.
🙏 PRAYER
Heavenly Father, give me the courage to remove everything You have instructed me to remove.
Help me stop negotiating with things that repeatedly pull me away from Your will.
Give me wisdom to identify the source of temptation and grace to separate myself from it.
Where I need to repent, give me humility. Where I need to establish boundaries, give me courage.
Where I need to walk away, give me strength. Fill every empty space with Your presence, Your Word, and godly influences. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
đź“Ł DECLARATIONS
I will not protect what God has instructed me to remove.
I have courage to make difficult but necessary decisions.
I will lay aside every weight that hinders my walk with God.
I will flee from destructive temptation.
I will replace unhealthy patterns with godly disciplines.
đź“Ś ACTION POINT FOR TODAY
Identify one thing God has been asking you to remove. Then take a practical step. Delete it. Leave it. End it appropriately. Set the boundary.
Seek accountability. Change the environment.
Ask for help where necessary. But don’t stop there. Replace what you remove with something that strengthens your walk with God.
🌟 SPECIAL INSIGHT
Sometimes we pray: “God, take this temptation away.” But God may be saying:
“Stop feeding it.” Sometimes we ask:
“God, deliver me from this relationship.”
But God may be saying: “Establish the boundary.” Sometimes we pray: “God, help me stop this habit.” But God may be saying:
“Change the environment that keeps producing the habit.” Divine help does not cancel human responsibility.
God gives grace. But we must cooperate with that grace.