Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

— Proverbs 3:5 (AMPC)

In plain, everyday language, this Scripture could read, “My dearly beloved children, I want you to have every earthly blessing you could possibly imagine, but only to the degree that you have spiritual maturity and Christlike character.” When you look at the Scripture this way, you get the message, “I need to grow up!”

You don’t need to talk God into blessing you. He wants to bless you. In fact, He wants to bless you more than you can imagine being blessed (see Ephesians 3:20). But even more than He wants you to have something, He wants you to be something. He wants you to be Christlike. Once you are something—spiritually mature—you will be able to handle having the earthly blessings He desires for you and use them for His glory.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for the reminder that You do want to bless me, but only to the degree that I can handle it in a spiritually mature manner. Now, help me to keep moving forward in You, amen.

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So be patient, brethren, [as you wait] till the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits expectantly for the precious harvest from the land. [See how] he keeps up his patient [vigil] over it until it receives the early and late rains.

— James 5:7 (AMPC)

“Instant gratification takes too long,” my friend said and laughed. She was standing in front of the microwave. She had set the timer for 90 seconds to heat her coffee. Her toe tapped as she impatiently waited.

I smiled as I watched, but then I realized that we’ve been spoiled by the word instant in our lives today. We have instant credit approval, instant oatmeal, and instant love. We’ve tried to trap God into the same way of thinking. “God, give it to me now,” we pray. Or if we don’t use those words, that’s what we mean.

One of the things I’ve learned from my years of Bible study is that we can’t hurry the Lord. He does things in His time. In earlier meditations, I’ve already pointed out the long waits Abraham and Joseph completed. Moses fled into the wilderness after killing a man and waited forty years for God to tap him on the shoulder. Rachel prayed for years to have a child, and so did Hannah, before God answered them.

When God sent Ananias to pray for the blinded Saul (later called Paul), the Lord said, “. . . Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the descendants of Israel” (Acts 9:15). After being healed, did Paul immediately rush out and preach to royalty? Years passed before God fulfilled that promise. No instant gratification there.

Many people grow impatient in waiting, and of course, the devil uses that to sneer and say, “God isn’t going to do what He promised. If He were going to do it, He would have done it by now.”

As I’ve thought about the matter of human impatience, I’ve realized that impatience is the fruit of pride. The proud can’t seem to wait for anything with a proper attitude. It’s as if they cry out, “I deserve it—and I deserve it right now.”

I want to point out two things from the words of James 5:7. First, God doesn’t say, “Be patient if you wait,” but “Be patient as you wait.” He uses the beautiful example of farmers. They prepare the soil and plant the crops, and then comes the waiting. They know that in God’s time, the crops will produce, and they also realize that it’s a different growing season for tomatoes than it is for wheat.

Second, we need to enjoy our lives now—right now while we wait. So many people complain about wasting time (which is how they talk about waiting). Instead of pacing and grumbling about how long we have to wait in line at the grocery store or the traffic congestion on the expressway, what if you said, “Thanks, God. I can slow down now. I can enjoy this moment. Every second of my life doesn’t have to be productive or bring results.”

The psalmist said it this way: “My times are in Your hands; deliver me from the hands of my foes and those who pursue me and persecute me” (Psalm 31:15). This was the prayer by a man in a desperate situation. His enemies were out to kill him. Still, he didn’t panic, but said, “My times are in Your hands.”

Isn’t that how God wants you to live? Your life and your times are in God’s hands. Doesn’t it follow then, that if you’re facing delays and have to wait, God knows? He’s the One Who controls the clock of life. “My times are in Your hands.” That’s the way God wants you to live—and to enjoy the waiting time. Don’t focus just on receiving or moving on. Focus on relishing the moments that God has given you to relax and enjoy them as a gift from God Himself.

Prayer of the Day: God, I get impatient, and I want instant answers to prayers and solutions to my problems. But that’s not Your way. My times are in Your hands. In the name of Jesus Christ, help me to enjoy the waiting time and remind myself that I’m waiting for You—and the wait is always worth it, amen.

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Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

— Psalm 23:4 (NIV)

Even people who don’t know much about the Bible often turn to Psalm 23 when they are afraid and need comfort. Fear torments, but there is an answer for it. We don’t have to fear because God is with us. When we know how much God loves us, we will believe that He will take care of us and not let more difficulty come on us than we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Although we may feel fear, we don’t have to let it rule our decisions. Courage is not the absence of fear, it is moving forward in the presence of fear. God has not given us fear (2 Timothy 1:7); He gives us courage. Fear is from the enemy, and he uses it to prevent us from making progress in life.

If you run from fear, it will chase you, but if you confront it, it will back down. Don’t allow the enemy to steal your life through negative emotions such as fear, worry, guilt, or jealousy. The best advice I know to give you is that when one of these emotions shows up (and you never know when that might be), pray and then go ahead and do what you would do if the emotion weren’t there. If you let the emotion control you, you feed it and it gets stronger. But if you don’t let it control you, you starve it and it will become weaker and weaker until it has no power in your life.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I want to replace all fear with faith in You, and I need Your help in order to do that. Teach me in this area how to not allow negative emotions to control me.

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And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

— Philippians 4:7 (NKJV)

Did you know that when you have lost your peace of mind you have the power to regain it? Anytime you find that you are worrying, fretful, or anxious about anything, release the problem to God through a simple heartfelt prayer and purposely think about something in your life that is good! Worrying is completely useless. It wears you out mentally, emotionally, and physically and it doesn’t make your problem any better at all.

Peace of mind is valuable, and it is quite impossible to enjoy life without it. Seek and pursue the peace that is yours through Jesus Christ. Don’t be deceived into believing that you can’t help what you think because you absolutely can. You can change your mind about anything! Practice “on purpose” thinking instead of being passive and merely waiting to see what thoughts fall into your mind.

I can share with you that I experience the same mental battles that many people do, and I have to practice having peace on purpose. You are a child of God, and His peace is in you. I recommend that you start recognizing the things that are stealing your peace and deal with them so they can no longer torment you.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I love You very much, and I want to enjoy peace of mind. I know that worry is useless, but I often do it and I am sorry. Work with me and teach me how to trust You enough to enjoy Your peace at all times.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

There is [now no distinction] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

— Galatians 3:28 (AMPC)

The battle for women’s rights was long and grueling, and I personally appreciate those who fought the good fight and paved the way for the freedom I enjoy today. Sad to say, though, discrimination against women is still apparent in many areas. I recently read that in the United States, women still earn only 77 percent of the salary a man does for doing the same job.

As a woman in ministry, I have dealt with my share of criticism and judgment for no reason other than because I am a woman. Because of the lingering discrimination, many women still lack confidence. They live in fear of stepping beyond what they feel is acceptable “female” behavior. I can remember feeling that I wasn’t “normal” because I was aggressive, had dreams and goals, and wanted to do great things. I kept trying to settle down and be a “normal” woman, but it just never worked for me. I am glad now that I found courage to do something radical and chase my dreams.

Bottom line: Our gender does not determine our value; our God does. We are all one in Christ Jesus, and we should treat one another accordingly.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I thank You that my worth or value is not based on men or women, just on You. Help me to experience what it means to be one in Christ, amen.

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Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men.

— Colossians 3:23 (AMP)

Whatever God has placed before you to do—whether it is working in a career, raising a family, being a friend, starting a ministry—He wants you to do it with excellence. He wants you to do your absolute best for Him.

Mediocrity is easy. Anybody can do it. But it is costly. It costs us fulfillment. And it costs us real joy. One way to find purpose and joy in life is to pray in your quiet time with God that He will always help you to be excellent in all you do each day.

This doesn’t mean you will be perfect. We all make mistakes and stumble from time to time. But with God’s help, you can learn from those mistakes and purpose to do every new thing before you with excellence in service to Him.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I never want to settle for a mediocre life. Show me the excellent way to go, help me find my purpose and joy, and the grace to enjoy life even in my imperfections, amen.

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For I am persuaded beyond doubt (am sure) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 8:38-39 (AMPC)

You cannot trust unless you believe you are loved. To grow in God and be changed you must trust Him. Often, He will lead you in ways you cannot understand. During those times you must have a tight grip on His love for you. The apostle Paul was convinced that nothing would ever be able to separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus. You need to have that same absolute assurance of God’s undying love for you.

Accept God’s love for you and make that love the basis for your love for others. Receive His affirmation, knowing that you are changing and becoming everything He desires you to be.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me trust in Your unending love for me, as I continue to grow in my faith. Show me how to use Your love as an example on how to show my love for other people, amen.

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Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

— Romans 5:3-4 (AMPC)

It is easy to say, “Don’t worry.” But to actually do that requires experience with the faithfulness of God. When we trust God and then see and experience His faithfulness in our lives, it gives us great confidence to live without worry, fear, and anxiety.

That’s why it is so important to continue to have faith and trust in God in the very midst of trials and tribulations. With God’s help, we can steadfastly resist the temptation to give up and quit when the going gets rough. God uses those hard, trying times to build in us patience, endurance, and character that will eventually produce the habit of joyful and confident hope.

Always remember that when you are in a battle, you are gaining valuable experience that will benefit you in the future. You will more easily trust God when difficulty comes, and you will be able to testify to others regarding the goodness and faithfulness of God. If you are in a battle right now, you can let it defeat you or make you stronger! Make the right decision and let it help bring you into a deeper level of spiritual maturity.

Prayer of the Day: Father, You are a God Who is so marvelous, and I know You can work out things for my good—those things that Satan intends for my harm. Please strengthen my faith to trust Your faithfulness, even in trials. Help me grow in patience, endurance, and joyful, confident hope, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them….

— Hosea 14:9 (NLT)

more to life than meets the eye—especially the natural eye. Things are not always what they appear to be, so we must learn to be discerning. Simply defined, discernment is spiritual understanding, and developing it takes practice. As we grow in our understanding of God’s Word and in our relationships with Him, we also grow in our ability to discern.

To live by discernment, we have to pay attention to our hearts. We have to know when we do not feel right about something. For example, let’s say a businessman has been looking for a certain kind of business deal for quite some time and an opportunity for such a deal finally presents itself. As he reviews the paperwork, the deal appears to be sound. But when he begins to pray about entering into the deal, he senses he should not do it. Even though everything appears to be in order, he just does not have peace about the deal. The more he prays, the more he feels he should not do business with the people involved in the deal. This man is looking beyond the natural elements of the deal and using his discernment.

The best way for me to help you learn to live by discernment is to offer this simple advice: if you don’t feel right about something in your heart, do not do it. You may discover later why you didn’t feel good about it, but you may not. Either way, you can be at peace knowing you used your discernment instead of making decisions based on your mind, your emotions, or natural circumstances. Discernment is a precious gift from God that will help you avoid a lot of trouble in life if you pay attention to it.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I pray and ask You to develop and increase my discernment as I study Your Word. And when something doesn’t feel right in my heart, help me to trust that it is You telling me it is not Your will for my life, amen.

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The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.

— Psalm 29:11 (AMPC)

God has been showing me that we need to be aware of His present provisions now, and not in the future. In Psalm 28:7 (AMPC) David said of God, I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him. He did not say, “I will be helped.”

Wait on God, because God’s help will strengthen you to behave in a godly way all day long, if you trust in Him. Even while you wait on God to manifest His plan, your heart can greatly rejoice in His presence. Tell someone something good that God has done for you, and then watch Him move in the presence of your praise.

Prayer of the Day: Father, please help me recognize Your blessings and provision and always find joy in Your presence. Please strengthen my trust as I wait on You, amen.

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And the Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in every work of your hand…If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your [mind and] heart and with all your being. For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off…But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it.

— Deuteronomy 30:9-11,14 (AMPC)

Please make everything easy and simple for me, dear God. I don’t like to struggle, and I want constant victory without exerting any effort. Let me go on my way as I let You do everything to keep me secure. I’ve never heard anyone pray those words, but I have heard people pray in such a way that they were asking for an easy time in life. Too many people want victory without battle, triumph without effort, and ease without labor. God’s world simply doesn’t function that way.

“It’s just too hard.” I wonder how many times I’ve heard people talk that way. I wonder how many times Joyce Meyer has talked that way. And I did. There was a time when I’d make a firm stand for following the Lord, but in my heart (and often in my mouth) were the words that “it was just so hard.” God convicted me of negative thinking. He taught me that if I would stop looking at the hardships and obey Him, He would make a way for me. The previous verses tell us that God wants to bless us and prosper the work of our hands, but we must obey His commandments. And in verse 11, He assures us that we can do it: For this commandment which I command you this day is not too difficult for you, nor is it far off.

Because we spend so much time listening to the negatives and figuring out what can go wrong, too often we forget the promise that His will is not too difficult for us. Instead, it may help if you think of the obvious difficulties as blessings from God.

For instance, take encouragement from Joseph. After he spent years in Egypt and saved the lives of his family in Canaan, his brothers were afraid of him. They had hated him, plotted to kill him, and sold him into slavery. After their father, Jacob, died, they expected Joseph to punish them. He could have done that and groaned about his hard life—and his life had not been easy. Not only was he sold as a slave by his brothers, but he had been wrongly imprisoned and could have been put to death if God hadn’t been with him.

Instead of saying, “Life is so hard,” Joseph said, As for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are this day (Genesis 50:20 AMPC). He understood how God works in human lives.

Joseph didn’t look at the hardships; he looked at the opportunities. Joseph didn’t listen to the whispering campaign of his enemy; he turned his ears to the encouraging words of his God. In no place do we read of him complaining. He saw everything that happened to him as God’s loving hand upon him.

I wrote the words, loving hand even though it may not always seem that way. And that’s where the devil sometimes creeps in to say, “If God loves you so much, why are you in this mess?” The best answer I can give is to repeat the words of Paul the great apostle: Let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance. And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us (Romans 5:3–5 AMPC). God never promises an easy life, but He does promise a blessed life.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, please forgive me for complaining about life being too hard. Forgive me for wanting things to be easy. Lead me wherever You want me to go, and, in the name of Jesus, I plead that You will help me rejoice all the way—even in the midst of the problems, because You will be there to help me solve them. amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.

— Psalm 16:7 (NIV)

Having a close, personal, intimate relationship with God is wonderful. It is obvious from the Psalms that David had this kind of relationship with the Lord, and we can have it too. David wrote that even during the night God spoke to and counseled him. Most of us wake up at some time during the night, and even then, God is with us, watching us, and He may well speak to us if we are listening.

David said his eyes were always on the Lord (Psalm 16:8 NIV), and we can form the habit of always having one ear turned toward the Lord no matter what we are doing. We can always be watching and waiting for God to speak to us. This kind of intimate relationship with God gives us great confidence that no matter what happens, we will stand firm and not be upset or disturbed.

Even in difficult times our hearts can rejoice and be glad, and we can rest secure in God’s love for us. You can be assured that God will not abandon you. He shows us the path of life, and in His presence, we are filled with joy (see Psalm 16:9–11). Always keep God first in your life, and He will take care of everything else you need.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I am grateful that I can have an intimate relationship with You. Draw me to You and help me always keep You in my mind and heart. You are more important to me than anything else.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

And they discussed it and reasoned with one another, It is because we have no bread.

— Mark 8:16 (AMPC)

Today’s scripture is part of a story in which Jesus’ disciples did not understand something He said. When the Bible says they “reasoned with one another,” it simply means they tried to figure out what He meant. To reason, in this sense, means to use natural, human effort to try to understand or figure out something. It steals our peace and keeps our minds and emotions in turmoil.

The disciples often became involved in reasoning when what they really needed was revelation from the Holy Spirit. He is able to give us the insight and understanding we need in any situation, no matter how confusing it may seem.

I was once addicted to reasoning. No matter what happened, I did not discipline my mind and spent too much time trying to figure it out. The Holy Spirit eventually helped me understand that as long as I was caught up in reasoning, I couldn’t walk in discernment.

Discernment starts in the heart and enlightens the mind. It’s spiritual, not natural. The Holy Spirit doesn’t help us reason, but He does help us discern.

When we need to understand something, God certainly wants us to use the good minds He’s given us and to employ common sense. But when our thoughts get tangled up and we lose our peace because we can- not figure something out, we have gone too far. At that point, we simply need to ask God for discernment, wait on Him to reveal what we need to know, and choose to be at peace.

Prayer of the Day: When I’m tempted to reason, Lord, help me to stop, find peace, and renew my faith in You.

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 …He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].

— John 16:13 (AMPC)

One of the many benefits of hearing from God is that listening to His voice helps us prepare for the future. The Holy Spirit gives to us the messages the Father gives to Him, and He often tells us things that will happen in the future.

We find many instances in the Bible in which God spoke to people and gave them information about the future. He told Noah to prepare for a flood that would come to destroy the people of the earth (see Genesis 6:13–17). He told Moses to go to Pharaoh and ask for the release of the Israelites and that Pharaoh would not grant this request (see Exodus 7). Obviously, God does not tell us everything that will happen in the future, but His Word promises He will tell us some things.

There are times when I sense that something good, or perhaps something challenging, is going to happen. When a challenge awaits me and I have some prior knowledge of it, that knowledge helps to cushion the blow when the difficult situation comes. If an automobile with good shock absorbers hits a pothole, those absorbers protect passengers in the car from the jarring impact that would result, and no one gets hurt. God’s giving us information ahead of time works the same way.

Part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry is to tell us things to come. He knows the mind of God and He knows God’s individual plans for our lives. He will reveal what we need to know when we need to know it in order to fulfill the good plans God has for us.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, please help me to trust and follow Your Holy Spirit to guide me on my journey in life. I’m depending on You to be shock absorber as I face various challenges and situations that seem to come up daily, amen.

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But the people, the men of Israel, took courage and strengthened themselves and again set their battle line.

— Judges 20:22 (AMPC)

Judges Chapter 20 tells the story of the Israelites losing battles on two consecutive days. Rather than give up after their first defeat, they “took courage and strengthened themselves.”

The men of Israel had a choice to make after their defeats: Would they try again, believing that with God they wouldn’t fail, or would they take the easy way out and give up? It takes courage to keep pressing on when you have already experienced what appears to be failure, but we see in God’s Word that when the Israelites kept going, trusting Him, they ended up victorious.

Many people live unfulfilled lives because they let one or two failures defeat them. I like to say that we are not failures just because we fail at something. Nobody is a failure until he or she quits trying. Be courageous—keep on trying.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I trust You today to give me the courage I need to keep on trying and to never give up. I can’t do it without You, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.

— Romans 1:17 (AMPC)

Today’s verse reminds us that we need to learn how to live from faith to faith. It means we approach everything we face, every challenge we meet, every decision we make, and everything we do with faith.

I certainly need faith in my everyday life and in my ministry. When I travel to conferences, I go in faith that I will arrive safely at my destination. When I begin teaching, I do so in faith that God has given me the right message for the audience. I have faith that I am anointed to teach God’s Word, to help people, and to speak the right words. When I walk off the platform, I have faith that God has used my ministry to change lives. When I leave to go home, I have faith that I will arrive safely.

After many years of being doubtful and fearful, I have definitely decided faith is much better. Faith enables us to enjoy our lives and to do amazing things. Living by faith is not a feeling we have; it is a conscious decision we must make.

Faith is simply the conscious, deliberate choice to put our trust in God. It’s at the heart of everything great we’ll ever do. It becomes more natural, and we get better at it the more we do it.

If you will begin by exercising faith for simple things, eventually you will have no difficulty trusting God for great things. I remember going to a garage sale and trusting God to help me find a pair of tennis shoes for one of my children for two dollars because that was all I had. I saw God’s faithfulness, and eventually I was able to trust God to cover the needs we have for an international ministry.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I put my trust in You! Help me as I follow you, from faith to faith, step by step, as I pursue the great things You have prepared for me.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, [the door] will be opened.

— Matthew 7:8 (AMPC)

One day I woke up with a throbbing headache. I walked around with that miserable headache almost all day, telling everybody I met about how terrible I felt—until I finally realized that I had complained most of the day and had never taken the time to simply pray and ask God to take the pain away.

Unfortunately, that response is rather typical for some of us. We complain about our problems and spend a majority of our time trying to figure out what we can do to solve them. We often do everything except the one thing we are told to do in the Word of God: ask, that we may receive, and our joy may be full (see John 16:24 KJV).

Thankfully, God wants to provide for our every need. We have the awesome privilege of “asking and receiving,” and we should always pray as a first response to every situation.

Prayer of the Day: I thank You, God, in everything, no matter what the circumstance may be. I desire to be the most thankful person I can be, and I ask You to help me reach my goal.

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God selected…what the world calls weak to put the strong to shame. And God also selected (deliberately chose) what in the world is lowborn and insignificant and branded and treated with contempt, even the things that are nothing, that He might depose and bring to nothing the things that are, so that no mortal man should [have pretense for glorying and] boast in the presence of God.

— 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (AMPC)

If you are weak in faith, in mind, in body, in discipline, in self-control, or in determination, simply wait on God. He will be strong through your weakness.

Isaiah 40:31 teaches that if you expect God, look for Him, and hope in Him, you will change and renew your strength and power; you will run, and not faint or become tired. The Bible doesn’t say “hope so, it could be, or it may be”; it declares that you will be renewed.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I am weak, but You are strong. Strengthen me. Renew my faith, my mind, and my body. I will wait on You and Your unfailing power, amen.

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Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths.

— Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMPC)

I usually know what I want, and I like to get it. I’m exactly like most people. When we don’t get what we want, our negative feelings flare up. (And remember those feelings began with thoughts.)

“I drove across town to buy that dress, and you’re out of my size?”

“What do you mean there are no HDTVs left? I saw it advertised.”

Most of us are like that—and when we don’t get what we want, we make people around us miserable. It’s not something we learn in school—it may be inborn.

As I wrote the above quotations, I thought of a scene in the grocery store. A young mother was pushing her cart along and stopped at the cereal. Her child—less than 2 years old—reached out for a box. “Want! Want!”

“No,” the mother said. “We have plenty at home.” She put a different box of cereal in the cart. “Want! Want!” the child said. Getting no response, she began to kick and scream. To the mother’s credit, she did not give in but pushed the cart to another aisle and distracted her child.

As I watched that behavior, I thought, That’s the way we all are most of the time. We decide what we want, and when we don’t get it, we’re angry.

“Jack and I were both up for the same promotion. I’ve been with the company longer, and my sales figures are stronger,” Donna said. “I deserved it, but he got the job.”

“I had a grade of 98 going into my final essay test,” Angie said. “If I had made another 100, it would have given me a 4.0 average, and I would have become the top student in my graduating class. But I made only 83 on the test and dropped down to fifth in my class. I deserved a grade of 100, but my teacher doesn’t like me.”

Let’s look at this problem more closely. The individuals mentioned above, who didn’t get what they wanted, made one common statement: “I deserved it, but I didn’t get it.”

Too often, we Christians expect life to be perfect and for everything to go smoothly for us. We expect success, happiness, joy, peace, and everything else. When we’re thwarted, we pout or complain.

Although God does want us to have a good life, there will be times when we must be patient and endure not getting our way. These disappointments test our character and level of spiritual maturity. They actually show whether or not we truly are ready for promotion.

Why do we think we should always be first while others have to endure a lesser position? Why do we think we are entitled to the perfect life? Perhaps sometimes we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. A humble mind enables us to take a back seat and wait for God to move us to the front. God’s Word says that we inherit the promises through faith and patience. Believing God is good, but can we continue to believe God and trust Him when we don’t feel that life is fair?

Satan plays with our minds. Most of the time, the evil one says negative things to us: “You don’t deserve it; you are worthless; you’re stupid.” Once in a while, however, he tries a different trick: He tells us how hard we work or how much we’re entitled to. If we listen and believe, we may begin to feel cheated or believe that someone has taken advantage of us.

When we don’t get what we want, we fall apart, saying, “I deserved it!” We not only get angry with the boss, the teacher, or anyone else, but we sometimes get angry with God for not giving us what we felt we deserved.

The big mistake was to say we deserved it, because then self-pity creeps in when we don’t get what we want. We can take that attitude, or we can recognize that we have a choice. I can choose to accept life the way it is and make the best out of it, or I can complain because it isn’t perfect.

I think of the story of Jonah—not the whale story—but what happened afterward. He had announced that in forty days, God would destroy the city of Nineveh, but the people repented. Because God listened to their cries, Jonah was angry. Therefore now, O Lord, I beseech You, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live (Jonah 4:3 AMPC).

Sad, isn’t it? Jonah would rather have been right than to see 120,000 people saved. Our situations aren’t usually that dramatic, but so many people would rather sit and feel sorry for themselves, listen to the whispers of Satan, and miss out with God than to simply trust God in every situation.

The secret of the Christian life is that we commit ourselves fully to God. If we surrender our wills to God, what happens doesn’t make us angry. If God doesn’t give us what we want and ask for, our faith is strong enough to say, “Not my will, but Yours.”

Prayer of the Day: God, help me. I often have strong desires, and when I don’t get what I want, I get upset. Forgive me. Remind me that Jesus didn’t want to die on the cross, but He lived in total submission to Your will. I ask You, through Jesus Christ, to help me live in total submission and be content with what You give me, amen.

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I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.

— Psalm 139:14 (NKJV)

The psalmist David confessed that he was a work of God and that God’s work is indeed wonderful. Most of us would cringe at the thought of confessing that we are wonderful, but we need to accept and love ourselves as God’s creation and children. I finally realized after years of struggling with self-rejection that if God, who is perfect, could accept and love me, I could too. Today I needed to be reminded of this truth and thought it might also encourage you.

We are not truly free until we love and accept ourselves in a godly and balanced way. You might think that if you did so, it would be selfish, but it is actually the opposite. It sets you free from being self-centered or needing to be first in everything in order to feel valuable. Selfishness drives us to try and get more and more for the outer man (fleshly man), but a God-ordained love and acceptance fills us with such satisfaction in the inner man that we no longer need to compare ourselves or compete with others. We are content just to be loved!

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You for loving me and accepting me as Your child. Help me learn how to love—and like—myself even while You’re working in me, making me the person You created me to be!

http://www.joycemeyer.org