For by You I can run through a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.- Psalm 18:29

Throughout the Bible, we find the commands of God always come with the promise of reward. God is not a taker; He is a giver. He never tells us to do anything unless it is for our ultimate benefit. I assure you: Everything God ever asks you to do, even if it is difficult, He asks because He has something great in mind for you—but in order to experience it, you will need to press through the hard place.

Don’t think or say, “This is just too hard” when you know you need to do something. Be grateful that God never requires you to handle more than you can bear. With every difficulty, He always provides a way to overcome. You never have to say, “There is no way,” because He is the way (see John 14:6) and He makes a way for you. You can do whatever God calls you to do in life! You have what it takes!

Prayer of Thanks: I am grateful, Father, that You won’t ask me to handle more than I can bear. Today, as I press through the difficult areas in my life, I thank You that I am not pressing through alone—You are with me!

From the book The Power of Being Thankful by Joyce Meyer.

But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart.—1 Corinthians 2:16B

I reached the curb in front of the airport, where my friend would pick me up. I was calm and relaxed and thought of the great conversation we would have. To my surprise, she wasn’t there yet. That was odd because she’s the kind of person who is never late for anything. I remained calm and peaceful. I spotted what I thought was her car and took a step forward, but the car went past me, and there was a stranger in it.

Not more than three minutes had passed, but I realized I was anxious and worried. What had happened to her? Had she been in an accident? Did she forget me? From calmness to anxiety in less than three minutes, and nothing had changed—nothing except my mind. Worried thoughts struggled inside me.

I pulled out my cell phone and started to dial, when I heard a car honking, as she pulled up to the curb. My mind shifted once again to calmness, even joyfulness. How quickly my emotions had shifted in that short period of time.

My mind had quickly changed when my circumstances did. Sometimes I find it easy to hear God speak…and to believe without any difficulty. Yet at other times, worry and anxiety push their way into my mind. The Bible says we are to walk by faith and not by sight, but that day at the airport, I was definitely being led by what I saw. When we worry, we are not walking in faith and trusting God.

For a long period of my life, I had a critical, suspicious, and judgmental mind. That may seem normal for many nonbelievers, but I was a Christian. I was going along with the same thinking and mindset that I had known for years. It was normal to me—it was just the way I was. For years, I had no awareness that my wrong thinking was causing any problems.

Because no one had taught me, I didn’t know I could do anything to change my thought life. It simply had not occurred to me. No one had taught me about the proper condition for the believer’s mind. God offers us a new way to think and a new way to live.

God has called us to renew our minds (see Romans 12:2). For most of us, it is an ongoing process. We don’t control our thinking all at one time.

One day I read 1 Corinthians 2:16, where Paul says we have the mind of Christ. What could he have meant? I pondered that verse for days. I concluded that for us to have the mind of Christ doesn’t mean we’re sinless or perfect. It does mean we begin to think the way Christ thinks. If we have His mind, we think on those things that are good and honorable and loving.

I confessed to God how many times my mind had focused on the ugly, the mean, and the harsh.

In 1 Corinthians 2:14, Paul wrote, But the natural, non-¬spiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him…because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated…. Yes, I thought, that is exactly how it works. The natural mind—even that of the Christians whose minds are tampered with by Satan—doesn’t grasp what God is doing. Those things seem foolish.

We must remind ourselves that we have Christ’s mind—we have the ability to think loving and caring thoughts. We can defeat Satan’s attacks.

Holy God, I want to live with the mind of Christ. I ask You to enable me to think positive, loving, caring thoughts about myself and about others. Help me to see and think on the good things in life and not the bad. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

From the book Battlefield of the Mind Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

And the grace (unmerited favor and blessing) of our Lord [actually] flowed out superabundantly and beyond measure for me, accompanied by faith and love that are [to be realized] in Christ Jesus.—1 Timothy 1:14

God wants to bless you today. You may feel that you shouldn’t have nice things, but let God balance your thinking when it comes to His blessings. He will help you understand what you should have and what you shouldn’t have. God blesses you so that you will be a blessing to others.

When God provides for you, it offers hope to unbelievers that He is faithful to provide for those who serve Him. You are an ambassador for Christ (See 2 Corinthians 5:20.); accept His provision today, and don’t hide His blessings when they come.

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation.—Luke 22:40

The temptation to quit is part of being human, but we must resist that temptation and never give up. It is important that we recognize the lies of Satan, and that we resist him at the onset of his attack. Temptation is one of the realities of the Christian life and a hindrance to success we must work to overcome. Jesus said, “Temptation must come,” so be on your guard against it.

There are many types of temptation, so we don’t always recognize discouragement and thoughts of giving up as being a temptation from the devil. Some thoughts the enemy may plant in your mind to tempt you to give up might sound like this:

This is too difficult.

I really am not qualified to do this.

I am facing too many problems and can’t possibly solve them all.

I have no one to help me.

My friends and family think I’m crazy for pursuing this.

I don’t have the money to do this.

This is taking too long.

I encourage you to begin to recognize temptations as works of the enemy; and I want you to start resisting each temptation with everything in you. Don’t consider any temptation insignificant. Don’t let the devil lure you into passivity or wait until you’ve been in a depressed, hopeless slump for three days, listening to the enemy list reasons to abandon your cause. Resist the devil at his onset! Declare war against all forms of temptation. Show the enemy no mercy.

Trust in Him: The instant you feel tempted to give up, you need to say aloud, “I will not quit. I refuse to give up. I trust God and I will finish what He has called me to do.”

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer.

According to the grace (the special endowment for my task) of God bestowed on me, like a skillful architect and master builder I laid [the] foundation, and now another [man] is building upon it. —1 Corinthians 3:10

Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us freely, enabling us to do with ease what we could never do on our own. You might find other definitions describing grace as God’s divine favor, and that is certainly true, but His grace is also the power you need to live in victory. Grace can be received only through faith, and that is one of the main reasons we must resist fear. When we allow fear to rule us, we unwittingly receive what Satan has planned for our lives. But when we live by faith through grace, God is able to work His divine plan in us. Whatever you need to do today, lean on God and let Him empower you to be successful.

Power Thought: By God’s grace I have the skills to do all He asks of me with ease.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.

Do not say to your neighbor, Go and come again; and tomorrow I will give it. —Proverbs 3:28

Many people struggle with procrastination. As we see in the verse for today, we can easily say, “I’ll do it tomorrow.” We can have the best intentions, but if we don’t act on them we will still be disobedient. Procrastination is very deceptive. We don’t see it as disobedience because we intend to obey God; it’s just that we are going to do it when—when we have more money, when we are not so busy, when Christmas is over, or when the children go back to school.

There is no point in saying, “I will be a giver when I have more money or more possessions to give away.” If you aren’t giving out of what you already have, you’re not likely to do it when you have more.

Dave and I tithed from the beginning of our life together, but it never occurred to us to “live to give,” to excel in giving. But, the closer we got to God, the more we wanted to give. We learned that true giving often means sacrificing something that we really would like to keep. We were not in a financial position to give more money than our 10 percent tithe, but strong desire caused us to search for ways to give more. So we gave away personal possessions, extra clothes, household items, and an old car we decided to pass on to a needy friend.

In the process of giving, we discovered that we did not have to have money to be a blessing to others. We could start with what we did have, and as we did God increased us and enabled us to give even more.

Love Others Today: What acts of love or kindness have you been putting off? Do them today.

From the book Love Out Loud by Joyce Meyer.

Listen to and obey My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people…But they would not listen to and obey Me or bend their ear [to Me], but followed the counsels and the stubborn promptings of their own evil hearts and minds, and they turned their backs and went in reverse instead of forward. —Jeremiah 7:23-24

I believe you are going to act on these devotional readings and begin living boldly and fearlessly as a confident woman. It doesn’t matter how you lived before now; this is a new beginning. Every day God’s mercy is new, and it is available for all of us today. Don’t look back; look forward!

Be decisive, follow your heart, and don’t be overly concerned about what other people think of you and your decisions. Most of them are not thinking about you as much as you might imagine that they are anyway.

Don’t live constantly comparing yourself with others; be your unique self. (See 2 Corinthians 10:12.) Celebrate who God has made you to be. There is only one who has the unique traits and skills that make up who you are. Enjoy the fact that God knew what He was doing, and rely on the thought that surely God said the same thing about you as He did when He called the world into creation: “And it was good.”

Lord, I will look forward today, and I will follow Your voice and obey. I take hold of Your mercy and rejoice in who You’ve made me to be. Amen.

From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining and holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which will be called the Son of God. —Luke 1:35

The Virgin Mary became pregnant by the working of the Holy Spirit, Who came upon her and, according to today’s verse, planted in her womb a “holy Thing.” The Spirit of Holiness was planted in her as a Seed. In her womb the Seed grew into the Son of God and the Son of Man, Who was necessary to deliver people from their sins.

When we are born again, a similar dynamic takes place in us. The “holy Thing,” the Spirit of Holiness, is planted in us as a Seed. As we water that Seed with God’s Word and keep the “weeds of worldliness” from choking it out, it will grow into a giant tree of righteousness, “the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified” (Isaiah 61:3).

God’s Word teaches us to pursue holiness (see Hebrews 12:14). When we set our hearts on this pursuit, the Spirit of Holiness helps us. If we want to be holy, we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit and permit Him to speak to us, correct us, guide us, and help us in every area of our lives.

Never forget that a “holy Thing” lives inside of you. Water that seed with God’s Word and let the Holy Spirit speak to you and teach you how to help it grow.

God’s Word for You Today: The Holy Spirit desires to be your close companion as He teaches and instructs you in holiness.

From the book Hearing from God Each Morning: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer

And the Lord said to Moses, Speak to the Israelites, that they take for Me an offering. From every man who gives it willingly and ungrudgingly with his heart you shall take My offering. —Exodus 25:1-2

When we talk about a willing heart, we are basically talking about “want to.” Without it we will never do anything.

“Want to” is a powerful thing. With it you can lose weight, keep your house clean, save money, get out of debt, or reach any other goal in life you may have set for yourself. You don’t really like to face the fact that your victory or defeat has a lot to do with your “want to.”

We like to blame everything on someone or something else. But you need to sit down and take a good old-fashioned inventory of your “want to.” You need to be honest enough to say, “Lord, I didn’t win the victory because I really didn’t want to.” Tonight, ask the Lord to give you plenty of “want to.”

From the book Ending Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer

You have put more joy and rejoicing in my heart than [they know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You, Lord, alone make me dwell in safety and confident trust. —Psalm 4:7-8

God has prearranged and made ready a good life for you, but that good life is a choice. You have to decide to follow God’s leading in order to walk in it.

The Bible contains guidelines for that good life. It is not a book of laws; it is about the liberty and freedom to live the life that reaps good things. It is a book of wisdom that will lead you to peace and joy. If you do what the Word says to do, blessings will chase you and find you wherever you are (See Deuteronomy 28:1-2).

From the book Starting Your Day Right by Joyce Meyer.

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will [seriously] remember their sin no more.—Jeremiah 31:34

God not only forgives but also forgets all your sins. He does not forgive you and then say, “Oh, boy, I remember when I had to forgive Johnny for pulling his sister’s hair and making her cry. Now he wants me to forgive him for cheating on his algebra test. His list of forgiven sins is getting awfully long.”

No, if Johnny were to say to God, “I know You’ve already forgiven me for pulling my sister’s hair, but now I need Your forgiveness for cheating on a test,” God would say, “Your sister’s hair? You asked me to forgive you for that? I have absolutely no recollection of that; there’s no record of it anywhere.”

The passage above from Jeremiah, and many others you will find in the Bible (Hebrews 10:14-17, for example), is not talking about a forgiveness that happens the day we receive Christ and only takes care of all of our previous sins. God’s forgiveness is ongoing for the duration of our lives; it is for every day.

When Jesus died on the cross 2,000 years ago, He not only forgave everything we had done in our pasts, but He also committed Himself to forgive every sin we would commit in the future. He knows every wrong decision we will ever make, and they’re all covered. All we have to do is admit our sins, be willing to turn away from them, and stay in relationship with Him. When God looks at our sins, He sees our faith in Jesus, Who is our perfect sacrifice—not the sin we just committed.

Because of this, what God really wants from us is not perfect performance, perfect behavior, or perfect attitudes, because He already sees those things in Jesus on our behalf. What God wants from us are hearts that truly love Him.

Trust in Him: God is not surprised by anything you do. You can trust His love and forgiveness because He knew about your mistakes long before you did, and He wants you anyway. Today, determine to stop remembering what God has forgotten and focus instead on loving Him

From the book Trusting God Day by Day by Joyce Meyer

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. —Hebrews 3:1 NIV

Focusing on good things makes us feel good, excited, energized, and enthusiastic. When we focus our time and attention on things we find to be bad, we feel sad, angry, or anxious. That’s why it’s so important for us to “fix our thoughts on Jesus” and keep our focus on Him. God has given us the ability to choose happiness no matter what is going on around us. I am not suggesting we ignore our problems, but there is a big difference between focusing on them—worrying about them—and working to solve or resolve them.

A negative person cannot be happy, and a persistently positive person cannot be unhappy, at least not for any lengthy period of time. Choose to have a happy life by focusing on Jesus. Do what you can do to take care of any responsibility you have with your problem, and while you are waiting for God to do what you cannot do, you are free to go ahead and enjoy your life.

Power Thought: My mind is focused only on Jesus and good things.

From the book the book Power Thoughts Devotional by Joyce Meyer.