He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction. —Psalm 107:20

I knew God had called me to a powerful, worldwide ministry. I didn’t brag about it and didn’t feel that I was special. I knew I was just a woman from Fenton, Missouri, whom no one had ever heard of. Yet I believed I would have a national ministry. I believed God would use me to heal the sick and to change, lives.

In fact, instead of being proud, I was humbled. Who was I that God would use me? The more I meditated on that idea, the more I rejoiced in the goodness and sovereignty of God. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, the apostle Paul pointed out that God’s choices often appear mysterious. He chooses the foolish to dumbfound the wise, the weak to shame the mighty. Paul concluded, Let him who boasts and proudly rejoices and glories, boast and proudly rejoice and glory in the Lord (v 31).

I felt no cause to boast. I believed God’s calling and promise to me. That’s what I want to stress. And then I waited for God to open the doors that no one could shut. When He was ready, it would happen.

Although I don’t know when the problem began, one day I heard myself ask, “I wonder if God really does want to use me?” Instead of holding on to the promises of God, I looked at myself and my lack of qualifications. I started to compare myself with other servants of God. When you compare yourself with others, that’s always a mistake, because you usually end up on the negative side.

Doubts began to creep in. Maybe I just made that up. Maybe I wanted something like that to happen, but it probably won’t. The longer the predicament went on, the more confused I became. I questioned God and the promise. I realized I no longer had the bright vision God had given me. I was filled with doubt and unbelief.

I began to pray and plead with God to help me. “If I just made up the things I have believed that You called me to do, then take the desire away. But if You’ve truly called me, help me. Restore the vision.”

When I paused, I heard God speak in my heart, Mind-¬binding spirits. “What’s a mind-binding spirit?” I asked. I had never heard the term, so I didn’t think anything more about it.

The next day when I prayed, I heard the same words. In fact, every time I prayed for the next two days, I heard, mind-¬binding spirits.

I had already done a lot of ministry and I had long realized how much trouble many believers had with their minds. At first, I thought the Holy Spirit might be leading me to pray for the Body of Jesus Christ to stand against a spirit called Mind Binding. I prayed and I rebuked that spiritand then I realized those words were for me. A mind-binding spirit had tried to steal my vision, destroy my joy, and take away my ministry. A tremendous deliverance came over me.

The oppressiveness was gone; the questions had vanished. I was free, and the vision of the national ministry God had given me was central in my thoughts again. I read Psalm107:20: He sends forth His word and heals them and rescues them from the pit and destruction. That was it!

An evil spirit was attacking my mind and preventing me from believing the promise of God. I asked God to help me, and He set me free.

That mind-binding spirit attacks many today. They know what God wants and are eager to serve. Sometimes they even announce God’s plans to their friends. When nothing happens immediately, the mind-binding spirit sneaks in. It is as if a band of iron snaps around their minds and they find it hard to believe that their dreams can come to pass. Satan whispers, “Did God really say that? Or did you just make it up?”

Hold fast. If God has spoken, God will perform it. Remember that Abraham waited twenty-five years for God to give him Isaac!

True and faithful God, forgive me when I allow doubts and confusion to creep into my thinking. Those are not Your tools. Through the powerful name of Jesus, enable me to break the power of every mind-binding spirit. Amen.

[Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good. Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another. Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord. —Romans 12:9–11

If all of us started having a godly attitude, it would catch hold and spread like a virus. Wouldn’t it be great if we could spread a good virus?

Imagine the whispers: “Have you heard? There’s something wonderful going around. Have you caught it? It is running rampant all over the place. Everywhere you look, people have a new attitude!”

Let’s start something today! Let’s decide to think like Christ. Let’s decide to love everyone we meet today, and pass the word so that everybody catches on to it.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace —Romans 8:6 NKJV

Our thoughts are very powerful and they make a huge difference in the quality of our life. Because this is true, we should “think about what we are thinking about,” and make sure we are helping ourselves and others, not bringing harm.

Today’s scripture tells us that the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life. Negative, ugly thoughts minister death to us and also to others, whereas positive, loving thoughts minister life.

Here is an example of how much our thoughts affect the people around us. I was shopping with my younger daughter one day when she was a teenager. On that particular day, her hair was very messy and her face was broken out. She had on too much makeup, and it did not look good.

Every time I looked at her I thought, You really don’t look very good today. After some time went by, I noticed she was looking depressed, and I asked her what was wrong.

“I feel really ugly today,” she replied.

When she said that, God whispered in my heart, See what your thoughts have done to her?

I was immediately convicted that my thoughts were very displeas¬ing to the Lord, and they brought pain to my daughter when what she needed was acceptance and encouragement.

Often, we think things about people that we would never say to them, but even our thoughts can affect others. Remember that God knows all our thoughts, so let’s think on things that will please Him.

Love Others Today: “Lord, help me to minister life to others and to myself with my thoughts.”

Why, when I came, was there no man? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Is My hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? Behold, at My rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a desert. —Isaiah 50:2

We can worry about hundreds of different things—from what people think of us to what will happen to us as we age. How long will we be able to work? Who will take care of us when we get old if we are not able to care for ourselves? What happens if the stock market crashes? What if gas prices go up? What if I lose my job? Quite often, worry does not even have a basis or a nugget of truth to it. There is no known reason to even think about the things that worry and then frighten us. Worry can even become a bad habit. It is just what we do! Some people fret over something all the time. If they don’t have problems of their own, they worry about other people and their problems.

The only answer is to “stop worrying and place your trust in God.” He has the future all planned, and He knows the answer to everything. His Word promises us that He will take care of us if we trust in Him.

Lord, my future is in Your hands. In reality, I can’t truly control anything. I humble myself before You and cast my cares into Your hands. Thank You for Your care. Amen.

Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.—John 14:27

The word bequeath in this verse is a term used in the execution of wills. In preparation for death, people usually bequeath their possessions, especially those things of value, as a blessing to those they love who are left behind.

Jesus knew He was about to pass from this world and He wanted to leave us something. He could have left any number of good things, like His power and His name, and He did. But He also left us His peace.

You don’t leave junk for people you love—you leave them the best you have. Jesus had a special kind of peace that surpassed anything mankind had ever known. He knew it was one of the most precious things He could give. Ask for and receive your inheritance tonight!