Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 5:17 (AMPC)

It’s God’s will for us to grow up and mature spiritually. It’s God’s will for us to have good relationships. It’s God’s will for us to have good lives.

If you’ve had a negative past, it’s because the enemy interfered and got in. No matter what you went through or what you might be going through right now, you can be positive about your future. Think about it positively; talk about it positively.

It’s a bad attitude to say, “I guess I’ll just have more of what I’ve always had.” I encourage you to have a positive vision for your future. God says people without vision perish (see Proverbs 29:18). No matter what has happened in the past, no matter what is going on right now, you can believe something great will happen in your future.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, I come to You in the name of Jesus and ask You to help me truly believe that something good is going to happen to me today. Help me to grow spiritually and embrace a more positive vision for my future. I love You, amen.

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But God will redeem me…for He will receive me. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Psalm 49:15 (AMPC)

What your life amounts to is directly connected to what you think of yourself. We need to learn to think like God thinks. We must learn to identify with Christ and the new person He has made us to be.

Some identify with the problems they have had in life and call themselves by that name. They say, “I am bankrupt. I am an abuse victim. I am an addict.” But they should say, “I was bankrupt, but now I am a new creature in Christ. I was a victim of abuse, but now I have a new life and a new identity. I was an addict, but now I am free, and I have discipline and self-control.”

God has a good plan for each of us, but we need to have our minds renewed in order to experience what Jesus has made available for us to enjoy.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me see myself as You see me. Renew my mind to reflect my true identity in Christ and embrace the life You have planned for me, amen.

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He Himself withdrew [in retirement] to the wilderness (desert) and prayed.

Luke 5:16 (AMPC)

We live in a noisy society. Some people have to have some noise in their atmospheres all the time. They always have music or the television on or the radio playing. They want someone with them all the time so they can talk. Each of these things done in balance is good, but we also need complete quiet and what I call “alone time.”

In order to enjoy a peaceful atmosphere, we must create one. Outer peace develops inner peace. Find a place where you can go that is quiet, a place where you will not be interrupted, and learn to enjoy simply being quiet for periods of time.

I have a certain chair in my living room where I sit and recover. The chair is a white recliner that faces a window to our yard, which is filled with trees. In the spring and summer, I can watch the birds, rabbits, and squirrels. There was a time when I would have considered that boring, but not now—now I love it. When I return from a conference, I go home, take a hot bath, and then sit in that chair.

Sometimes I sit there for several hours. I may read a little, pray, or just look out the patio door window, but the point is I am sitting still and enjoying the quiet. I have discovered that quiet helps me recover.

Being still has a soothing effect on us. If we find peaceful places and remain in them for a while, we will begin to feel calmness engulf our souls. Waiting on God quietly does more to restore our bodies, minds, and emotions than anything else.

We regularly need quiet time to wait on God. Insist on having it; don’t let anyone take it from you. Jesus made sure He had seasons of peace and alone time. He ministered to the people, but He slipped away regularly from the crowds to be alone and pray (see Luke 5:15–16). Surely if Jesus needed this type of lifestyle, we do also.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me prioritize and savor silent, quiet moments in my life. Help me to rest in Your presence by trusting in You and being quiet so that I might take Your peace with me when I go back to normal activity, amen.

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Jesus said to him, You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later on.

John 13:7 (AMPC)

The thing that is the most difficult for me (and that I despise the most) may be the thing God uses to change me. Transformation rarely comes when we are continually joyful, and all is perfect in our circumstances. God wants to make us strong spiritually, and that requires trusting Him when nothing makes sense to us.

I have found that those things I once thought were my worst enemy eventually became my friends because they pushed me deeper into my walk with God. When God is all we have, we usually tend to hold on to Him tightly and we get to know Him very well.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I know nothing can separate me from Your love, so when life hurts, help me to use it in order to drive me closer to You. Help me embrace these challenges and teach me to trust You deeply in all things, amen.

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The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Psalm 23:1–3 (NKJV)

Today’s scripture reminds us that the Lord is our shepherd. This means He watches over us and leads us to where we should go. Because He cares for us as a shepherd cares for his sheep, He provides everything we need. This doesn’t mean we get to have every single thing we want or that we don’t lack anything we desire. It means that all our needs are met. We lack nothing we truly need.

The Lord, as our shepherd, makes us “lie down in green pastures” and leads us “beside the still waters.” This is the place where we can finally stop running from the pain of the past and decide to face it—to receive the emotional healing and spiritual and emotional rest God offers us.

God is not only a shepherd and a healer; He’s also a restorer. He promises to restore our souls. The soul is comprised of the mind, the will, and the emotions. He will heal and restore all that is wounded, sick, or broken in our souls if we ask for His help and cooperate with His healing process in our lives. When we spend time with God in His Word and in His presence, we learn that He offers us a new life, one filled with wholeness. When the soul is healthy and restored, we experience joy and peace, and everything in life goes better for us. Please be encouraged that you will be restored if you invite God into the wounded places in your soul.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You, God, for being my shepherd, my healer, and my restorer. In You, I have everything I need. Restore my soul today, I pray.

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Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary but the [Holy] Spirit remains the same.

1 Corinthians 12:4 (AMPC)

The gifts of the Spirit can be difficult to explain because they operate in the spiritual realm. Over the past few days of devotions, I hope and pray I have done an adequate job of describing them and their basic operation. There is much more to be said on the subject of spiritual gifts and I encourage you to read good books that are dedicated to the topic of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When we function in the supernatural realm, we do need to be careful, but not afraid. Satan offers many perversions of God’s true gifts, but we can stay on the right track through prayer and seeking truth from God’s Word. I also urge you to begin praying about the gifts of the Spirit. Ask God to use you in them and to allow them to flow through you as He sees fit. Don’t seek the gifts that seem most attractive or interesting to you but seek the gifts God has for you.

Allowing the gifts of the Spirit to work through us helps us in our everyday lives and demonstrates to unbelievers the power and goodness of Christ, Who dwells within us. When the gifts of the Holy Spirit are operating in our lives, we reflect the glory of God’s grace that is bestowed on us to others who desperately need to put their trust in Jesus. Seek to operate in the gifts of the Spirit for your own edification and for the good of others. As you seek the gifts, don’t forget to seek especially to walk in love because love is the greatest gift of all.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me understand and operate in the gifts of the Spirit. Use me to reflect Your glory and share Your love with others, amen.

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But then Law came in, [only] to expand and increase the trespass [making it more apparent and exciting opposition]. But where sin increased and abounded, grace (God’s unmerited favor) has sur- passed it and increased the more and superabounded.

Romans 5:20 (AMPC)

It is interesting to note that the only reason God gave the Law was to show us that we couldn’t keep it and needed a Savior. All the Law does is increase sin. But the good news is that where sin abounds, grace superabounds because grace is greater than sin.

If we love God, we will always do our best not to sin, but it is good to know that when we do sin, His grace is greater than our sin. Grace is undeserved favor, and I like to describe it also as God’s power to enable us to do what we need to do. It is not an excuse to sin and get away with that sin. It is the power to overcome sin and say no to it.

God’s grace is wonderful beyond comprehension. It is what changes us into the image of Christ as we learn to rely on it instead of relying on ourselves. Max Lucado said it well: “Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off.” And Saint Augustine said, “For grace is given, not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.”

Prayer of the Day: Father God, Lord, thank You for Your grace that empowers me to overcome sin. Help me rely on Your strength and grow into the image of Christ every day, amen.

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Unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:3 (AMPC)

As a believer you can have the abundant quality of life that comes from God. He is not impatient or in a hurry. He takes time to enjoy His creation, the works of His hands. And He wants you to do the same.

Joy is available to you if you know how to tap into it. I have learned that simplicity brings joy and complication blocks it. Instead of getting entangled with the complications of religion, you must return to the simplicity of believing and maintaining a Father/child relationship.

God wants you to approach life with childlike faith. He wants you to grow up in your behavior but remain childlike in your attitude of trust and dependence on Him.

Living your life with the simplicity of a child will change your whole outlook in a most amazing way.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me embrace the simplicity of childlike faith. Teach me to find joy in Your creation and to trust in Your goodness every single day, amen.

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For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is [already] laid, which is Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

1 Corinthians 3:11 (AMPC)

We can know a lot of spiritual methods (or formulas) for getting things, but many such methods simply have no power flowing through them. Powerless methods are like empty containers—useless.

I had learned many spiritual methods, and I was busy trying them, until I realized that methods don’t work. It was like building on a cracked foundation; nothing stood the test of time. If our foundations leak, we get into trouble every time it storms.

Build your life on who you are in Christ. Take time to meditate on the foundational things about being a Christian. Build your life on the solid foundation that you are an heir of God’s grace and His unmerited favor.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me build my life on Your solid foundation in Christ. Teach me to rely on Your grace rather than empty methods for true strength and purpose, amen.

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Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills [the pools] with blessings. They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; each of them appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:5-7 (AMPC)

I have discovered that when I am unhappy, I am tempted to start blaming my unhappiness on some circumstance or person in my life who is not giving me what I feel I need. Satan wants us to think that nothing will ever change, that things will only get worse. He wants us to inventory every disappointing thing that has ever happened in our lives and think about how mistreated we have been. We can either be angry or we can look to God to meet our need.

We will absolutely never fulfill our destinies and succeed at being all God has planned for us if we don’t think according to the Word of God. Even if I have negative circumstances, I can stay happy by having right thoughts toward them. That’s why we need to constantly keep our minds and hearts focused on Him and not on our circumstances. When our strength is in God, even the difficult places in life can be turned into blessings.

If we really understood the power of words, I think we would change the way we talk. Our talk should be confident and bold, not fearful. Fearful talk not only affects us in an adverse way, but it affects those around us.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I draw my strength from You today. Help me to keep my eyes on You and see the difficult places turned into pools of blessings, amen.

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Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our Potter, and we all are the work of Your hand.

Isaiah 64:8 (AMP)

God doesn’t require us to be perfect—He made us, and He knows we’re human and will make mistakes. Our job is to get up every day and do our best to serve God with the gifts He has given us. We’ll make mistakes, and when we do, we can receive God’s forgiveness and move on.

God (the Potter) uses cracked pots (that’s us) to do His work. We are containers God fills with His love and goodness to share with the world around us.

Don’t be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them and allow God to use you anyway. Stop worrying about what you’re not and give God what you are. Keep your eyes on God, Who is perfect, and what He can do in you and through you.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for using me despite my flaws. Help me serve You with my gifts and embrace Your forgiveness so I can share Your love with others, amen.

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Therefore, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

Romans 8:1 (AMPC)

It is so comforting to know that God’s compassion and kindness are new every morning. Because of His great love, God has provided a way for your past to have zero power over you. You don’t have to live in guilt and condemnation over your past failings; you can live with great hope for a bright future ahead.

God’s part is to forgive us—our part is to receive His gracious gift of forgiveness, mercy, and a new beginning. Many people think, How could God forgive me when I’ve done so many bad things? But the truth is that God is able to overcome and do far more than we could ever imagine that He could do for us (Ephesians 3:20).

When we ask God to forgive us, He is faithful and just to do it. He continuously cleanses us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We are said to be new creatures when we enter into a relationship with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Old things pass away and we have an opportunity for a new beginning. We become new spiritual clay for God to work with. He arranges for each of us to have a fresh start—we simply must be willing to let go of the past and move forward with God.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for Your new mercies each morning. Help me receive Your forgiveness and to let go of my past so I can embrace the future You’ve prepared for me, amen.

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For God [does reveal His will; He] speaks not only once, but more than once….

Job 33:14 (AMPC)

God speaks to us in many ways, including through an audible voice. Hearing the audible voice of God is rare for most people and nonexistent for many. I have heard the audible voice of God three or four times in my life.

Two of those times were at night when I was awakened by His voice simply calling my name. All I heard was, “Joyce,” but I knew it was God calling me. He did not say what He wanted, but I knew instinctively it had something to do with a ministry call on my life, although clarity did not come in that area for several more years.

I heard the audible voice of God the day I was filled with the Holy Spirit in February 1976. That morning, I cried out to God about how awful my life was, telling Him something was missing in my relationship with Him. I felt I was at the end of my rope, so to speak. His voice seemed to fill my entire car, and He simply said, “Joyce, I have been teaching you patience.” Since that was my first time to hear anything of that magnitude, it both thrilled and shocked me.

I instinctively knew what He meant. Several months prior to that time I had asked God to teach me patience, not realizing the lesson would include a lengthy period of feeling my life was on hold. The frustration of that feeling peaked that morning in February when I cried out to God in desperation, asking Him to do something and give me whatever it was I was missing.

When I heard God’s voice, I was suddenly filled with faith that He was going to do something wonderful in my life. That event was the beginning of a new level in my relationship with God. I think it is safe to say that every new level in God is preceded by Him speaking to us in some way. He may not speak audibly; it may be through revelation in His Word or a divine circumstance that only God could arrange. His voice may be simply a whisper in your soul, but I urge you to believe that God does speak to His people still today.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, help me to recognize and respond to Your voice in my life. Teach me to trust in Your guidance and grow in my relationship with You, amen.

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Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Romans 10:17 (NIV)

Learning to hear from God is very exciting. God wants to speak to us about the plan He has for our lives. His plan is a good plan, but we are in danger of missing it if we don’t learn how to listen to and obey God’s voice.

God speaks to us in many ways. He speaks to us through His Holy Spirit dwelling in us, through that “knowing” deep inside us, and through peace. He may also speak through other people, circumstances, wisdom, nature, and even through dreams or visions.

However, the two most prevalent ways God speaks to us are through His Word and the inward witness in our hearts. The Word of God is a valuable gift that we should be thankful for because it is God’s direct message to us—it is unchanging and infallible. As you are learning to hear from God, always make sure the inward witness of your heart lines up with Scripture.

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You that You still speak to Your children. I pray that You will help me hear You and follow Your direction for my life. I pray all of this in the name of Jesus, amen.

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I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits, and in His word do I hope.

Psalm 130:10 (AMP)

Many times in life, we find ourselves having to wait. We can just wait and let time pass, or we can wait well and make the most of our time. If we want to wait well, we will wait patiently, expectantly, and in hope, as today’s scripture indicates.

Patience is extremely important for people who want to glorify God and enjoy their lives (James 1:4). If people are impatient, the situations they encounter will cause them to react emotionally, which probably won’t be good. When pressured by circumstances, we need to follow the psalmist’s example in Psalm 130:5 and wait patiently and expectantly for the Lord.

The next time you have to wait on something or someone, rather than becoming impatient, try talking to yourself a little. Tell yourself, “Getting upset will not make this go any faster, so I might as well find a way to enjoy the wait.” Then perhaps say, “I am developing patience as I wait, so I am thankful for this situation.” When you speak in such ways, you are acting on the Word of God rather than reacting with impatience to an unpleasant circumstance.

Prayer of the Day: Father, when I have to wait on something, help me not to react emotionally or become impatient, but to wait well—patiently, expectantly, and in hope.

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Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.

Proverbs 25:28 (NIV)

Emotions, high or low, can get us into trouble if we allow them to control us. Instead of making decisions based on emotions, we should make our decisions according to God’s Word and His Holy Spirit. God desires for us to live carefully and to be stable, dependable, and reliable. He wants us not to be easily shaken, but to be in control of our emotions. We all have emotions, and while it is true that sometimes we can’t help how we feel, we can have feelings without allowing them to have us. We can manage and live beyond our emotions. We can feel them and still make decisions to do God’s will even when our emotions don’t agree with those choices.

I am often asked how I feel about the traveling I need to do in my ministry. I respond by telling people that long ago I stopped asking myself how I feel about it; I just do it. I am sure Jesus did not feel like going to the cross, suffering, and dying for us, but He did it in obedience to His Father’s will.

God’s Word teaches us to build our house on the rock (Matthew 7:24–25), which means living by His Word, not according to our thoughts, emotions, or desires. The person who does this will remain strong through the storms of life. If we rely on our emotions, we make ourselves vulnerable to deception, because our feelings change constantly. Live by God’s Word and His wisdom, not by emotions, and you will have a great and enjoyable life.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I want to be stable in all seasons of life and not allow my emotions to control my behavior. Please help me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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For which of you, wishing to build a farm building, does not first sit down and calculate the cost [to see] whether he has sufficient means to finish it?

Luke 14:28 (AMPC)

Do you ever say yes to things and then wish later with all of your heart that you had said no? Most of us do that until we learn to think through all we are already doing and what it will really require of us to take on another commitment.

None of us want to disappointment people who make requests of us, and that can be a good thing, but if it is carried too far, we end up frustrated, stressed, and unhappy ourselves.

I am doing an event in the near future that I said yes to but probably should have said no, because now I am not looking forward to it and I feel it is crowding my schedule. But it is my own fault. I will keep my word because that is very important, and I will have a good attitude, and hopefully, I will learn afresh the importance of saying no when I need to.

I encourage you to take the time to think through whether or not you have what it takes to finish something and maintain your peace before you begin it. Always keep your word, even if you have to suffer in order to do so.

Prayer of the Day: Father, help me discern when to say yes and when to say no. I want to finish what I start and keep my peace at all times.

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A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 17:22 (AMPC)

Recently my daughter-in-law sent me a video of our youngest grandchild, Brody, who is 3 years old, saying, “Don’t worry, be happy. That’s all!” I think he has the formula for a healthy and happy life. Depression and discouragement drag us down, and I think they may open us up for disease. But …the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10), and a cheerful heart is medicine… (Proverbs 17:22 NIV). Just imagine how much better you might feel if you laughed more.

There are many things in the world these days to make us sad, but if we put our trust in God, we can relax and not worry about them. Take every opportunity you can to laugh. Find clean comedians and watch their programs. Look up funny things children do and watch their videos. Laugh at yourself more instead of getting upset every time you drop or spill something. You need to clean it up anyway, so what good will it do to get angry about it?

Take my grandson’s advice: “Don’t worry, be happy. That’s all!”

Prayer of the Day: Father God, please help me to embrace joy and laughter in my life, and to trust in You to overcome worry and discouragement. Help me to allow Your strength to fill my heart today, amen.

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Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Isaiah 6:8 (AMPC)

In the prayer of consecration, we dedicate our lives and all that we are to Him. In order for God to use us, we must consecrate ourselves to Him.

When we truly consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we lose the burden of trying to run our own lives. I would rather voluntarily follow God than struggle to get Him to follow me. He knows where He is going, and I know I will reach my destination safely if I allow Him to lead.

I consecrate myself to God in prayer on a regular basis. I say, “Here I am, Lord. I am Yours; do with me as You please.” Then sometimes I add, “I hope I like what You choose, Lord, but if I don’t, Your will be done and not mine.”

Consecration and/or dedication to God is the most important aspect of succeeding at being ourselves. We don’t even know what we are supposed to be, let alone know how to become whatever it is. But as we regularly keep our lives on the altar in consecration to God, He will do the work that needs to be done in us, so He may do the work He desires to do through us.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I gladly consecrate myself—body, soul, and spirit—to You today. Take my life, shape my life, and use my life for Your glory, amen.

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O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His compassion and lovingkindness endure forever!

Psalm 107:1 (AMP)

To help you achieve and maintain a new level of contentment in your life, I encourage you to use some of your quiet time with God to make a list of everything you have to be thankful for. It should be a long list, one that includes little things as well as big things. Why should it be long? Because we all have a lot of things to be thankful for if we just look for them.

Get out a piece of paper and start listing things you have to be thankful for. Keep the list and add to it frequently. Make it a point to think about the things that you’re grateful for when you’re driving the kids to an activity or waiting in line at the post office or whatever you may be doing throughout the day. You can only learn the power of thankfulness by practicing it every day. Meditating on what you have to be grateful for every day and verbalizing it will be amazingly helpful to you.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me to focus on all the many blessings in my life and cultivate in me a heart of thanksgiving each and every day, amen.

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