“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.

Mark 10:29-30 (NIV)

One of the emotions we need to manage at times is the feeling that we simply don’t want to do something we know we should do. It may be inconvenient or uncomfortable, or we simply may not like it. In other words, we don’t want to sacrifice. But many times, obeying God does require giving up something or doing what we’d rather not do. To follow His will for our lives, we have to come to terms with the fact that it often calls for some type of sacrifice and to be willing to do what He asks of us.

In today’s Scripture passage, Jesus promises to reward those who sacrifice for Him. He says the rewards will come both on earth and in eternal life. Sometimes He asks for radical obedience, and radical obedience pays great dividends. It leads us to the personal joy and peace we experience when we know we are walking in God’s will and to the other rewards He has promised. God is always aware of what we sacrifice, and He knows how to bless us in ways that make us glad we have obeyed Him.

Obeying God always brings a reward. It may not be exactly what we think it should be, but it is always what is best for us. It may not come when we think it should, but it will come right on time. I have found that God is a great rewarder. When we sacrifice in order to obey Him, He blesses us in amazing ways.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me be willing to give up whatever I need to in order to be obedient to You and experience the blessings You have for me.

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I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way that you should go.

Isaiah 48:17 (AMPC)

Most people are afraid not to be like everyone else. Many people are more comfortable following specified rules than daring to follow the leading of God’s Spirit. When we follow man-made rules, we please people, but when we step out in faith and follow God’s Spirit, we please Him. We do not need to feel pressured to pray a certain way for a certain length of time or to focus on specific things because other people are doing so. Instead, we need to be free to express our uniqueness as we pray the way God is teaching us. God uses each of us to pray about different things and that way all the things that need to be prayed about get covered.

Somehow we feel safe when we are doing what everyone else is doing, but the sad thing is that we will feel unfulfilled until we learn to “untie the boat from the dock,” so to speak, and let the ocean of God’s Spirit take us wherever He wills. I spent many years tied to the dock following specified rules and regulations of prayer that others had taught me and it was a good beginning, but eventually my prayer experience became very dry and boring. When I learned to untie my boat from the dock and give myself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, a freshness and creativity came and it has been wonderful. I find that the Holy Spirit leads me differently almost every day as I pray, and I no longer do it according to rules, regulations, and time clocks.

Start right now asking God to show you who you are in the uniqueness He has given you and to help you hear and follow His voice according to the one-of-a-kind, wonderful way He has created you.

Prayer of the Day: Holy Spirit, free me from comparison and man-made expectations. Teach me to pray in the unique way You created me, and help me follow Your leading with confidence and joy, amen.

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And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.

Philippians 1:6 (AMPC)

God chooses us according to His foreknowledge, and He begins a good work in us. Most of us struggle at times and feel we are not making any progress. We may even feel we are going backward in our spiritual growth. Today’s scripture is a great one to go to when you feel this way because He who began a good work in you, meaning God, will bring it to completion. He doesn’t tell us how long it will take, but He never fails to finish what He started.

Part of how long the good work takes depends on how responsive we are to the teaching and correction of the Holy Spirit. Correction is not a bad thing; it is really just direction about how to do the right thing. If we receive it graciously and thankfully, we can grow much faster than if we are stubborn and rebellious. God’s way is always the best way. Submit to it quickly, and your walk with Him will be much easier.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for beginning a good work in me. Help me welcome Your correction with gratitude, submit quickly to Your leading, and trust You to complete everything You’ve started in my life, amen.

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He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Isaiah 53:7 (ESV)

Isaiah 53:7 says Jesus was oppressed, and he was afflicted (ESV). He suffered for our sins. He took our punishment, and His heavenly Father sent Him to do it. We forget sometimes how God, out of His love for us, allowed His own Son to suffer, and then we complain when something is hard or inconvenient, which is foolish on our part.

The scripture continues, yet he opened not his mouth. Despite everything that Jesus went through, He did not complain. He didn’t blame God; He didn’t question God. At the very end, when His suffering was at its worst, He did cry out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34 ESV). He had to experience everything that we would ever experience, so in the end, He felt completely abandoned and forsaken.

We don’t even know what suffering means compared to what Jesus went through for us. He took our sin upon Himself, and because of that, we’re free! Hallelujah!

So, what do we have to complain about? If Jesus didn’t complain, if He opened not his mouth even when He was being beaten and oppressed, then we should follow His lead.

Prayer of the Day: God, I am so grateful for what Jesus did for me. Help me never take for granted the freedom He died for me to experience. I will focus on my gratitude and keep my complaints to myself, amen.

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Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.”

Isaiah 48:17 (ESV)

An important aspect of the healing of the soul is finding the courage to move beyond our pain. We may not be able to avoid all the hurts we face in life, but we can decide that we will not let them keep us from moving ahead. Sometimes when we are very wounded, we are tempted for various reasons to stay stuck in the pain, even though we can see that life is moving forward all around us. We can join in and go with what is happening, or we can stay behind, stuck in bitterness, resentment, hard-heartedness, and pain.

There are many reasons why people stay stuck in their pain. Maybe the “wounded person” has become their identity, and they even use it to get attention. Maybe they fear they will fail if they try to do something new. Maybe they do not feel strong enough to move forward. Or maybe their self-image has been damaged to the point that they have no confidence in themselves and no confidence that God will take care of them if they move into something new.

We can always choose to stay in our pain, but that will not lead to the good things God has for us. Jesus died to give us a life of abundance, but we can choose whether to embrace it or not. If we want what He has, we have to make the choice to move beyond our pain and risk following Him.

I once saw a movie about a very talented woman who suffered such deep wounds in her soul that she completely withdrew from life and from other people. After a stay in a mental health facility, she literally parked her van in someone’s driveway and lived in it for the rest of her life. The movie was a powerful picture of what can happen to people who either don’t know how to or will not deal with their pain, leave the past behind, and move ahead.

God will never park us in our pain and leave us there, and I hope we never allow ourselves to park in it either. He is always calling us forward. He never leaves us alone to figure out on our own how to move ahead. He makes the path clear to us and leads us, as Isaiah 48:17 says, in the way that we should go. He promises to bring hope, healing, strength, and restoration to our lives if we will believe His Word and trust Him to lead us. Plenty of people in the Bible chose to leave their pasts behind and follow God into something new. And you can too!

Prayer of the Day: Lord, give me courage to move beyond past pain. Heal my soul, restore my strength, and lead me forward into the new, abundant life You’ve prepared for me, amen.

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So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.

James 1:21 (AMPC)

Once you are born again, your spirit has been reborn, and you will go to heaven when you die. But God is not finished—He is just beginning. You need to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12 KJV). In other words, your soul needs to be saved. The soul is often defined as the mind, the will, and the emotions. Each of these areas needs salvation.

The Holy Spirit works relentlessly to transform the whole man into God’s perfect will. This process is called sanctification. When your soul is renewed with His Word, you think His thoughts and not your own. Submit yourself to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to change every thought and motive.

Prayer of the Day: Holy Spirit, renew my mind, will, and emotions. Help me submit every thought to You. Shape my motives, guide my steps, and continue Your sanctifying work in me each day, amen.

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And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV)

My definition of get is to obtain by struggle and effort, and receive is to act like a receptacle and simply take in what is offered. We can receive mercy, grace, strength, forgiveness, and love from the Lord. It is a new day—and God’s mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22–23).

You can have a brand-new start today. Allow God’s mercy to strengthen and heal you before starting your routine activities. Receive His healing power and let its grace work in you. Today can be effortless as you depend on God’s grace to do what He has called you.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for new mercy today. Help me receive Your grace, strength, and healing without striving. I depend on You to empower everything You’ve called me to do.

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And as for [the rest of] you, believers, do not grow tired or lose heart in doing good [but continue doing what is right without weakening].

2 Thessalonians 3:13 (AMP)

There are times when individuals will come to me for advice and prayer, and when I tell them what the Word of God says or what I think the Holy Spirit is saying, their response is, “I know that’s right; God has been showing me the same thing. But, Joyce, it’s just too hard.”

There were times in my past when I said the same thing to God: “Lord, this is just too hard.” But God graciously showed me that this is a lie the enemy tries to inject into our minds to get us to give up. God’s instructions are never too difficult for us to obey.

You can always walk in obedience to God because He has given His Spirit to work powerfully within us to help us at all times (John 14:16). The Holy Spirit is with us, and He will enable us to do anything and everything God asks of us.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me reject the lie that obedience is too hard. Strengthen me by Your Spirit, and enable me to follow Your direction with confidence, courage, and complete trust, amen.

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[For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised…No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to God.

Romans 4:18-20 (AMPC)

In our ministry we want to help more people every year, and we believe God wants us to grow. But we also realize that if God has a different plan, and if we end our year with no growth, we cannot let that situation control our joy.

We believe for many things, but beyond them all, we believe in Someone. That Someone is Jesus. We don’t always know what is going to happen. We just know it will always work out for our good!

It is reported that Abraham, after sizing up his situation (he didn’t ignore the facts), considered the utter impotence of his own body and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. Although all human reason for hope was gone, he hoped in faith. Abraham was very positive about a very negative situation!

Hebrews 6:19 tells us that hope is the anchor of the soul. Hope is the force that keeps us steady in a time of trial. Don’t ever stop hoping. Don’t be afraid to hope. No one can promise that you’ll never be disappointed. But you can always have hope and be positive.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, strengthen my hope in You. Help me stay positive even in uncertain seasons, trusting that You are working for my good and anchoring my soul with unshakeable confidence, amen.

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And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (NLT)

God blesses us so we can bless others. He does not want us to be needy; He wants us to be equipped to help people who are in need, and we cannot do that if all we are experiencing is lack.

When we don’t have enough to meet our own needs and the needs of our families or others for whom we are responsible, then it is very difficult to help other people. This is one reason God promises to provide for us and to do so abundantly.

I encourage you to develop the mind-set of a generous giver. Look for ways to give and for needy people to whom you can give. Study what the Bible says about God’s provision and see yourself as one who meets needs.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, make me a generous giver. Help me see needs around me, trust Your abundant provision, and use what You’ve blessed me with to bless others freely and joyfully, amen.

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…One thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on….

Philippians 3:13-14 (AMPC)

Many times, before your feet even hit the floor in the mornings, the enemy begins to remind you of everything you did wrong the previous day or everything that didn’t work out well. In doing so, the enemy’s goal is to use yesterday to keep you from living today.

You don’t have to be afraid of repeating the past. If you believe God is greater than your sins, mistakes, and shortcomings, you will have the spiritual energy and the strength and the grace of God to help you press on and do better in the future. The dreams of your future have no room for the disappointments of the past. They will keep you stuck and weighed down.

Every day can be a new beginning if we make a determined decision to press on to achieve the greater things God has for us today. God’s mercy is greater than yesterday’s mistakes.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You that Your mercy is greater than yesterday’s mistakes. Help me release the past, ignore the enemy’s lies, and press forward into the new beginnings You have for me today, amen.

Jesus heeded his fears. He still does. Jesus heeds the concern in the parent’s heart. After all, our kids were his kids first.  Even as they are ours, they are still his. We forget that fact. Wise are the parents who regularly give their children back to God. Parents, we can be loyal advocates, stubborn intercessors. And we can take our parenting fears to Christ.

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Adapted from Trusting God Day by Day

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18 (AMPC)

Have you ever been absolutely sure you were right about something? Your mind appeared to have a store of facts and details to prove you were right—but you ended up being wrong. What did you do? Did you admit your error, or did you keep pushing and trying to find a way to defend your position?

In the past, when my husband and I were watching a movie or television show, we often argued over which actors and actresses were portraying the characters. It seemed to me that Dave thought Henry Fonda played half the characters in movies.

“Oh, look,” he’d say as we watched a movie on television. “Henry Fonda is in this movie.” “That’s not Henry Fonda,” I’d answer back, and we’d start arguing and bickering. Both of us were so intent on being right that we would insist on staying up much later than we should, just so we could see the credits roll at the end. Then one of us could say, “I told you so!”

Why do we want so desperately to be right about things? Why is it so difficult to be wrong? Why is it so important for us to “win” in a disagreement?

For years I felt bad about who I was, and in order to feel any confidence at all, I had to be right all the time. So I would argue and go to great extremes to prove I was right. I lived in frustration as I tried to convince everyone that I knew what I was talking about.

It wasn’t until my identity became rooted and grounded in Christ that I began to experience freedom in this area. Now I know my worth and value do not come from appearing right to others. Trusting what Jesus says about me is enough.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, free me from the need to always be right. Root my identity in Christ so I can walk in humility, let go of arguments, and find confidence in what You say about me, amen.

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…But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

1 Samuel 30:6 (AMPC)

No day will seem ordinary if we are thankful for the gift God is giving us at the start of each day. An extraordinary attitude can quickly turn an ordinary day into an amazing adventure. Jesus said He came so that we might have and enjoy life (see John 10:10). If we refuse to enjoy it, then it’s no one’s fault but our own.

I would like to suggest that you take responsibility for your joy and never again give anyone else the job of keeping you happy. You can control what you do, but you cannot control what other people do. So you may be unhappy a lot of the time if you depend on them as your source of joy. The psalmist David said that he encouraged himself in the Lord, and if he can do it, then we can do it too.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I am grateful for this new day that You have given me. Regardless of the actions or attitudes of others, I am going to enjoy this day because You are the source of my joy.

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For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?—the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.

Psalm 18:29-33 (ESV)

All storms are not in the weather forecast; sometimes they take us by surprise. Life is the same way. We never know from one day to the next exactly what may come up, and this is one reason we should be glad that God promises to be our strength. His Word tells us that we can do whatever we need to do through Christ, who is our strength (Philippians 4:13).

It is amazing the things we can go through with God’s help. We may not always understand why something has happened to us or when it will be over, but Psalm 18 tells us that God’s way is perfect (v. 30), and this truth should give us comfort. Habakkuk 3:19 says that God makes our feet like those of a deer, and a deer has the ability to climb steep mountains and remain stable.

Always remember that you don’t need to live in fear, because God can handle anything that comes up in your life. He will be a shield around you and keep you safe and stable.

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You that I can go through life without fear and know that no matter what comes up, You will give me the strength to handle it.

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So he told her everything. “No razor has ever been used on my head,” he said, “because I have been a Nazirite dedicated to God from my mother’s womb. If my head were shaved, my strength would leave me, and I would become as weak as any other man.”

Judges 16:17 (NIV)

You may remember the Old Testament story of Samson, the Nazirite man who did not cut his hair. Not cutting his hair was part of his Nazirite vow, but it was also the secret of his tremendous physical strength.

Samson led the nation of Israel for 20 years, and his enemies, the Philistines, were curious about the source of his strength. When he fell in love with Delilah, the Philistine leaders said to her, See if you can lure him into showing you the secret of his great strength and how we can overpower him so we may tie him up and subdue him (Judges 16:5 AMP). Samson refused to tell her his secret many times when she asked him about it, but he ultimately gave in to her. After he told her, she shaved his head, and his strength disappeared.

You also have a source of strength. It’s not in your hair or in any earthly belonging or physical or mental trait. It’s in Christ alone. When you need strength, don’t seek it in any worldly source. Ask God to empower you to do whatever you need to do. He will always come through for you.

Prayer of the Day: Father, may I always look to You for the strength I need, knowing that I will find everything I need in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24 (AMPC)

When I woke up this morning, I didn’t feel well. I was tired and would have loved to crawl back in bed and stay there a long time, but I couldn’t because I had a full day ahead of me. When we don’t feel well, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and start thinking negatively. But we don’t have to!

Because I understand the power of our thoughts, while I was washing my face, brushing my teeth, and making my coffee, I thought and said, “Today is going to be a great day. I am energetic and joyful. I am blessed, and I am a blessing to others.”

There was a time when I often had to take my elderly mother to the eye doctor. In the past, those visits were very challenging. She was losing her eyesight yet insisted the doctors didn’t know what they were doing, and trying to convince her otherwise frequently ended in an embarrassing scene. But on one particular trip, instead of dreading it as I usually did, I made up my mind to expect a peaceful and pleasant experience. And you know what? That simple shift made all the difference.

Whatever you might be facing today, you can still get a head start on things going well by partnering with God and believing that He is on your side and that something good is waiting to happen to you.

Prayer of the Day: Father, You are good and I am expecting You to show up in my life today and manifest Your goodness. Thank You!

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Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 43:5 (NIV)

You may know that the soul is comprised of the mind, the will (ability to make choices), and the emotions. According to today’s scripture, the soul can become downcast or discouraged and disturbed, just as it can be joyful and excited. When we are happy in our souls, we simply enjoy the happiness. But when we are not, we have to deal with our emotions.

Discouragement destroys hope. And without hope we give up. It also steals our joy, and the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). In addition, it robs us of our peace, and God wants us to live in peace, not feeling anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6–7). So, it’s very important for us to learn how to manage discouragement when we feel it.

When discouragement tries to overtake you or when your soul feels disturbed, begin to break free from it by examining your thoughts. What you think about and allow to take root in your mind strongly affects your emotions. Think discouraging thoughts, and you’ll get discouraged. When you change your mindset and begin to think positively, your emotions will improve.

Instead of thinking negatively, think more like this: Well, things are going slowly, but, thank God, I’m making progress. I’m on the right path. I had a rough day yesterday, but today is a new day, and God is helping me. Practice this type of upbeat, positive, godly thinking, and you will defeat the discouragement and disturbances in your soul every time.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You for loving me, Lord. Help me to think in ways that will encourage me, give me hope, and bring peace to my soul.

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Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

Romans 5:2 (AMPC)

Everything in our spiritual lives depends on our personal faith in God and our personal relationship with Him, which certainly includes being able to hear His voice. We can enjoy that relationship because Jesus’ death on the cross gives us free, unhindered access to our heavenly Father and our faith makes it possible for us to have an intimate, dynamic relationship with Him.

I love Ephesians 3:12 and have recently been studying it. It says: In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear). As I meditated on this scripture, I became quite excited to realize that as ordinary human beings we have free access to God at any time through prayer; we can hear His voice any time we want or need to. We can approach Him boldly without reservations, without fear, and with complete freedom. How awesome is that!

Personal faith in God opens the door to unlimited help from Him and to unhindered communication with Him. Come to God with confidence that He loves you, desires your fellowship, and wants not only to hear from you, but He desires to talk to you.

Prayer of the Day: Father, thank You for giving me bold, unhindered access to You. Help me approach You with confidence, listen for Your voice, and enjoy the intimate relationship You long to have with me, amen.

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I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

John 15:5 (NKJV)

Today people are very busy, but that doesn’t mean they are busy doing what will bear good fruit for God (meaning to make a positive difference in the world and to bring honor to Him, or to be productive) in their life. God has not called us to be busy, but He has called us to be fruitful (John 15:4–5).

Today’s scripture says that if we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit. To abide means to live, dwell, and remain in. Meditating on God’s Word is part of the abiding lifestyle. We cannot have only a one-hour visit with Jesus on Sunday morning during a church service, not think of Him until the next Sunday, and expect to live a fruitful life. The abiding lifestyle means that we include Him in everything we do and acknowledge Him in all things. We talk to Him, think about Him, and think about His Word throughout each day.

God’s Word rules. This means that when a decision needs to be made, we make the one that agrees with His Word. There are two words that can never go together in the life of a Christian: “No, Lord!” If He is our Lord, then our answer must always be yes.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, help me abide in You daily. Teach me to include You in every thought and decision, bearing lasting fruit as I align my life fully with Your Word, amen.

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