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.

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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.

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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!

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Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

— Matthew 7:1 (NIV)

Sometimes when we feel insecure, rejected by others, or inferior to them, we struggle to simply admit we feel left out, ignored, or somehow less than the people around us. Instead, we become critical or judgmental toward them. But this is not the way God wants us to handle our emotions or to treat people.

We should choose to focus on God’s love for us and to remember that He accepts us unconditionally (Ephesians 1:4–6). He calls us “the apple of His eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10) and says we are inscribed on the palm of His hand (Isaiah 49:16). The more secure we are in His love, the less we will feel critical or negative toward others. The greater our understanding of God’s love for us, which we could never deserve, the more we realize that God loves everyone the same. He doesn’t have favorites (Romans 2:11). If He loves people, we can choose to love them too and not judge them, with His help.

Notice in today’s scripture that Jesus not only tells us not to judge people but also explains why we should refrain from doing so. It’s for our own good. We aren’t to judge others, so we won’t be judged. We do reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7), and if we sow criticism and judgment, we’ll find people criticizing and judging us. But if we sow love and blessing into other people, we’ll experience love and blessing too.

Next time you are tempted to criticize or judge someone for any reason, resist. Instead, choose to love and bless them.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, when I feel rejected or inferior to others, help me not to judge or criticize. Help me to love and bless everyone around me.

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You shall walk after the Lord your God and [reverently] fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and cling to Him.

— Deuteronomy 13:4 (AMPC)

Once we begin listening to and hearing from God, it is important to obey whatever we hear Him say. Obedience increases our quality of fellowship with Him and strengthens our faith. We might say, “Practice makes perfect” when it comes to hearing and obeying Him. In other words, we become more and more confident as we gain experience. It takes a lot of practice to reach the point of complete submission to God’s leading. Even knowing that God’s ways are perfect and that His plans always work, we still feign ignorance sometimes when He asks us to do something that requires personal sacrifice, or we might even be afraid that we are not hearing clearly and therefore too cautious to take action.

Don’t be fearful of sacrifice or of making a mistake. There are many things in life that are worse than being wrong. Jesus said, “Follow Me.” I firmly believe that when we have done our best to hear from God, then we must “step out and find out,” if we truly are hearing His voice or not. Shrinking back in fear all of our lives will never allow us to make progress in our ability to hear from God.

He did not say, “You take the lead, and I will follow you.” I have learned that we may as well do quickly whatever God says, because if we don’t, I can guarantee that we will be miserable.

When our children are learning how to walk, we don’t get angry when they fall down. We realize they are learning, and we work with them. God is the same way, and He will teach you how to hear from Him if you walk in faith and not fear.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I come to You today in the name of Jesus, and I thank You for this day, I ask that You help me to always recognize and listen to Your leading guidance. I ask You to help me walk in faith, rather than fear, and to help me grow in confidence as I fellowship with You, amen.

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The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

— Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)

It is wrong for anyone to try to control us, but it is equally wrong for us to allow it. We must stand up for ourselves and be determined to please God rather than other people. My mother allowed my father to control her out of fear, and everyone in the family paid the price for her refusal to stand up for herself and us. Fear is a real thing, but it has no power over us except what we give it. Author and psychologist Henry Cloud says that we get what we tolerate.

The best thing is never to start a relationship by letting yourself be controlled and manipulated. But if you are already in that situation, it is not too late to stand up for yourself. It will be more difficult to do than it would have been had you had boundaries from the beginning of the relationship, but it can still be done. Let the person who is controlling you know that you realize you have been allowing them to control you and that you will no longer let it continue. They may react in an angry and even a violent manner, but in the end, they will respect you for it.

It is God’s will for us to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in order to do that, we will find that we must often say no to the demands of people. People who will only stay in relationship with you if they are allowed to control you don’t really love you. They are simply using you to help them get what they want. You deserve better than that and are far too valuable to let anyone abuse or misuse you.

If you have a history of not speaking up or just “going along to get along,” taking the first step toward freedom will be the most difficult. Satan is delighted to rob you of your God-ordained destiny, and he can easily do it through the fear of other people. The apostle Paul said that had he been trying to be popular with people, he would not have become an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:10). Think seriously about that for a moment, and then take a look at your own life and make sure you are not missing God’s will by being overly concerned about keeping people happy. We should want to please and make people happy, but not if the price of doing so is disobeying God. The Word of God tells us to follow peace and I want to strongly recommend that you begin doing that. Anyone who truly cares about you will want you to follow God even if it means you can’t give them what they want. God is always with you to help you do what you need to do.

Prayer of the Day: Father, give me the courage to stand up for myself to those who try to control me. Help me to always follow Your will and value my worth the way You value me. In the name of Jesus, I choose to follow Your guidance rather than the approval of other people, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

— Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)

It is wrong for anyone to try to control us, but it is equally wrong for us to allow it. We must stand up for ourselves and be determined to please God rather than other people. My mother allowed my father to control her out of fear, and everyone in the family paid the price for her refusal to stand up for herself and us. Fear is a real thing, but it has no power over us except what we give it. Author and psychologist Henry Cloud says that we get what we tolerate.

The best thing is never to start a relationship by letting yourself be controlled and manipulated. But if you are already in that situation, it is not too late to stand up for yourself. It will be more difficult to do than it would have been had you had boundaries from the beginning of the relationship, but it can still be done. Let the person who is controlling you know that you realize you have been allowing them to control you and that you will no longer let it continue. They may react in an angry and even a violent manner, but in the end, they will respect you for it.

It is God’s will for us to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in order to do that, we will find that we must often say no to the demands of people. People who will only stay in relationship with you if they are allowed to control you don’t really love you. They are simply using you to help them get what they want. You deserve better than that and are far too valuable to let anyone abuse or misuse you.

If you have a history of not speaking up or just “going along to get along,” taking the first step toward freedom will be the most difficult. Satan is delighted to rob you of your God-ordained destiny, and he can easily do it through the fear of other people. The apostle Paul said that had he been trying to be popular with people, he would not have become an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:10). Think seriously about that for a moment, and then take a look at your own life and make sure you are not missing God’s will by being overly concerned about keeping people happy. We should want to please and make people happy, but not if the price of doing so is disobeying God. The Word of God tells us to follow peace and I want to strongly recommend that you begin doing that. Anyone who truly cares about you will want you to follow God even if it means you can’t give them what they want. God is always with you to help you do what you need to do.

Prayer of the Day: Father, give me the courage to stand up for myself to those who try to control me. Help me to always follow Your will and value my worth the way You value me. In the name of Jesus, I choose to follow Your guidance rather than the approval of other people, amen.

http://www.joycemeyer.org

God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness….

— Genesis 1:26 (AMPC)

Second Samuel 9 tells the story of Mephibosheth, the grandson of King Saul and the son of Jonathan. Crippled as a youth, Mephibosheth had a poor self-image. Instead of seeing himself as the rightful heir to his father’s and grandfather’s legacy, he saw himself as someone who would be rejected.

When David sent for Mephibosheth, he fell down before the king and displayed fear. David told him not to fear, that he intended to show Mephibosheth kindness because of David’s covenant with Jonathan. Mephibosheth’s initial response is an important example of the kind of poor self-image we all need to overcome.

A poor self-image causes us to operate in fear instead of faith. We look at what is wrong with us instead of what is right with Jesus. He has taken our wrongs and given us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). We can joyfully walk in the reality of that truth.

I love the end of the story. David blessed Mephibosheth for Jonathan’s sake. He gave him servants and land and provided for all of his needs. God will bless us for Jesus’ sake!

We can all relate Mephibosheth’s lameness to our own weaknesses. We may also fellowship and eat with our King Jesus—despite our faults and weaknesses.

Prayer of the Day: Father, You know my struggles. Help me overcome any issue I have with self-image and only see myself as You see me. Help me to walk in faith and righteousness and embrace Your many blessings as Your beloved child, amen.

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Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.

— Ephesians 6:14 (AMPC)

Integrity is vitally important to our walk with God. People with integrity take responsibility for their actions. They keep their commitments instead of making excuses for not keeping them. They do what they tell people they are going to do, and, if for some reason they absolutely cannot, then they contact the person, give an explanation (not an excuse), and ask to be released from the commitment. We expect God to keep His promises, and He expects us to keep ours.

If people truly understood what the word integrity means, we would hopefully have more people in the world with good character, trying to keep their integrity. Since God has given us the “breastplate of integrity,” we know we are to do battle against the enemy of deceit. Let us all choose to do right and trust God to honor our decisions.

Prayer of the Day: Father, I want to be a person of integrity, but I need Your help. Please give me the strength to honor my commitments, battle deceit, and reflect Your character in all my actions and decisions, amen.

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 For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

— Jeremiah 29:11 (AMPC)

We would all like to know what the future holds for us. God does have a good plan for each of us, but we must be willing to follow His plan, rather than going our own way in order to experience it.

God wants us to live the good life that He has prearranged and made ready for us to live. To press on, we must forget what lies behind us. Your future has no room in it for bad feelings from your past. Take the good things from the past and the lessons you’ve learned along with you but let go of anything that is holding you back or keeping you stuck in fear or insecurity of any kind.

You can have hope instead of hopelessness. Start believing today that your future is filled with good things and refuse to settle for less than God’s best for you.

Prayer of the Day: Father God, please guide me to embrace Your great plan. Help me let go of the past and fill my future with hope. I trust You, Lord, to lead me toward the good life you have prepared for me!

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Strive to enter by the narrow door [force yourselves through it], for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.

— Luke 13:24 (AMPC)

Like most of us, you are probably tempted to take all the easy paths, but God’s path is rarely easy. The Bible describes those other paths—the ones that lead to destruction—as “broad” because not a lot of effort is required to remain on them. We are encouraged by God to take the narrow path, the more difficult one, which is also the one that leads to life.

We have to make a strong effort to push through the negativity in the world, but if we will do our part, God will always do His. Not everyone is willing to make the effort. They are addicted to ease and simply flow with their feelings. Jesus died for us so we could have a wonderful, abundant life that is filled with peace, joy, power, success, and every good thing. He was willing to go to the cross and pay for our sins even though physically, mentally, and emotionally it was very difficult. We, too, must be willing to do what is right, and our reward will surely come. God’s grace will always enable us to do the right thing if we are willing to do so.

Study the Word of God regularly, and then when trouble comes, you will already have your spiritual tank full of fuel that will enable you to make right choices. Don’t be the kind of person who prays or has time for God only when you feel like it or have a disaster. Seek God because you know you cannot navigate safely in this world without Him.

You and I can let our minds drift aimlessly day after day, and we can be controlled by our emotions, or we can strive to gird up our minds, choose our thoughts carefully, and manage our emotions. God has set before us life and death, good and evil, and has given us the responsibility of making the choice (see Deut. 30:19). Choose life!

Prayer of the Day: Lord, I trust You to give me the strength I need to make the right choices. Help me to understand the right decision is not always the easiest route to get to the end. Thank You for guiding me. I love You, amen.

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Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

— Galatians 6:9 (NIV)

One of the most important truths you can be grateful for is that God has promised to never leave you—He is always by your side!

That’s why it is important to remember this: No matter how difficult the circumstances may seem around you, don’t give up! God is for you, and He is bigger than any trouble you may be facing.

You can regain the territory the devil has stolen from you. If necessary, regain it one inch at a time, being thankful for and always leaning on God’s grace and not on your own ability to get the desired results. In Galatians 6:9, the apostle Paul simply encourages us to keep on keeping on! Don’t be a quitter! Have an “I can do all things through Christ” attitude. God is looking for people who will go all the way through to the other side with Him.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Father, that You give me the strength to never quit. I am grateful that You are always with me and that You fight my battles.

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If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.

— Romans 14:8 (AMPC)

My aunt died recently at the age of 90. Situations such as this always remind me of how transitory life is and of the profound reality that each of us has only one life to live. My aunt lived a long life, but the length of our lives is not nearly as important as how well we live. Each day that goes by is one we can never get back, so we should live it with purpose, making sure that whatever we spend our time on is worth it.

Let me ask you: Are you leaving a legacy that you can be proud of? I urge you to enjoy your life, to live for God’s honor and glory, and to make sure that, during your earthly journey, you live in such a way that you feel good about the way you have lived and that you will be missed when your life is complete.

Prayer of the Day: Lord, thank You for the life You have given me. I recognize that it is a precious gift and should not be wasted. Help me live well for Your glory. Each day that I live, let me be a benefit to others. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

— Romans 5:8 (NIV)

God reminded me today of His unconditional love!

It is very important to begin each day knowing that you are loved! God loves you unconditionally, and His love is more valuable and important than anyone else’s. He doesn’t love us because we deserve it, but simply because He wants to.

As you receive God’s love freely, it will give you confidence and enable you to live life without fear. God’s perfect love casts out all fear and dread (see 1 John 4:18).

Perhaps you have known the pain of not being chosen. You were not picked for class president or asked to attend the party that everyone was going to. When we are left out it hurts, but the good news for you today is that God has chosen you! You are special to Him and His love for you will never end.

Prayer of the Day: Thank You, Father, for loving me. I receive Your love by faith today and ask that it will strengthen me.

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

— Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)

As I’ve mentioned before, learning to manage my emotions has been one of the most important lessons I have learned in my journey with God, because it has allowed me to consistently enjoy my life. When we wait to see how we feel before we know if we can enjoy each day, we give emotions control over our lives. But thankfully, we can make decisions that are not based on feelings. If we are willing to make good choices regardless of how we feel, God will be faithful to help us do so.

Living the good life that God offers us requires us to be obedient to His way of being and doing. He gives us the strength to follow His teachings, but we must choose to do it. God won’t choose for us. He helps us, but we must participate by choosing to obey His Word instead of simply doing whatever we feel like doing. We can’t consistently enjoy life until we are willing to do this. For example, I may feel like avoiding someone because they have hurt my feelings or treated me unfairly, but I can choose to pray for them and treat them as Jesus would while I wait for Him to do something in that situation. If I act according to my feelings, I will forfeit peace and joy. But if I choose to do what God has instructed me to do in His Word, I will have His reward and blessing in my life.

Prayer of the Day: Help me, God, to make good choices regarding my emotions and not to allow them to control my life. I want to obey Your Word and experience Your blessings in my life.

http://www.joycemeyer.org