God has put dreams and desires in every person’s heart. But
most times there’s a season of waiting involved. Maybe you’re waiting for a
relationship to improve; waiting for a promotion, or waiting to overcome an
illness/injury. Much of life is spent waiting.
But there’s a right way to wait and a wrong way to wait. Too
often, when things don’t happen on our timetable, we get down and discouraged
or anxious and fretful. That’s because we’re not waiting the right way.
The bible says many times “WHEN you wait” and “AS you wait.”
The fact is that we’re all going to wait. You should choose to wait expectantly
on Him. Trust that He is working behind the scenes on your behalf. Put your faith
and hope in the Creator of the universe, knowing that He’s still in complete
control and just like He promised, He has good things in store for your future.
Today, no matter what you are praying for, expect things to
change in your favor. You don’t really know, today could be the day that God
turns it all around! As you wait with patience and expectancy, you’ll open the
door for God to move. He’ll fight your battles, and you’ll see that abundant
harvest He’s promised in every area of your life.
When you see someone who is struggling, a friend who is
discouraged, how do you respond? Our words can be what keeps a person going;
our compliments can put a spring back into their step. The bible says, “Worry
weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”
Now more than ever, we need to let the encouragement flow.
We need to tell others how much we love them, how we value them, and tell them
that they are well-able and talented and creative. Always remember, with your
words you can give hope, healing, encouragement and new beginnings, and you can
pour it out everywhere you go.
Today, choose to speak encouragement. Choose to speak
victory and faith. Instead of telling people what they’re doing wrong, instead
of pointing out all their faults, find what they are doing right. Focus on the
good. There are already enough critical, judgmental people in the world. Let’s
be people who lift up others and restore them! Let’s be the salt that makes
people thirsty for the way we live and want to give joy and comfort like us.
I want to share a prayer that I pray daily before I write
these blog posts, in hopes that you would pray the same. “Thank You for
speaking through me. Thank You for using me to be a blessing to others. Thank
You for encouraging my heart as I find more ways to better encourage the people
around me.”
“I will set no dishonorable or wicked thing before my eyes...” In
this Psalm, David was determined to honor God with his mind. He knew that what
he watched would affect his thinking. He learned the hard way what could happen
if you don’t guard your mind by choosing carefully what you look at. He himself
(the person who God said was “a man after My own heart”) was drawn to do things
that weren’t pleasing to God when he didn’t stay disciplined.
The same is true for us today. If we are watching things on
TV or reading things in books, magazines or in person that aren’t pleasing to
God we’re opening a door to the enemy; a stronghold is building in our
thinking. Eventually we become imprisoned by those wrong thoughts. But, God has
given us the power to break those strongholds!
If you’re struggling with thoughts that you don’t want
anymore, today, you can choose to be free. First, receive God’s forgiveness and
make the choice to change what you are looking at and thinking about. Focus
your thoughts on His will and refuse to engage in or focus on wrong things. As
you determine to honor God in this way, He will empower and bless you so that you
can live in freedom and peace and experience meaningful, lasting increase and
success the rest of your life!
Oftentimes, people who aren’t fulfilling their destiny will
try to discourage you from fulfilling yours. Some may not even do it
intentionally, but they’ll tell you what you can’t do and how things won’t work
out. They’re quick to remind you of all your impossibilities. Your relatives,
co-workers and friends may try to talk you out of your dream, but that’s
because God didn’t put that promise inside of THEM; He put it inside of YOU!
The bible says, “The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He
delights in every detail of their lives.” You have to remember that other
people don’t determine your destiny; God does. He holds your destiny in the
palm of His hand. If you will keep believing, God will not only bring it to pass,
He will do more than you can ask or think!
Friend, don’t let someone else’s unbelief keep you from
believing. Don’t let other people talk you out of your dreams. It’s time to get
into agreement with God. He says you are well able. He says you are equipped.
He says you are qualified. He says you are anointed, called and appointed to
fulfill every dream and desire He’s placed within you!
Many people today don’t realize that the reason they’re not
happy, the reason they’re not enjoying life is simply because they’ve trained
their minds in the wrong direction. This is why when I talk about “getting
better” I don’t just talk about physical training but more of an overall
health, STARTING with the mind.
People tend to get it twisted, just going along with
whatever pops into their head. As if they have no choice but to go with it, never
realizing that THEY have programmed their minds to worry. THEY’VE programmed
their minds to complain. THEY’VE programmed their minds to see the negative. And
just as we can train our mind to focus on the negative, we can also reprogram
our minds to focus on the positive. It all depends on what you meditate on.
When we meditate on God’s directions and promises, we
reprogram our minds. When we meditate on God’s goodness, we are developing a
right mindset. When we choose to be grateful and focus on what’s right rather
than what’s wrong, we are choosing a positive attitude.
This doesn’t happen automatically though. You do have to
discipline yourself to focus on the right things. You have to make a conscious
effort to spend time with God every single day until a habit is formed. Read and
embrace His promises for yourself.
The bible says, “Don’t change yourselves to be like the
people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking.
Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you...” Ask for His help, give your full effort toward
this end and then let Him change your way of thinking.
I’ve seen in my life and countless others, that as you honor
God with your time, He’ll multiply it back to you. As you stay faithful and
focused on Him, He will direct your steps, and you will receive ALL of the
blessings He has in store for you!
Everyone goes through things that don’t seem to make sense.
It’s easy to get discouraged and wonder, “Why did this happen to me?” “Why did
this person treat me wrong?” But we have to understand, even though life is not
always fair, God is fair. And, He promises to cause everything to work together
for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for
them.
I believe the key word is this verse is “together.” In other
words, you can’t just isolate one part of your life and say, “This is not
good.” Yes, that may true, but that’s just one part of your life.
God can see the big picture. That disappointment is not the
end. Remember, when one door closes, God has another door for you to walk
through – a better door. Those difficulties and challenges are merely stepping
stones toward your brighter future.
Be encouraged today because God has a plan for you to rise
higher. He has a plan for you to come out stronger. He has a plan to work all
things together for your good so that you can move forward into the awesome
triumph and success He has prepared for you!
Throughout life, people are constantly sticking labels on
us, telling us what we can and can’t become. And sometimes this is good. People
speak faith into us and encourage us. But then, there are times that people put
negative labels on us. And you can’t stop the negative comments, you can’t
prevent the negative labels, BUT you can choose to remove them.
As a teenager, Walt Disney was told by his art instructor
that he wasn’t creative; he didn’t have any imagination. Disney was smart
enough to remove that label and look at the vast amazing things he’s created.
Lucille Ball was told that she didn’t have any acting
skills; she should try a different profession. She removed that label and look
how that worked out for her.
Winston Churchill failed the sixth grade; he was told he
wasn’t smart enough. He went on to become one of the greatest Prime Ministers
that ever lived.
The common denominator in the success of these people is
that they chose to remove the negative labels. It can be the same way with you.
Don’t focus on what others say; focus on what GOD says! Remove the negative
labels and embrace who God created you to be.
