I Am!

God said, “Be still, and know that I am.”  When God created Adam, He put him in the Garden of Eden, a quiet and peaceful place. That’s where God met with Adam and spoke with him – in a place of peace.

We all know that today’s life can be very noisy. Everyone is in a hurry and on top of that, we download app’s to help us be even more busy. If we allow it, all of this can cause us to live stressed, uptight and on edge.

In the midst of the whirlwind of activity going on around us, we have to learn to not let the busyness, the frustration and stress, get on the inside of us. It may be hectic on the outside, but deep down in your spirit, you can be at rest because you know God has you in the palm of His hand.

Maybe you’ve been worried for a long time, or stressed because a dream hasn’t come to pass YET, or upset over a challenge you’re dealing with. Just like God met Adam at a place of peace, God is saying to you, “There may be trouble all around, but I am calling you to a place of peace. Be still and know that I am. I am your Deliverer, I am your Restorer, I am your Provider, I am your Healer.”

Trust your heavenly Father to protect and guide you. Choose to be still, choose to find rest in Him, and choose to believe, as the bible says, that He has a prosperous plan for your life – so give yourself permission to start expecting that your best days are still ahead!

Making Your Dreams A Reality

Are you believing God for something that seems to be taking a long time? In the natural, you may have every reason to give up on it. You may be tempted to get discouraged but take heart, God knows exactly where you are.

He knows the desires of your heart because He’s the One that placed them within you. He even knows your hidden dreams; what the bible calls, “the secret petitions of your heart.”

These are the things that you haven’t told anyone about. Maybe you thought they would never work out, or you’ve buried them because they didn’t happen on YOUR timetable. Friend, God still has a way to bring them to pass.

Be encouraged today because God is working behind the scenes on your behalf. The bible says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” This means you need to find the time and joy to serve and seek Him. Keep trusting your heavenly Father because He is closer than you think to making those dreams a reality!

Shift Into Your Suddenly

Did you think about how one touch of God’s favor can promote you beyond your education, experience, or talent? You can be at a lower position at work, going along being your best, and suddenly things can change. One good break, one idea, one person who likes you, and suddenly, you find yourself at the top. You didn’t see it coming. Things just fell into place. That’s God shifting things in your favor.

The bible says, “I have declared the former things from the beginning; they went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.” Friend, God can cause opportunity to find you no matter where you are.

Get your hopes up and your fire back! Your loving, heavenly Father has unexpected blessings that are going to bring you a “suddenly.” Suddenly you meet the right person, suddenly you’ll see your health improve, suddenly you’re able to pay your house off.

Today, I urge you to get ready for a shift in your circumstances! But first, start with a shift in your thinking. Don’t worry about HOW things are going to work out. Shift your focus to the fact that God WILL work it out. Shift your focus to getting ready for the favor and blessing God has in store for you. Start expecting your “suddenly!”

Keep Looking

The bible says that after the prophet Elijah prayed and asked God to end the drought, he said to the people, “I can hear the sound of an abundance of rain.” He was saying in effect, “There is a yes from God in our future!”

Elijah told his assistant to go look on the other side of the mountain to see if there was any sign of rain. When the assistant came back, he said, “No, Elijah. There’s not a cloud in the sky. It’s perfectly clear.” Elijah didn’t get discouraged and think, “What are we going to do now? I might as well quit this prophet business.” No, he simply said, “Go back and look again.”

This happened six different times, but Elijah kept saying, “Go look again.” On the seventh time, the servant came back and said, “Elijah, I saw a small cloud in the sky. It isn’t much, just the size of a man’s hand.” Elijah’s answer was basically, “You’d better get your umbrella. Rain is coming!”

Friend, like Elijah maybe you are believing for something and you aren’t seeing anything happen. Don’t give up! If God has promised it, He will do it. Let this sink deep down in your spirit today – keep your hopes up because you’re closer than you think to seeing God’s answer to your prayer!

Get Up Again

Life is full of things that try to push us down. We all face disappointments and setbacks. Maybe you received some bad news about your health, lost your job or perhaps a relationship didn’t work out. That was a setback. It’s easy to get discouraged or lose your enthusiasm or even be tempted to just settle where you are. Take heart though!

The bible says, “A righteous person may fall seven times, but they get up again.” If we’re going to see God’s best, we have to have a “get up again” mentality. That means when you get knocked down, you don’t stay down. You get back up again!

Remember, as a believer in Jesus, the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives on the inside of you. There is no challenge too difficult, no obstacle too high, no sickness, no disappointment, no person, nothing that can keep you from your God-given destiny.

Staying down is not what God’s people are meant to do. If you’re down right now, know that it’s temporary. No force on or under the earth can KEEP you down. If you stay in faith God will turn what was meant to be a stumbling block into a stepping stone, and you’ll come out stronger, wiser, and better off than had it not happened at all.

How To Overcome Fear

Fear always presents itself much bigger than it really is. It’s always the worst-case scenario. It always tries to get you worried, anxious, uptight and panicked. Fear is a favorite tool of the enemy to separate you from God by trying to get you to doubt His promises.

When the spirit of fear comes, you need to start recognizing that it has no power unless you give it power. Quit speaking the words of fear. Quit meditating on fear. Instead, let the power of God’s truth rise up within you.

There’s not many other things the bible says more than some form or another of, “Fear not.” And what’s always paired with that statement? “Because I am with you.” The Creator of the entire universe has got your back!

Today, start declaring what God says! That no weapon formed against you shall prosper. That greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. No matter how big fear presents itself, it’s no match for the power of your heavenly Father! Nurture your faith so it rises up in your heart – because faith is your most powerful tool in overcoming fear.

Keep Bragging!

I’ve learned that the more you brag on God’s goodness, the more of God’s goodness you’re going to see. When you go around saying to people, “Let me tell you what great thing God did for me”, you begin to see more of His goodness in your life.

The Psalmist said, “I recall the many miracles God has done for me. I cannot stop thinking about them. They are constantly in my thoughts.” Instead of remembering their victories, too many times people today are remembering their defeats, failures or disappointments.

If you want to experience meaningful, lasting peace and joy you’ve got to switch over and, like the Psalmist, start remembering the times God protected you, the times God showed you favor, the times God made a way when it looked like there was no way.

This is the best way to cause faith and expectancy to rise up strong in your heart. You’ll have the confidence that if God did it for you then He can certainly do it for you now. I encourage you to start sharing your victories with others. Keep bragging on the goodness of God and you’ll begin to move into higher levels of that goodness.