THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THE MORE YOU FEED FEELINGS, THE STRONGER THEY GROW

Today’s Scripture describes a lot of people. If they feel like telling somebody off, feel like buying something they can’t afford, or feel like watching something they know is not good, they do it anyway. Desires and feelings will always be there. The problem is that when we give in to them, we come under their control. The more you feed those feelings—anger, self-pity, a bad attitude, a critical spirit—the stronger they grow. The way you break free is to quit feeding them.

The next time you feel like being upset, stay in peace. Put on some good praise music; think about how much you have to be grateful for. That’s feeding your spirit man instead of feeding your flesh. As your spirit person gets stronger, the flesh is getting weaker. Starve the negative emotions, and over time, they won’t control you. The sign of maturity is that you can feel the negative emotions, but you don’t act on them.

Today’s Scripture

1 Corinthians 3:3, TLB

For you are still only baby Christians, controlled by your own desires, not God’s.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IT MAY NOT BE GOOD NOW, BUT GOD KNOWS HOW TO BRING IT ALL TOGETHER

We celebrate GOOD Friday each year, but on the day when Jesus was crucified, the disciples thought it was the WORST day of their lives. “TRAGIC Friday” would have been THEIR description. The One whom they had devoted their LIVES to was dead and buried in a tomb. But a few days later, when Jesus ROSE from the dead, they realized that He was who He’d SAID He was. He had DEFEATED the enemy and brought SALVATION to mankind. What they’d thought was the worst day of their lives became the BEST.

We ALL face times when a dream dies, a relationship ends, we come down with an illness—NOTHING about the situation seems good. It may not be good right NOW, but God knows how to bring it all TOGETHER. You may think it is going to STOP you, set you BACK, and cause you HEARTACHE. If you’ll stay in FAITH, one day you’ll look back and say it was GOOD.

Today’s Scripture

John 20:19, NIV

…with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among [the disciples] and said, “Peace be with you!”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THINGS ARE ABOUT TO CHANGE IN YOUR FAVOR…..

After the Israelites had been in slavery for 430 years, God said, “I have seen the affliction of My people. I’ve heard their cries. I am coming down to DELIVER them.” God was saying, “Enough is ENOUGH. It’s PAYBACK time.” It was a great miracle for the Israelites to be set free, but God was keeping the records and said they wouldn’t leave empty-HANDED. On their way out, the Israelites asked the Egyptians for their gold, silver, and jewelry. God gave them FAVOR, and the Egyptians willingly GAVE it to the Israelites.

You may be in an unfair situation for a long time, but God is saying, “I’m coming down to DO something about it.” Things are about to change in your FAVOR. PAYBACK is coming, HEALING is coming, PROMOTION is coming, VINDICATION is coming, new RELATIONSHIPS are coming. You’re NOT going to come out empty-HANDED. YOU’re going to come out LOADED, BETTER than you were, PROMOTED, STRONGER, HEALTHIER, and at a new LEVEL.

Today’s Scripture

Exodus 3:21, NIV

“And I will make the Egyptians favorably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF YOU’LL BE GRATEFUL FOR THE GOOD, GOD WILL GET YOU TO VERY GOOD

When God created the heavens and the earth on the first day, He said, “Let there be light,” and light came. There were no skies, no animals, and the earth was formless and empty, but God said it was “good.” An observer would have said, “God, it’s not good; it’s a mess. Nothing is in order.” And He would have responded, “Don’t worry. You’re only seeing day one. Wait till you see what it looks like when it’s ‘very good’ at the end of day six.” Sometimes we’re so focused on our flaws, weaknesses, shortcomings, and how we should be further along that it holds us back. You need to focus on what you’re doing right. Find the good along the way; thank Him for the partial. If you don’t celebrate the good in day one, in the season that you’re in, you won’t see day two. If you’ll be grateful for the good, God will get you to very good.

Today’s Scripture

Genesis 1:3–4, NIV

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T PUT YOUR IDENTITY, YOUR VALUE IN SOMEONE ELSES HANDS

One day a large crowd of people CELEBRATED Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem, shouting, “HOSANNA! BLESSED is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” A few days later, those same people were shouting, “CRUCIFY Him!” When Jesus went to trial and needed His closest friends to SUPPORT Him, MOST of His disciples had fled, one had betrayed Him, and Peter denied Him. If you don’t know who you are without OTHER people, then if they leave, you’ll be lost. They’ll take you WITH them because your IDENTITY was caught up in who THEY made you to be. Then you’ll have to try to find somebody ELSE to tell you who you are. Don’t put your IDENTITY, your VALUE into somebody else’s HANDS. You don’t need THEIR approval or for THEM to tell you who you ARE. Your VALUE came from your CREATOR. Let HIM tell you who you are. Get your VALUE, your self-WORTH, your APPROVAL from HIM.

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 29:25, MSG

The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in GOD protects you from that.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

DON’T EXCHANGE WHAT YOU DO KNOW, FOR WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

One night the teenage son of a couple we know was killed in a car accident. You can imagine how devastated and heartbroken they were. Many couples would get angry and let the tragedy sour the rest of their lives. They went through a dark time, but they came through it and explained how: “We made the DECISION that we were NOT going to EXCHANGE what we DO know for what we DON’T know. We KNOW that God is GOOD, that He’s LOVING, that He’s FOR us. We would not let one SITUATION that we don’t understand cancel all that OUT.”

If you’re always trying to figure out WHY something happened, you’re going to get frustrated and bitter. If God wants you to KNOW why, He’ll TELL you why. But there are SOME things God doesn’t WANT us to know yet. If you’re going to TRUST God, you have to be MATURE enough to drop it and say, “God, I don’t HAVE to have all the answers. You’re GOD. YOUR ways are BETTER than mine.”

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 25:2, NLT

It is God’s privilege to conceal things…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

SMALL ACTS OF OBEDIENCE LEAD TO BIG BLESSINGS

Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army, a very POWERFUL man, but he had leprosy, an incurable disease. He traveled a great distance to have the prophet Elisha PRAY for him, but he was OFFENDED when Elisha told him to wash seven times in the Jordan River and he would be HEALED. He had a preconceived idea of HOW God was going to do it, but you can’t put God in a box. He may not turn your problem around in a TRADITIONAL way. Stay open and let God do it HIS way. Naaman didn’t want to do this small thing, but when he finally DID, he found that small acts of OBEDIENCE lead to big BLESSINGS. When you obey in the SMALL things, when it doesn’t seem like it MATTERS, when nobody is WATCHING, that OBEDIENCE leads to God’s favor in BIG ways. When you obey, MIRACLES happen, HEALING is released, new doors OPEN, and problems turn AROUND.

Today’s Scripture

2 Kings 5:11, NIV

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

STAY IN FAITH BECAUSE GOD IS ABOUT TO SURPRISE YOU

The Israelites had been taken into captivity by the Babylonians. The return and the RESTORATION of Jerusalem had been anticipated for SO long that it seemed like a DREAM to them. Some of them had waited their entire LIFETIME. Their JOY was beyond CONTAINING. They were laughing in AMAZEMENT, saying, “This is like a dream. It’s too good to be true.” Some of the things YOU’VE been dreaming about—to get out of DEBT, to start that BUSINESS, to meet the right PERSON, to finish COLLEGE—the odds may be AGAINST you, it seems LAUGHABLE, but God is about to SURPRISE you. Stay in FAITH, because like the Israelites, the day is coming where God fills your mouth with the laughter of AMAZEMENT. It’s going to seem like a DREAM. You’re not only going to be AMAZED, but the people AROUND you are going to be SO in awe that all they can do is LAUGH with you.

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 126:1–2, NIV

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DO IT IN SPITE OF THE FEAR, THAT’S WHAT FAITH IS ALL ABOUT.

God has put GIFTS and TALENTS in you. He’s given you DREAMS and GOALS that are unique to YOUR life. But it’s easy to let FEAR hold you back. “What if I try it and it doesn’t work…what if people don’t ACCEPT me…what if I DON’T have the talent?” Too often we let the what-ifs talk us OUT of it. Quit HIDING the DREAMS and TALENT that God has given you. He created you to SHINE, to make a DIFFERENCE, to leave your MARK. Your gift isn’t just for YOU; it’s to share with the WORLD. Life is SHORT, so stir UP what God put in you. You can’t wait till the FEAR goes away and then you’ll do it. The fear may not GO away. You’re going to have to do it in SPITE of the FEAR. That’s what FAITH is all about. NOBODY who’s ever done anything GREAT in life has done it without FEAR.

Today’s Scripture

Matthew 5:15, NLT

“No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU WON’T BECOME ALL THAT YOU WERE CREATED TO BE WITHOUT TROUBLE

When troubles come our way, it’s easy to get discouraged, but God uses difficulties to move us toward our destiny. You won’t become all you were created to be without trouble. You don’t grow in the good times; you grow in the tough times, the dark times. Trouble prepares you for the next level. Trouble develops something in you that you can’t get when it’s easy and everything is going your way. In the difficult times, your spiritual muscles are developed, and you gain strength, endurance, and wisdom.

Every challenge you’ve been through has deposited something in you. Through every relationship that didn’t work out, through those times when somebody did you wrong, you gained insight. The times when you failed, when you blew it weren’t wasted—you gained experience that will transport you in the future. The truth is that trouble was transportation. It was all a part of God’s plan.

Today’s Scripture

Proverbs 20:24, NLT

The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?