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?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF…..

There was a man in the Scripture named Gideon whom God wanted to lead the people of Israel against an opposing army. The angel appeared to him and said, “Hello, Gideon, you MIGHTY man of FEARLESS courage,” I can imagine Gideon looking around thinking, Who is he TALKING to? Gideon was afraid, intimidated, and insecure. But notice that God didn’t call him what he WAS. God called him what he could BECOME.

God sees your POTENTIAL. God knows what you’re CAPABLE of. You may FEEL weak, but God calls you STRONG. You may be intimidated TODAY, but God calls you CONFIDENT. You may feel less than, but God calls you well ABLE. If the Angel of the Lord were to appear to YOU today, He would say the same THING he said to Gideon. “Hello, you MIGHTY man, you MIGHTY woman of fearless COURAGE.” Why don’t you get in AGREEMENT with God and start BELIEVING what HE says about you?

Today’s Scripture

Judges 6:12, 14, NLT

The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the LORD is with you!… Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

YOU CAN TALK YOURSELF INTO DEFEAT, OR INTO VICTORY

Thirteen years after David was anointed to be the next king of Israel, he was STILL living as a fugitive from King Saul. Then one day, he and his six hundred men came home and found their city had been BURNED, their possessions TAKEN, and their families taken CAPTIVE. It was the worst DEFEAT of David’s life. He and his men WEPT until they could not weep anymore. He was tempted to think, God, I’ve been FAITHFUL year after year. This is the final straw. But David made a decision: “I am NOT allowing this discouragement to STAY. I am STRONG in the Lord. I am His ANOINTED.” You can talk yourself into DEFEAT or into VICTORY. When you speak the RIGHT way, STRENGTH comes, COURAGE comes, VISION comes, HEALING comes. Turn the discouragement around and say, “YES, this is TOUGH, but I am STRONG in the Lord. No weapon formed against ME will prosper.” STRENGTHEN yourself in the Lord.

Today’s Scripture

1 Samuel 30:6, ESV

David was greatly distressed…But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

ONE GOOD BREAK CAN PUT YOU INTO OVERFLOW

We all have dreams we’re believing to ACCOMPLISH, problems we’re HOPING will turn around. Many times in the NATURAL it looks as though it’s going to take YEARS to happen. But God doesn’t always FOLLOW a natural timeline. He knows how to open the windows of HEAVEN. ONE good break can put you into OVERFLOW. You’re going to look up and think, How did I GET here so QUICKLY? What was THAT? The God of ACCELERATION, speeding it UP, MAKING things happen that you COULDN’T make happen. This is what the prophet Amos said. Things are going to happen SO fast—breakthroughs in your FINANCES, PROMOTIONS, HEALING—that your HEAD will swim. Yes, there are seasons of patiently WAITING, being FAITHFUL, passing the TESTS, but there are also seasons where God will ACCELERATE the work and do things SO fast, so AMAZING that your HEAD will spin. God works where there’s FAITH, where there’s EXPECTANCY. Take the LIMITS off of God.

Today’s Scripture

Amos 9:13, MSG

“Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings!”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME TRYING TO CONVINCE THE WRONG PEOPLE

As was true for DANIEL in today’s Scripture, critics are always going to be around YOU. There will ALWAYS be SOMEBODY who doesn’t understand you, doesn’t like what you’re DOING, and who’s NEVER going to be for you. What a shame to waste TIME trying to convince them OTHERWISE when the FACT is that they’re NEVER going to change. I’m asking you to let GOD be your defender. He can make things happen that you can’t MAKE happen. He’s ALREADY lined up the right people to like you, the right people to CELEBRATE you, and the right people to push you into your PURPOSE just as Daniel did. Don’t waste your time trying to convince the wrong PEOPLE. Just keep running YOUR race, honoring God, and being a person of EXCELLENCE. If you DO this, all the forces of darkness cannot hold you back. GOD will settle your cases. He’s preparing a table before you right NOW in the presence of your enemies. He’s going to VINDICATE you, PROMOTE you, and HONOR you.

Today’s Scripture:

Daniel 6:4, NLT

Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

STAY IN PEACE AND STOP LETTING THINGS RUIN YOUR DAY…

The apostle Paul went through all kinds of UNFAIR situations. He was falsely ACCUSED of crimes, beaten with RODS, LIED about, put in PRISON, and SHOPWRECKED. In Acts 20, he gives us the secret of living a VICTORIOUS life: “NONE of these things MOVE me.” He was saying, “YES, there were setbacks and disappointments, but I did NOT lose my joy. GOD is still on the throne. Even being put in prison gave me the OPPORTUNITY to write about half of the books of the New Testament.” There’s ALWAYS something trying to move us, to pull us out of PEACE, to pull us OUT of rest. Are YOU allowing these things to move YOU? You can’t PRAY them AWAY. These are tests we ALL have to pass. Jesus said, “Do NOT let your hearts be TROUBLED.” He said troubles will BE there, but you don’t have to be MOVED by them. Stay in PEACE. Quit letting these THINGS ruin your DAY.

Today’s Scripture

Acts 20:24, NKJV

“None of these things move me.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T CONFUSE WHERE YOU ARE, WITH WHO YOU ARE

The Scripture speaks of how we are in the world, but we are not of the world. You may be in a LIMITED environment, but you don’t have to be OF it. Don’t let that environment get in YOU. If you see struggle, lack, and poverty LONG enough, your mind can become conditioned to thinking, THIS is who I am. I’ll NEVER have enough. NO, that’s WHERE you are, that’s not WHO you are. That may be what’s BEEN normal. The good news is, you’re a BARRIER BREAKER. SOME people try to put you in a box. They’ll tell you such things as, “You’ll never afford a nice house, never get well, never meet the right person.” Because THEIR thinking is LIMITED, they’ll try to put THIER limitations on YOU. You have to put your foot down and say, “I REFUSE to be mediocre because people AROUND me are mediocre. I AM a barrier breaker. I’m going to set a NEW standard.”

Today’s Scripture

John 17:14, NIV

“I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.”