THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T LET THE CONTRADICITIONS OF LIFE CAUSE YOU TO GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS

ALL of us have secret frustrations–things that we KNOW God could CHANGE. We KNOW He could open the door, or remove the temptation, or give us the HEALING, but it’s not HAPPENING. It’s easy to get stuck with the “why” questions. When you have a secret frustration, don’t FOCUS on it. Rather, you have to REALIZE that God is SOVEREIGN. You’re not going to UNDERSTAND why everything happens or doesn’t happen. God doesn’t REMOVE some things. He waits a long time to change some SITUATIONS. You have to TRUST that He knows what’s BEST for you. His ways are BETTER than our ways. His thoughts are HIGHER than our thoughts. If you keep the right ATTITUDE, all those frustrating SITUATIONS that are not changing won’t work AGAINST you, but INSTEAD will work FOR you. Don’t let the CONTRADICTIONS of life cause you to get sour and give up on your DREAMS.

Today’s Scripture

Isaiah 41:10, NIV

“Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOUR LIFE IS GOING TO FOLLOW YOUR THOUGHTS

In modern times, today’s Scripture would say, “Some trust in MONEY and some in their JOB. Some trust in what the ECONOMISTS say, but we trust in the GOD who created it ALL. He’s called Jehovah Jireh, ‘the Lord our PROVIDER.'” When you meditate on THAT, you WON’T have fear. You’ll have PEACE and be at REST. You KNOW God is in control, and He can give you VICTORY. But it ALL depends on what’s going on in your THOUGHT life. You can meditate on the problem, or you can meditate on the PROMISES. Meditating on the problem doesn’t make it BETTER, it makes it WORSE. If you don’t set your mind on trusting GOD, the enemy will set it FOR you. He will remind you of how BAD you have it, how many mistakes you’ve made, and all the people who have come AGAINST you, on and on. Your LIFE is going to follow your THOUGHTS.

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 20:7, NIV

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

IF YOU’RE GOING TO LIVE IN VICTORY, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

How we see our difficulties very often will determine whether or not we get out of them. When you face challenges and things come against you, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and start thinking, This is never going to work out. I’ll just have to learn to live with it. That kind of thinking not only pushes you down, but it stops God from working. It’s going to attract fear, worry, and doubt. Many people settle for mediocrity. You have to change your PERSPECTIVE. If you’re going to live in victory, you have to see every sickness, every obstacle, and every temptation as being under your feet. It’s no match for you. It’s not going to keep you from your destiny. It’s already defeated. God is going to use it as a steppingstone to take you higher. It’s just a matter of time before you break through to a new level.

Today’s Scripture

1 Corinthians 15:27, NIV

For he “has put everything under his feet.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

LOVE MAKES ALLOWENCES FOR OTHER PEOPLES WEAKNESSES

In RELATIONSHIPS, we all have disagreements, tension, and stress. When we do, we need to step back and remember that LOVE makes ALLOWENCES for other people’s weaknesses. LOVE COVERS a wrong done to it. You have to rise ABOVE these petty things that are pulling you APART. Give people room to have a bad day. When they’re rude, don’t RESPOND. Be an EAGLE and rise ABOVE it. Life is too short for you to live at odds, being contentious, arguing over things that don’t MATTER. Some people have to have the last word in every argument. Don’t be hardheaded. Let it GO. Quit wasting your ENERGY. You have a DESTINY to fulfill. You have an ASSIGNMENT to accomplish. Those are distractions trying to pull you off COURSE. Zip it UP and let the other person be RIGHT. You may KNOW they’re wrong, but it doesn’t MATTER. Don’t waste your valuable TIME on something that’s not moving you toward your PURPOSE.

Today’s Scripture

1 Peter 4:8, NLT

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD WILL GIVE YOU REST FROM YOUR ENEMIES…..

King Asa of Judah inherited a kingdom that was FILLED with idolatry. His father had passed down compromise, mediocrity, and dysfunction. But Asa UNDERSTOOD that just because something negative is passed down doesn’t mean you have to CONTINUE it and let it limit your LIFE. He smashed the pagan shrines and altars, and BECUASE of it, the Lord gave him REST from his enemies. If you want REST from that bad attitude, that addiction, or that low self-esteem that most likely was passed down to you, you have get RID of it. Be an ASA and say, “I’m NOT going to let this anger rule my LIFE. I’m going to pull that stronghold down and SMASH it. I’m not going to put UP with this anxiety and insecurity. I’m REMOVING these limitations. I’m living in PEACE. I’m going to ENJOY my LIFE.” When you make a DECISION that enough is ENOUGH, God will begin to give REST from your enemies.

Today’s Scripture:

2 Chronicles 14:3, 6, NIV

He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles… . No one was at war with him during those years, for the LORD gave him rest.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF YOU EMPTY OUT THE NEGATIVE, GOD WILL HAVE ROOM TO FILL YOUR LIFE WITH GOOD THINGS

The reason some people aren’t YOUNG and STRONG in their SPIRIT and VIBRANT and PASSIONATE about LIFE is that there’s no ROOM for God to fill them with GOOD things. All the SPACE is taken up with negatives. Worry will make you WEAK. Living stressed out will make you old and take your PASSION. Being bitter, angry, and resentful will shorten your LIFE. Is God trying to fill YOU with JOY, CONFIDENCE, and CREATIVITY, but there’s no ROOM? If you empty out the negative, God will have ROOM to fill your life with GOOD things. Instead of hanging on to bitterness after someone does you wrong, say, “God, I FORGIVE them. I let it GO.” You didn’t just FORGIVE; you made ROOM for God to give you BEAUTY for ashes. When you empty out worry, you’ll have PEACE in the midst of the storm. Empty out discouragement, and He’ll fill you with JOY. He’ll fill you with GOOD things.

Today’s Scripture

Psalm 103:5, NLT

He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THE REAL TEST OF FAITH…..

God DESTINED Joseph to become a ruler in Egypt so he could help his family and the world in a time of widespread famine. That was the END. It was ESTABLISHED. Joseph started off WELL, but his story took several unusually dark TWISTS–from being sold into slavery to being put in prison for something he hadn’t DONE. He COULD have thought, God gave me a DREAM, but it sure didn’t work out. But Joseph knew HIS end had been SET, so he just kept being his BEST. If Joseph were here TODAY, he would say, “Don’t get discouraged by life’s DETOURS and TWISTS. God knows how to weave it all together, and in the END, you”ll come out fulfilling your PURPOSE, seeing what He PROMISED.” This is the REAL test of FAITH. Will YOU keep a good attitude when you’re doing the RIGHT thing but the WRONG thing is HAPPENING, knowing that YOUR end is ESTABLISHED?

Today’s Scripture

1 Peter 1:7, ESV

…so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD’S POWER WILL SET YOU FREE

A YOKE is put around the neck of oxen to help CONTROL the animal. It LIMITS its movement. If the oxen starts to get off course, the yoke is used to pull it back. Even though an oxen is very POWERFUL, this small yoke keeps it from doing what it wants to DO. Perhaps YOU’RE living with a yoke today, and you don’t REALIZE it. You wonder why you can’t get ahead or why everything is a struggle. It’s because of a YOKE that is dragging you down. Poverty, lack, and barely getting by are a YOKE. Negative words that were spoken over you BECOME a yoke when they cause you to shrink BACK. You have to declare what ISAIAH stated, “The ANOINTING on my life is breaking EVERY yoke.” Every time you say, “I am ANOINTED,” chains are broken. Fear has to LEAVE. Depression HAS to go. HEALING comes. STRENGTH comes. FAITH comes. God’s burden-moving, yoke-destroying POWER will set you FREE!

Today’s Scripture

Isaiah 10:27, KJV

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU CAN’T FEED YOUR HISTORY AND FEED YOUR DESTINY AT THE SAME TIME…

Today’s Scripture says offenses and betrayals WILL come—loss, bad breaks, things we don’t understand. It’s painful enough when it happens, but if you make the mistake of going around FEEDING the hurt, FEEDING the offense, you’re giving LIFE to bitterness, resentment, and discouragement. Don’t FEED the self-pity or what didn’t work out. Don’t RELIVE the hurts. You can’t FEED your history and FEED your destiny at the same TIME. What’s happened to you is over and DONE. Quit THINKING about how you were raised, what you didn’t get, who hurt you, who you lost—that’s history, that’s BEHIND you. You have to STARVE the doubts, starve the negative comments people have spoken over you, STARVE the guilt and condemnation. You can’t go into a NEW season if you’re always looking back at the OLD. Now do YOUR part and keep FEEDING your FAITH, your HOPES, your DREAMS, and you WILL step up to a NEW level and see those dreams come to PASS.

Today’s Scripture

Matthew 18:7, NIV

“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come…”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF GOD ALLOWED IT, HE KNOWS HOW TO BRING GOOD OUT OF IT

We’d love to NOT have any pain, suffering, bad breaks, betrayals, or loss, but that’s not REALITY. Difficulties WILL come, and pain is a part of LIFE, so keep the right PERSPECTIVE: there is PORPOSE in your pain. If everything were ALWAYS easy, we wouldn’t be prepared for our DESTINY. In the tough, dark times, God is getting you PREPARED. He knows exactly what you NEED and WHEN you need it. Every struggle is making you STRONGER. Every difficulty is growing you UP. You may not like it, but every painful SEASON is developing something in you that can be developed ONLY in the tough times. That difficulty is an OPPORTUNITY to develop CHARACTER, to gain a greater TRUST in God. If God ALLOWED it, He knows how to bring good OUT of it. Don’t just GO through it; GROW through it and keep a good ATTITUDE. Count it all JOY, knowing that this pain is going to LEAD to your GAIN.

Today’s Scripture

James 1:2–3, NKJV

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.