THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THAT DIFFICULTY DIDN’T COME TO STAY, IT CAME TO PASS……

There are times when we feel OVERWHELMED by a loss, by a sickness, or by being treated UNFAIRLY by someone, and we say, “I can’t take the STRESS, the WORRY, the DEMANDS. It’s too much to HANDLE.” But God wouldn’t be a just God if He didn’t DESIGN you with exactly what you NEED. The apostle Paul says that God will NEVER let you face more pressure than you can handle. He will make a way of ESCAPE so you can BEAR it.

Now, you can choose in your mind to give UP and think, “I can’t DO this,” OR, you can choose to “not FAINT in your mind” (Hebrews 12:3). Your inner DESIGN is STRONG enough, now get your MIND strong enough. Quit telling yourself, “It’s too BIG. It’s been this way too LONG. I can’t TAKE it anymore.” You are well ABLE. NO weapon formed against you will prosper. That difficulty didn’t come to STAY, it came to PASS. Be strong and of good COURAGE, for the Lord your God IS WITH you.

Today’s Scripture:

1 Corinthians 10:13, ESV

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD HAS BROUGHT YOU THIS FAR, AND THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GOING TO KEEP YOU GOING

When you look BACK over your life, you can see the GOODNESS of God. There were the times when He made a WAY when you didn’t SEE a way. You were at the right PLACE at the right TIME. Your health didn’t LOOK good, but SOMEHOW it turned AROUND. You made mistakes that should have held you BACK, but God in His mercy COVERED you. He brought you OUT, and now you’re BLESSED and fulfilling your PURPOSE. You didn’t GET to where you are by YOURSELF. It was the hand of GOD. He’s been working behind the SCENES in your life, pushing back forces of darkness.

What has God DONE in your life? Are you RECOGNIZING it, are you living AMAZED, filled with GRATITUDE? Take time every day to ACKNOWLEDGE how GREAT His GOODNESS has been in your life. If you’re going to continue to go FURTHER, you need to remember that the Lord your God has brought you THIS far, and the Lord your God is going to keep you GOING.

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 31:19, TLB

Oh, how great is your goodness to those who publicly declare that you will rescue them. For you have stored up great blessings for those who trust and reverence you.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

GOD DOESN’T NEED YOUR TALENT, ABILITY OR EDUCATION. HE NEEDS FOR YOUR FAITH TO GET IN AGREEMENT WITH HIM

When God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He said the Promised Land was theirs to go in and POSSESS. He promised they would DEFEAT every enemy and come into ABUNDANCE. But when the ten spies came back with the report that the people were too BIG and POWERFUL, the people became AFRAID and wanted to go back to being SLAVES. Instead of staying with a committed FAITH in the PROMISE, they dragged their feet in UNBELIEF. What happened? They never made it into the Promised Land because the promised HOPE wasn’t mixed with FAITH.

God’s promises give us HOPE. What YOU’RE mixing with the PROMISES will determine whether they come ALIVE, and you see God’s favor and blessing and receive everything He’s PROMISED. The SCRIPTURE says, “Without FAITH it’s impossible to PLEASE God.” He doesn’t necessarily NEED your talent, your ability, or your education. He needs your FAITH to get in AGREEMENT with Him, to take that PROMISE and BELIEVE it will come to PASS.

Today’s Scripture:

Hebrews 6:11–12, MSG

I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope and keep at it till the finish. Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU WILL BECOME WHAT YOU BELIEVE…..

Abram was ninety-nine years old when God promised him that he and Sarah were going to have a BABY. BOTH of them were way too old, but God did something UNUSUAL. In addition to giving them the promise, He CHANGED Abram’s name to ABRAHAM, which means “father of many nations.” Every time someone said, “Hello, ABRAHAM,” they were saying, “Hello, father of many nations.” When he had NO child with Sarah, they were speaking FAITH into his DESTINY, and during the following YEAR, baby ISAAC was born.

That’s why it’s so important to start calling YOURSELF what GOD says about YOU. What you continually HEAR gets down INSIDE. You will become what you BELIEVE. Every time you say, “I am BLESSED. I am PROSPEROUS. I am HEALTHY,” it’s getting deeper INSIDE, it’s changing your self-IMAGE, it’s REPROGRAMMING your MIND. The change may not happen OVERNIGHT, but God IS changing your NAME. Having the right NAME is what’s going to help you stay STRONG so YOU can become what God says about YOU.

Today’s Scripture:

Genesis 17:5, NIV

No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

YOU HAVE TO KEEP GETTING BACK UP AND OUTLAST THE ATTACKS

When life knocks you down, steps on you, takes your HEALTH, or squashes your DREAMS, you just have to get back UP again. The way you win SOME battles is not by DEFEATING them but by OUTLASING the opposition. You have COMEBACK power. Some enemies are STUBBORN. You can’t be weak and give up because it’s not happening on YOUR timetable. You have to OUTLAST the trouble at work, outlast the slow SEASON in your FINANCES, outlast the difficulty in your MARRIAGE. We ALL want God to deliver us from attacks, but if He’s not CHANGING it, then it’s really SIMPLE–you have to keep getting back up and OUTLAST the attacks.

Sometimes we think God has FORGOTTEN about us. We’ve seen Him turn situations around in the PAST, but THIS problem won’t seem to go AWAYU. You have to have a HOLY determination and say, “Staying down is NOT an option. I’m going to OUTLAST this sickness, this addiction, this injustice, these critics.” The VICTORY will come through OUTLASTING it.

Today’s Scripture:

Proverbs 24:16, HCSB

Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

KEEP TRAVELING STEADY AND KEEP TRUSTING GOD…..

Most of us don’t like times of WAITING. We’re interested in the DESTINATION, but God is interested in the JOURNEY. When we understand that He’s working IN us along the WAY, waiting and patience become a part of the PROCESS. When you stay FAITHFUL in the WAITING times, when you don’t get impatient and complain because it’s taking so long, when you don’t get UPSET because the door CLOSED, when you’re traveling STEADILY along God’s pathway and HONORING Him, He will give you EVERY blessing. You won’t HAVE to make it happen in your OWN strength, and you won’t have to MANIPULATE people or try to FORCE the door to open. God will GIVE you the position, give you the SPOUSE, give you the INFLUENCE. Don’t FIGHT the wait time. You’re not falling behind. God has already lined UP the blessings He’s going to give you. He’s already put your NAME on things BIGGER and BETTER than you’ve imagined. Now keep traveling STEADILY, keep TRUSTING Him when you don’t see anything HAPPENING.

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 37:34, TLB

Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF, GOD WILL DIRECT YOUR STEPS….

We all have SITUATIONS that we don’t see how they’re going to work OUT. We do our BEST to find a solution, but there are SOME things God doesn’t WANT us to know. He HAS the SOLUTION, but if He showed you right NOW, it wouldn’t take any FAITH. If you could see the PROVISION, the HEALING, or the FAVOR that He is GOING to bring, it would be EASY to believe. The TEST comes when we DON’T have the answers. Thoughts tell us, “How are you going to make it after you RETIRE? What if your health DOESN’T improve?” Sometimes there is no LOGICAL solution. The more we try to reason it OUT, the more DISCOURAGED we get. This is what FAITH is all about. You don’t HAVE to come up with a plan. You have to be comfortable NOT knowing.

Sometimes we think it’s a LACK of faith to say “I don’t know.” Take the PRESSURE off. GOD knows. He has you in the palms of His HANDS. HE WILL direct your steps.

Today’s Scripture:

Proverbs 3:5–6, MSG

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

RESIST THE ENEMY AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU

Sometimes ORGANIZED RELIGION tells us that GOD puts sicknesses on us to TEACH us something. Granted, you MAY learn something while you’re SICK, but GOD doesn’t SEND sicknesses, afflictions, or addictions to TEACH you. Jesus said that if EARTHLY fathers give their children good things, “how much MORE will your Father in HEAVEN give good things to those who ASK.” What loving FATHER would EVER say, “I put this SICKNESS on my child to teach them a LESSON”?

As long as you THINK sickness comes from God, you’re not going to have FAITH to get RID of it. You need to see EVERY sickness, every illness, and every addiction as the work of the ENEMY. Don’t say, “MY cancer…MY diabetes…MY arthritis.” It’s NOT yours. It doesn’t BELONG to you. Your BODY is a TEMPLE of the Most-High GOD. The SCRIPTURE says, “RESIST the enemy, and he will FLEE from you.” You have to RESIST it. Don’t ACCEPT it as the norm. It may be there NOW, but it’s in the process of LEAVING.

Today’s Scripture:

Matthew 7:11, NIV

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T TALK ABOUT HOW BIG THE ENEMY IS, TALK ABOUT HOW BIG YOUR GOD IS…..

In 2 Chronicles 32, the king of Syria had invaded Judah with a HUGE army, and Jerusalem was NEXT to be attacked. He sent a letter to the Israelites DEFYING them to trust God. But King Hezekiah had declared, “Don’t be afraid of this mighty ARMY., for there is a power far GREATER on OUR side. We have the Lord our GOD to fight our battle.” And God sent an angel to DESTROY the whole Syrian army.

The enemy will ALWAYS try to defeat you in your THOUGHTS first. Our mind is the COLTROL center of our LIFE. If he can get our MIND cluttered, filled with fear and doubt, filled with what-ifs, it keeps God from turning things AROUND. If YOU are facing a big enemy, remind yourself that our God is BIGGER than the cancer, bigger than the OPPOSITION, bigger than the ADDICITION, and BIGGER than the financial PROBLEM. Don’t talk about how big the ENEMY is; talk about how big your GOD is. Get READY. Angels are ON the way.

Today’s Scripture:

2 Chronicles 32:14, NLT

Which of their gods was able to rescue its people from the destructive power of my predecessors? What makes you think your God can rescue you from me?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

REST ASSURED, IT’S ON THE WAY….

When the young shepherd David heard the giant Goliath taunting the Israelites, something rose UP in him. He said, “Who IS this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living GOD?” God put the dream in him right there to DEFEAT Goliath. When David told King Saul that HE would defeat Goliath, you would think Saul would have been excited to finally have SOMEBODY step up to the FIGHT, but he did JUST the opposite. HOWEVER, David REFUSED to BELIEVE the limitations and declared his victory before bringing Goliath DOWN.

The reason some people don’t support or encourage YOU when you feel GOD has spoken something to YOU is because God didn’t PUT the dream in them. They can’t SEE what you see or feel what you FEEL. They may LOVE you and think they’re PROTECTING you and doing you a FAVOR by telling you what you can’t do. But you have an EMPOWERMENT that WILL cause it to come to pass. Rest assured it’s ON the way.

Today’s Scripture:

1 Samuel 17:33, NLT

“Don’t be ridiculous!” Saul replied. “There’s no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win! You’re only a boy, and he’s been a man of war since his youth.