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:

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!”