THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

THE ENEMY CAN NOT KEEP YOU DOWN, CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY

Did you make up your mind to be happy this morning? It’s important to be on the offensive when it comes to your HAPPINESS. If you don’t set the tone EARLY in the day, the enemy will start reminding you of all your problems and everything that’s wrong in your life. Before long, you’ll be negative and discouraged. Notice that the Scripture doesn’t say, “I might be glad today if everything goes well, if I don’t get stuck in traffic, if my boss doesn’t yell at me, or if it doesn’t rain on my new hairdo.” No, the psalmist says, “I WILL rejoice and be glad.” No matter what kind of difficulties I face today—no matter who tries to make me upset—I CHOOSE to be happy.

Happiness is a DECISION you make, not an emotion you feel. Never forget that although you might not be able to choose your CIRCUMSTANCES, you can ALWAYS choose how you RESPOND to them. If you’ll make the decision to stay full of JOY, if you’ll choose to be happy in SPITE of your circumstances, the enemy can NOT keep you down and defeated. God will give you supernatural strength to overcome EVERY obstacle you face, and you’ll live that life of overcoming VICTORY He has in store for you.

Today’s Scripture

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24, ESV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

ENLARGE YOUR VISION AND BREAK FREE OF LIMITED MINDSETS

Can you imagine what it must have been like to be sailing on the Mayflower into an unknown and uncharted world? How did Neil Armstrong feel as he became the first person to ever step onto the surface of the moon? Those were risky and certainly life-changing times in history, but life-changing doesn’t just belong in the past. God STILL wants you to step out and do something great for HIS glory and for your BLESSING and FULFILLMENT.

It all begins in your THINKING. Don’t be contained in your mind. Let me tell you what I know about YOU. Some of you will write BOOKS that will touch millions of people. Some of you will develop MEDICINES that will impact our world. Some of you will have a MINISTRY that will shake NATIONS. Some of you will develop SOFTWARE that will revolutionize businesses. If YOU will break free from your limited MINDSET and enlarge your VISION, you will see God take you places that you’ve never even DREAMED of.

Today’s Scripture

So that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

Philippians 3:11, NLT

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

CHOOSE TO BE STABLE-MINDED BY FOCUSING YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE WORD……

One thing that can lead you away from your POTENTIAL and seeing the AWESOME PLAN God has for your life is your emotions. Emotions are God-given, but too often, people allow their circumstances to dictate their emotions and thoughts instead of the Word of God. When we allow our circumstances to dictate our emotions, when we are moved by what we see and experience, it opens the door for doubt and fear to come in. When we allow doubt and fear in, we become unstable. Understand this key: the way you FEEL today has little to do with what God is actually DOING in your life. He’s working behind the scenes whether you realize it or not! Don’t allow yourself to be tossed around by your emotions any longer. Instead, CHOOSE to be STABLE-MINDED by FOCUSING your THOUGHTS on the Word of God. Stand STRONG in Him so you can CONFIDENTLY EMBRACE the good plan He has for you!

Today’s Scripture:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.”

James 1:6, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

BE GENEROUS AND REFRESH OTHERS

Do you need refreshing today? So many people go around overwhelmed, tired, worn down, barely getting by. But that’s not God’s best. He wants us to prosper. He wants us to be refreshed. Here’s the key: be generous and refresh others. Is there someone at the office you can be a blessing to? Can you lighten someone’s load? Maybe a family member is going through a hard time. Can you help them out? Can you cook them a meal? Refreshing someone can be as simple as a smile or an encouraging word. Don’t wait until you feel like doing it, that day may never come! Do it because the Scripture tells us to. Do it because it blesses the Lord.

Today, look for someone to be a blessing to. Step out and refresh others; live a life of generosity. As you do, you will be refreshed in return and experience His blessing in every area of your life!

Today’s Scripture:

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Proverbs 11:25, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

CHOOSE TO PUT YOUR TRUST IN THE LORD, NO MATER HOW YOU ARE FEELING

FEAR is one of the enemy’s favorite tools to keep us from going forward. As soon as we make a DECISION to step out in FAITH, immediately, the enemy will bring fear to stop us. He’ll put thoughts in your mind like, “What if I fail? What will others think? Maybe I don’t have what it takes.” He’ll do his best to use fear to try to convince you to shrink back and just stay right where you are.

The BIBLE tells us that fear is a SPIRIT. It affects your emotions. But when you choose to put your TRUST in the Lord, no matter HOW you are feeling, you are COMBATING fear.

Today, don’t allow fear to trap you and hold you back. Instead, take a step of FAITH knowing that God IS on your side. He is FOR you and WITH you, LEADING and GUIDING you in the path of VICTORY all the days of your life.

Today’s Scripture:

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.”

Proverbs 29:25, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T BE DEFEATED BY FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN, THAT IS NOT THE NATURE GOD GAVE YOU

God says NOT to tremble or be dismayed by ANYTHING because He is with you WHEREVER you may go. That is such an ENCOURAGEMENT, and it’s absolutely TRUE! You should be walking around in life without even the slightest amount of fear because that is not the NATURE God gave you. You should REFUSE to be defeated by the things around you, even if they SEEM insurmountable. Perhaps one definition of courage might be staying STRONG and moving FORWARD even when most would give up and even surrender their ground to fear. Be STRONG and COURAGEOUS for God today, and do NOT allow yourself to be defeated by fear of the unknown!

Today’s Scripture

“…Be strong and courageous; Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

AS A BELIEVER, NOTHING CAN KEEP YOU FROM YOUR GOD-GIVEN DESTINY

Life is full of things that try to push us down. We all face disappointments and setbacks. Maybe you got some bad news concerning your health or maybe a relationship didn’t work out. That was a setback. It’s easy to get discouraged or lose your enthusiasm or even be tempted to just settle where you are. But if we’re going to see God’s BEST, we have to have a “BOUNCE BACK” mentality. That means when you get knocked down, you do NOT stay down. You get back UP again. You have to know that every time adversity comes against you, it’s a setup for a COMEBACK!

Remember, as a believer, the same power that raised Christ from the dead lives on the INSIDE of you. There is NO challenge too difficult, no obstacle too HIGH, no sickness, no disappointment, no person, NOTHING that can keep you from your God-given DESTINY. If you stay in FAITH, then God will turn what was meant to be a stumbling block into a STEPPINGSTONE, and you’ll move forward as a CHAMPION full of FAITH and VICTORY!

Today’s Scripture:

“For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again…”

(Proverbs 24:16, NIV)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

IF GOD SAID IT, HE WILL DO IT…AND GOD SAID “YOU ARE BLESSED”

When God commanded light to come forth, IT CAME—at 186,000 miles per second! When God commands something, you can be SURE that it’s going to happen. In the same way that He commanded the worlds to be formed, God commanded that you be BLESSED. He commanded that you PROSPER and INCREASE. He commanded that you be ABOVE only and NOT beneath. As a believer and follower of Jesus, you are called to be the HEAD and NOT the tail. If you will get into AGREEMENT with God, then you will see this commanded BLESSING take you further than you EVER thought possible.

Today, set your heart and mind on His GOODNESS. BELIEVE that He is ready to take you places that you’ve never dreamed. RECEIVE His promises because He is FAITHFUL. If God said it, He will do it…and God said, you are BLESSED!

Today’s Scripture:

“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”

Genesis 1:3, NIV

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WAKE UP EXCITED ABOUT EVERY SINGLE DAY

God has already prepared paths for you to take in your FUTURE! When God laid out the plan for your life, He lined up the right PEOPLE, the right CIRCUMSTANCES and the right BREAKS. In your future, He’s already released FAVOR, supernatural OPPORTUNITIES and divine CONNECTIONS. The breaks you need in life have ALREADY been preordained to come across your path. If you will stay in faith and go out each day and be a person of EXCELLENCE, you’ll WALK into these appointments of favor. It will be just as if you STUMBLED into God’s BLESSINGS!

When you really UNDERSTAND this principle, you’ll begin to get excited about EVERY single day! You’ll have a SPRING in your step as you think about what BLESSING is coming NEXT! It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be next week. Keep EXPECTING. Keep BELIEVING. Stay FOCUSED on the fact that God has ALREADY released into your future EVERYTHING you need to fulfill your DESTINY. Start declaring seasons of increase over YOUR life. Declare that favor IS on you and opportunities ARE coming. As you do, you’ll move forward into the FAVOR and BLESSING God has ordered for YOU!

Today’s Scripture:

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

Ephesians 2:10, NASB

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

TODAY, ABOVE ALL, CHOOSE LOVE

So often, people try to make others fit into their own mold, conform to their IDEAS, and be just like them. We think, “If they would just CHANGE, then I wouldn’t get upset. If they would just do it the way I want, then they wouldn’t get on my nerves.” But really, we need to give people room to be who GOD created them to be.

Life is too short to spend it trying to fix everybody. Sure, we should encourage people and help them grow and come up higher. But we have to get to the point where we step back and say, “All right, this is who GOD made them to be, and I’m going to accept them the way they are. Just because they don’t have my same strengths, I’m not going to let that frustrate ME.” We have to CHOOSE LOVE every day because LOVE covers over our differences and offenses. LOVE is what allows us to APPRECIATE what others bring into our lives, and it brings us together in UNITY.

Today, above all, choose LOVE. Choose to focus on the things that make your RELATIONSHIPS stronger because in the end, LOVE is all that remains.

Today’s Scripture:

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers…”

1 Peter 4:8, NIV