THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

LET PEOPLE OFF THE HOOK AND GO TO GOD, HE’LL BRING YOU OUT BETTER

God has seen EVERYTHING that’s happened in your life–the injustice, the bad breaks, the person who did you wrong. Those people CANNOT pay you back. They cannot make you WHOLE. No matter how good a person IS, they can’t give you everything you NEED. Only GOD can meet your NEEDS. He said He will give you BEAUTY for ashes. He said He will pay you back DOUBLE for the unfair things that have happened. Quit looking to PEOPLE to make it up to you. Quit trying to get somebody to APOLOGIZE, to admit they were WRONG, to give you what they don’t have. When you let people off the HOOK and quit trying to make THEM perform perfectly and keep YOU fixed, not only will THEIR life be better, but YOUR relationships will improve.

Let people off the hook. If you go to GOD, He’ll bring you out BETTER. He’ll make the rest of your life more REWARDING and more FULFILLING than if those negative things hadn’t happened in the FIRST place.

Today’s Scripture:

Philippians 4:19, NIV

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

CUT THE ANCHOR AND COME OVER INTO HOPE…..

When life throws you a CURVE, you have to have the right PERSPECTIVE when dark times linger. A bad break, a disappointment, a divorce, or a sickness can’t STOP you. Keep hoping on in FAITH. God didn’t crown you with FAVOR and give you a royal robe so you could go around anchored to DOUBT, FEAR and BITTERNESS. Being HOPEFUL is about your soul being anchored to the right THING. If you’re not anchored to HOPE, you’ll become anchored to something ELSE. You can become ANCHORED to discouragement and see everything with a tainted PERSPECTIVE. EVERYTHING is sour. I know people who are anchored to BITTERNESS. They’re so focused on who HURT them and what wasn’t FAIR that bitterness has poisoned their whole LIVES. You can become anchored to self-PITY and go around with a CHIP on your shoulder, always thinking about how UNFAIR life has been. Being anchored to ANY of those things is going to keep you from your DESTINY. It’s time to CUT that anchor and come over into HOPE.

Today’s Scripture:

Psalm 8:5, NKJV

You have crowned him with glory and honor.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

WHEN THE PROMISE SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE, KEEP MOVING FORWARD

There are things that you’re believing for–you KNOW God has planted those seeds. The start is EXCITING, and the end will be REWARDING; but the TRUTH is, the middle can be MESSY. In some way we’re ALL in the middle; we’re all on a JOURNEY. You know God gave you a PROMISE, but every circumstance says just the OPPOSITE. Over TIME it’s easy to give up and think, “There are too many OBSTACLES. It’s NEVER going to happen.”

When you study the heroes of faith, one common denominator you’ll find is that they had faith in the MIDDLE. When the promise SEEMED impossible, they kept moving FORWARD, knowing it was a part of the PROCESS. They REFUSED to surrender to the trials or dark places. Yes, they had their MOMENTS. At times worry would come, fear would come, doubt would come, but they didn’t allow it to STAY. They stirred their FAITH back up and BELIEVED that the promise would HAPPEN. Now do YOUR part as THEY did–have FAITH in the MIDDLE.

Today’s Scripture:

1 Timothy 6:12, NLT

Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

START SINGING ABOUT HOW BIG OUR GOD IS, HE IS UNLIMITED…

In Numbers 21, the Israelites were desperate for water in the barren wilderness when they came upon an old dry well. Here the people sang, “Spring UP, O well!” even though they couldn’t SEE, TASTE, FEEL, or SMELL water. There was no reason, LOGICALLY speaking, to believe water would flow out of the WELL. That’s why the Scripture tells us to walk by FAITH and NOT by sight. If they had gone by what they SAW rather than had faith in the might and power of GOD, they would have MISSED this abundance.

In difficult times, you’re either going to be singing about the PROBLEM or singing about how BIG your GOD is. He is NOT limited by the laws of nature. He’s limited by what we BELIEVE. You have to make declarations of FAITH when you’re in the drought and break forth into SONG. Start singing to the PROMISE, “Spring up HEALING, spring up FREEDOM, spring up ABUNDANCE, spring up VICTORY,” and God will show out in your life in ways you’ve NEVER seen.

Today’s Scripture:

Zechariah 4:6, NKJV

So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

FREEDOM IS YOURS THE DAY YOU DECLARE IT

Today we celebrate the day our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776, declaring our FREEDOM as a nation even though the battle for freedom went ON until 1783. What’s INTERESTING is that the Founders DECLARED their freedom FIRST and CELEBRATED their decision to FIGHT, and THEN they stood their GROUND until they had the VICTORY to live as free men and women.

In the same WAY, we have to be determined to stand against the opposing forces in OUR lives–freedom from an addiction, an anxiety, a lack, a fear. No matter what battle YOU are facing, let THIS be the day you declare you are FREE and CELEBRATE your FREEDOM, because victory IS on the way. You may have to stand and press THROUGH for a little while, but know that freedom is YOURS the day you DECLARE it. Let freedom ring LOUDLY in your life, for he whom the SON sets free is free INDEED!

Today’s Scripture:

Galatians 5:1, NIV

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

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:

YOU MAY BE HAPPY WHERE YOU ARE, BUT GOD HAS BIGGER PLANS FOR YOU…..

Elisha had faithfully served the prophet Elijah for many years and went everywhere HE went. When Elijah was about to be taken to HEAVEN, he asked Elisha what HE wanted. You would think Elisha would ask for something ordinary, perhaps a monetary gift to provide for his FUTURE. But Elisha had learned how to pray BOLD prayers. He asked for a DOUBLE portion of Elijah’s SPIRIT. He was saying, “I want to have TWICE the anointing, twice the FAVOR, and to do TWICE as many MIRACLES.” Elijah COULD have said, “You have a LOT OF nerve. You better ask for something more REALISTIC.” But Elijah LIKED his boldness. He said in effect, “Stay with ME, and you’ll receive what you ASKED,” and that’s exactly what HAPPENED. Elisha went on to perform TWICE as many miracles as Elijah. That wouldn’t have HAPPENED if he had not been BOLD to see his destiny FULFILLED.

YOU may be happy where YOU are today, but God has BIGGER things, greater OPPORTUNITIES, and more INFLUENCE. Don’t get stuck because you’re not ASKING for all God has for you. Be BOLD.

Today’s Scripture:

2 Kings 2:9, NLT

Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.” And Elisha replied, “Please let me inherit a double share of your spirit and become your successor.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

FAVOR SO HEAVY THAT IT STARTS TO OVERWHELM YOU…..WHEN YOU OBEY GOD’S WORD

After Peter and his companions had fished all night and caught NOTHING, he obeyed Jesus’ instructions to try again and caught SO many fish that his NETS began to break. Peter was a professional fisherman and had NEVER caught so many fish that his nets began to BREAK, and he had to call on ANOTHER boat of companions to HELP him. He was ASTONISHED by it, AWESTRUCK by what followed his OBEDIENCE to Jesus’ word.

YOU may have been working hard, doing the right thing, but you feel like you’ve caught NOTHING. There weren’t any fish out there the LAST time, but God CONTROLS the fish. HE is saying, “Throw that net out ONE MORE TIME.” Start BELIEVING again, start DREAMING again, start taking steps of FAITH. God is going to do things in YOUR life that astonish YOU. It’s not going to be a NORMAL catch, an average CONTRACT, an ordinary PROMOTION. It’s going to be a NET-BREAKING blessing—something UNPRECEDENTED, favor so HEAVY that it starts to sink the BOAT.

Today’s Scripture:

Luke 5:9, NIV

For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken…

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

DON’T MISS YOUR MOMENT…..

God told the prophet Jonah to tell the people of Nineveh that in forty days He was going to their wicked city. God put a TIME period on it. He was SAYING, “You have forty days to get your LIVES right.” He DIDN’T say, “Whenever you FEEL like it is okay, just as long as you DO it.” When Jonah told the people, they and their king IMMDIATELY confessed their sorrow and declared a fast of REPENTANCE. They didn’t wait a week or twenty DAYS, and God SPARED the city.

Is there something YOU could change in the next forty days, and YOU would see God’s favor in a new way? Maybe God is saying, “You have this much time to get your PRIORITIES in order, to FORGIVE that person, or to get serious about your relationship with ME.” I don’t know what it is for YOU, but there’s a window of grace that doesn’t last FOREVER. It comes with a TIME limitation. Don’t miss your moment. Be QUICK to obey.

Today’s Scripture:

Jonah 3:4, NLT

On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:

BE AT PEACE WITH YOUR SCARS, THEY’RE PROOF THAT GOD HEALED YOU

While life brings its share of PHYSICAL scars from injuries, there are also INNER scars that come from what somebody said, from a breakup, from a failure we made, or from the loss of a loved one. So often we try to HIDE our scars from those wounds. They remind us of the HURT. But you need to see your scars in a NEW light. God ALLOWED that scar to REMIND you of what He brought you THROUGH. Don’t think of the PAIN, think of the grace of GOD. The scar means the wound has HEALED, the pain is OVER, and you’re moving FORWARD.

YOU can be at PEACE with your scars. Those scars tell your STORY. No one in the Scripture fulfilled their destiny WITHOUT battle scars. We ALL get wounded. The scar is proof that God HEALED you. The SCAR reminds you of the GREATNESS of God. Sure, you have a SCAR, but you’ve come through HEALED, RESTORED, VINDICATED, BLESSED, and fulfilling your PURPOSE.

Today’s Scripture:

Galatians 6:17, NLT

For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.