“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV.
“I long for you to desire and pursue My destiny for your life more than you desire to hold on to your past. I am your strength. I am the strength you need to release those you’ve held prisoner in your heart through unforgiveness. You will release them, and you will let them go, says the Lord. Know that I will never let the pain of your past outweigh the glorious future I have in store for you. My daughter, I’m creating in you a desire for Me and My will for your life. You will enjoy what you’ve never experienced in Me. You will let go of the familiar, and you will reach with everything in you to lay hold of My purpose and plan. You will let go of the hurt and pain, and you will reach and lay hold of all I have preordained for you to walk in. Your days of being a victim are over. Your days of replaying and reliving the past are over. That’s behind you now. I will help you walk in total and complete freedom. Says the Lord.”
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” John 16:33, NLT.
Real Christians face real trials. Once you believe in Jesus with your heart and confess Him with your mouth, you receive salvation, but that doesn’t mean you won’t go through anything. If you are facing a real challenge in your life, don’t think something is wrong with you or your salvation.
Maybe other Christians you see appear to be happy all of the time and look as if they aren’t going through anything at all. That’s not real! As long as you are in your fleshly body and living in this natural earthly realm, you will have many trials and tribulations. Your faith will be tried and what you believe will be put to the ultimate test. “But be of good cheer,” Jesus said, “I have overcome the world.” Take heart! Take courage! Believe God and His promises to you!
You can have peace in the storm, trusting that God has a divine plan for it all. He will use everything you’ve gone through to strengthen your faith, deepen your trust in Him, and make you an even more effective witness for His glory!
Prayer: Father God, thank you for encouraging me deeply today. No matter what I face, help me stay reminded that you are with me. Thank you for keeping me close to your side and never letting me go. Thank you for teaching me your truth and for causing me to always triumph through Christ. I love you! In Jesus name, Amen.
(Read 1 Corinthians 15:56-58; 2 Corinthians 2:14)
“Conduct yourself with wisdom in your interactions with outsiders (non-believers), make the most of each opportunity [treating it as something precious]. Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].”
Colossians 4:5-6, Amplified.
In this day and time, people are making eternal decisions. They are deciding whether they will reject Jesus or receive Him. Christians are also deciding whether they will continue to walk with Jesus or turn their backs on Him. The enemy desperately wants to cause many to spend eternity in hell with him, and he is using the fleshly responses of God’s people to nurture this unbelief and rejection of God. While people are hanging in the balance of whether they will believe or not believe, our responses and our love or lack thereof, could influence their decision.
It is important, my sister, that we know the great impact we have on every person we come in contact with. We are influencing eternal decisions by our response.
I challenge you by the grace of God to walk in love and wisdom when dealing with others. Don’t let your actions, your behaviors, and your responses be all the reason someone needs to turn their back on the Lord. Receive the wisdom of the Lord and the grace of God. If someone chooses to turn their backs on Him, don’t let it be because of you. Let your hands be clean before God. Be blameless and continue to love. Make the most of every opportunity to give people reason to believe.
Prayer: Father God, thank you for ministering to my heart your truth. I accept the challenge your Holy Spirit is giving me. Help me God to be the light you’ve called me to be. Help me be salt. Let my words be seasoned with grace. Help me not to give people reason to doubt you, but plenty of reason to believe to the saving of their souls. In Jesus name, Amen.
(Study Ephesians 5:15-16; Proverbs 11:30; Matthew 5:14-16)
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalms 19:14
We may not physically hit others, but when we demoralize and speak devastating words to those we say we love, we are displaying abusive behavior. When we discourage our children, strip our husbands of their esteem and honor, when we devalue our friends, or disrespect our leaders, we create an abusive environment that breeds resentment and rebellion. We also grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
Love builds people up; it doesn’t tear people down. Love gives people hope; it doesn’t shatter people’s dreams. Our loved ones can suffer broken spirits, lost hope, and severe low self-esteem from our destructive words and attitudes. This is unacceptable to God.
As a wife, add value to your husband and encourage him. His heart is supposed to safely trust in your hands (see Proverbs 31:11). As a mother, build up your children. They should feel safe, affirmed, and valued. As a sister in the Lord and a friend, build up and enrich the ladies God has placed in your life.
You have within you the power to enrich those around you and improve the quality of their life. You have within you the grace given by God to resist every temptation to speak abusively. Even when your emotions are high, you have the ability to tell yourself, “No! I’m not going to say that! I’m not going to be someone that abuses people with my words! I will help and not hurt people with my words! I will be the woman God has called me to be! I will use my mouth for His glory!”
Prayer: Lord, thank You for speaking to me. You are watching every word that comes out of my mouth. Please forgive me for all abusive and demeaning words I’ve said to others or even to myself. I cancel those words in Jesus name. Heal every heart I’ve hurt. Help me Lord to treat people the way I would want to be treated. I humble myself right now and submit to you. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. You’re my strength and my redeemer. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Read Ephesians 4:29-32; Colossians 4:6; Proverbs 14:1)
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” 2 Corinthians 4:17
Everything you have experienced in this season of your life has been preparing you for the next level of glory. People will wonder how are you able to do so well where He’s promoting you to, and it will be because of all that the anointing of God has taught you. You prayed for God to take you higher. He has heard you and is taking you deeper in your trust in Him. To get there, you’ll have to go through this. The higher you go, the deeper your trust must be. Your destiny awaits you, and He’s preparing you to walk in it!
Prayer: Father God, thank you for speaking to me and encouraging my heart. Thank you for everything you’ve brought me through. It has prepared me for the next level of glory. Help me to continue to trust you with my life as you take me from faith to faith and from glory to glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” Proverbs 4:7
As an abstract painter, I often look at a canvas for hours and have to rest and come back to it with fresh eyes. Whether I am working on a painting, making an important decision, or trying to figure out what to do about a problem, the concept remains the same. I have learned to put it down for a while, and if I still feel the same way hours or days later, then I continue with it.
In life, we can be so close to our situations that we find it difficult to know what to do. Step away from it for a while, and rest from thinking about it. Then, come back to it with fresh eyes. Doing this will put you in position to receive the wisdom God wants to give you for your situation.
Prayer: Father, I receive your wisdom. There are some situations in my life that I feel so close to, and I need to step away from it for a while, so I see it from your view. I ask that you help me, Lord, to receive your wisdom for every situation I encounter. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
“I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.” Song of Solomon 7:10, NIV.
When it came time to choose who I would marry, I remember pleading with God to speak to me. I wanted Him to speak with lightning in His voice and with the sound of many waters, “Kesha, marry this one!” In my mind, I had three options: The guy I had known since middle school which my mother absolutely adored, the guy from my youth ministry who was on fire for God, and the one I had met in college who was a campus ministry president, handsome, and loved the Lord. Right from the start, I knew there was something different about the third guy. So I stood back and observed how he treated others, how he treated his mother, how he treated me, and how he behaved in different situations. After years of building a solid friendship, I knew he was a good one, but was he the one for me?
I remember, as I sat on my bedroom floor, I said, “Lord, I don’t want to marry the wrong guy and be miserable. I desperately need you to show me if he’s for me!” God didn’t say a word. Instead, He opened my eyes to see the obvious: this guy loved me, and I loved him. He never pressured me to have sex before marriage, he never cursed at me, never raised his hand at me, never cheated on me, and never made me feel like anything less than God’s daughter. I wouldn’t have settled for anything less because I know who I am and what I deserve. But to see someone do this for me out of love for God blessed me to no end.
I chose to marry him because God helped me recognize real love.
If you are single ask yourself this, do you know real love when you see it? Real love is the bond that holds a relationship together through anything. That kind of love only comes from the Lord, my sister. It can only be seen when you stand back and observe.
God’s standard in any relationship is 1 Corinthians 13. If you are dating someone, ask yourself, is he patient? Is he kind? Is he easily angered? Is he jealous? Does he only look out for himself? And so on. If he doesn’t meet this standard, it would be wise to keep on waiting until God brings you the guy He has for you.
Don’t settle. Wait for real love.
Prayer: Father God, I thank you for your wisdom. I want real love. Help me understand what it is. Help me not be blinded by sexual desires or by what someone can do for me. Help me wait until you bless me with the one you have waiting for me. Open my eyes to see real love when he comes my way. Show me who I am and my worth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Read James 1:17; Hebrews 10:36)
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” Acts 20:24
If we are to be imitators of God, He always finishes what He starts. On the seventh day, He finished His work of creation and rested. Jesus finished His work on the cross. Now, it’s up to us to finish the race set before us by God’s grace. Feel Him propelling you forward. Hear His reassuring voice saying, “I’m with you. Keep your eyes on Me.”
In the past, you may have quit everything you started. But that changes right now, today. Declare that you are a finisher. You are made in God’s image and His likeness. You possess His divine attributes and characteristics, and one of those attributes of our Father is that He is a finisher. So are you.
Speak this by faith today: “I am made in the image of God, and if He is a finisher, I am a finisher too! I will finish what God has instructed me to do. I will finish my course with joy! I fix my eyes on the Lord, and I will not give up. The Lord is with me to help me finish!”
(Read Genesis 2:2; John 4:34; 2 Timothy 4:7; John 17:4; Hebrews 12:1-2; Galatians 6:9)
“And having lulled him to sleep on her lap, she called a man to shave off the seven braids of his head. In this way she began to subdue him, and his strength left him. Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him” Judges 16:19-20, Berean Study Bible.
The secret to our strength as believers lies in our growing relationship with the Lord. Take that away from us, and we are like anyone else. In the Bible, Samson knew the secret of his strength was in his hair. The devil also knew, and eventually, so did Delilah.
The enemy hasn’t created any new tricks, my sister. Just as he did with Samson, he is still lulling believers to sleep and getting them to disconnect from their source of strength. Then, as with Samson, he summons his demonic forces to come upon us in the same way he summoned the Philistines to come upon Samson. In our minds, we think to ourselves, I will be strong as before, or I can handle this as I’ve always done, but what we don’t realize is our strength comes from the Lord, and apart from Him, we can do nothing.
Anyone or anything that is not encouraging your growth in the Lord is a Delilah in your life. Don’t allow your heart to be turned away from the things of God. Don’t let your pursuit of Him take a back seat to something or someone else. Your relationship with the Lord is the secret to your strength.
“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I, in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing” John 15:5, New Living Translation.
Prayer: Lord, help me. I humble myself right now under your mighty hand, realizing that you are my strength, and I can’t do anything without you. My relationship with you is where I draw strength from to live. Help my heart to stay turned towards you. Help me to remain watchful for any Delilah’s in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Read 1 Peter 5:5-11)
“Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt” Numbers 14:3-4, ESV.
“There’s nothing for you in those old places where I delivered you. Don’t go back to bondage. Hold fast to My promise. If you hold on for a little while longer, I will make a way out of no way for you and your family. If you will obey Me and follow My ways, I will help you reach your place of promise. I will supply all your need according to My riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I am Jehovah-jireh your provider and I will keep My promise to you.”
(Read Genesis 22:14; Isaiah 43:19; Philippians 4:19)