2022-09-18
Mark 11:23 NKJV
To overcome discouragement, you need to do two things. (1) Speak the right words. One of the main causes of discouragement is negative self-talk. In his book Spiritual Depression, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of Britain’s finest heart surgeons, writes, “Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself.” By that he means we allow negative messages from our past to affect our thinking instead of actively telling ourselves good things that will assist us in thinking more positively (See Philippians 4:8). Jesus said: “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain [problem], ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Mark 11:23 NKJV). Words are powerful. They can reinforce your fears or strengthen your faith. The choice is yours.
(2) Maintain the right expectations. Clergyman J. Wallace Hamilton once observed, “Every person’s life is a diary in which he or she means to write one story and is forced to write yet another.” Haven’t you found that to be true in your own experience? So often, life turns out differently from what you planned. But here is the good news: The story you write can actually be better than the one you imagined – but you need to have the right expectations. Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote the uplifting song lyrics, “I anticipate the inevitable, supernatural intervention of God. I expect a miracle!” What are you anticipating? Before you answer that question, pick up the Bible and see what God has promised you – then claim it!
Soul food: 1 Kings 3:4-28; Jam 1:2-8
2022-09-17
Jeremiah 32:17 NIV
If the issue you’re wrestling with has discouraged you and gotten you down, here is what you need to do: First, take a short look at the problem. Someone once said, “To hatch despair, just brood over your troubles.” Many people who experience setbacks ask why. But they never move beyond the question to the answer. Certainly, you can’t solve your problems by ignoring them, but you can’t solve them by becoming fixated and immobilised by them either. Once you recognise and analyse the problem, you need to focus on the solution.
Second, take a long look at the possibilities. Sometimes the problem you face can help you see possibilities you didn’t know existed. When Louis Waterman needed to sign a document to close a deal, the fountain pen he was using wouldn’t write. As a result, Waterman worked to develop the now-famous fountain pen that bears his name worldwide. A culture Dr. Alexander Fleming was working on in St. Mary’s Hospital in London was altered when mold was accidentally introduced into it. But the result gave birth to the miracle drug penicillin, saving millions of lives.
It’s very likely that if you’re facing something negative today, there is an opportunity contained in it somewhere, somehow. It may not be easy to find, and it may not lead to a major breakthrough like it did for Waterman and Fleming. But then again – it might – especially if it causes you to turn to God for answers. In the words of Jeremiah, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
Soul food: Ezek 37:1-40:9; Mark 13:24-37; Ps 78:65-72; Prov 20:26-30
2022-09-16
Colossians 2:14 NLT
When someone is arrested for a crime and brought into court, the prosecutor will say, “The charges against you are… ” At that point, they hope their attorney can get the charges dismissed. Well, God has a record of every sin you have committed from the womb to the tomb. It details all the bad decisions you have made, the hateful acts, the unforgiving attitudes, the prejudice, the greed, the lust, the lies; He has recorded them all.
But you have never seen that record, nor has anyone else. That’s because “he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (vv. 13-14 NLT). Knowing full well that the price for our sins was death, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time… he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God” (1 Peter 3:18 NLT). Notice the words “forgave” and “canceled the record” of the sins you have committed. The cross is like a trading post. There, at the point of believing faith, God takes all your sins and puts them on Christ’s account, while at the same time taking all Christ’s righteousness and putting it on your account.
Is there a limit to God’s love? If there is, David the adulterer never found it. Nor Paul the persecutor of Christians. Nor Peter the liar. Nor the thief on the cross. And you won’t find it either. When Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished,” God wrote “Paid in full” over every sin you would ever commit. The word “justified” simply means “just-if-I’d-never-sinned.” How good is that?
Soul food: Ezek 34-36; Mark 13:12-23; Ps 78:56-64; Prov 20:25
2022-09-15
John 13:17 KJV
Jesus summed up His teaching on happiness this way: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” The Bible gives us three keys that are vital to happiness.
(1) Be content (See 1 Timothy 6:8). A man who tried everything to get rid of dandelions called a garden shop and asked, “What can I try next?” The store owner said, “Try getting used to them!” In life, you get what you focus on. Paul writes, “Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8 NLT).
(2) Be grateful (See 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Look around and be grateful for what God has given you. And if you can’t, thank Him for what He has protected you from. The devil doesn’t have to steal anything from you, just make you take it for granted. “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another” (John 1:16 NLT).
(3) Learn to appreciate your loved ones. “Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others” (1 Corinthians 10:24 NLT). George Eliot wrote: “Oh… the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person; having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”
Remember, happiness is not an entitlement; it’s a reward for doing the right thing every single day.
Soul food: Ezek 31-33; Mark 13:1-11; Ps 78:40-55; Prov 20:22-24
2022-09-14
Psalm 42:6 NLT
Max Lucado says: “When God doesn’t do what we want it’s not easy; it never has been, and it never will be. Faith is the conviction that God knows more than us… and he’ll get us through. Disappointment is caused by unmet expectations… and it’s cured by revamped expectations… Don’t panic… don’t give up… be patient… God’s in control. It ain’t over till it’s over.”
So, when you’re disappointed: (1) Look inward. David asked, “Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?” (v. 5 NLT). Admit how you feel. You can’t deal with what you don’t acknowledge. Ask God to show you the root of the problem. Is it pent-up anger? Envy? Unforgiveness? Pride? Lust? Physical and mental fatigue? Be open to what He reveals.
(2) Look upward. David said, “I will… hope in God! I will praise him” (v. 5 NLT). Instead of focusing on your discouragement, focus on the One who knows the way out.
(3) Remember God’s past faithfulness. David said, “I am… discouraged, but I will remember you.” Through every trial Joseph clung to the assurance that God still controlled his destiny. Recalling God’s faithfulness builds your confidence that He’ll continue to provide.
(4) Remember, you don’t have to understand. Just because you can’t figure out what God’s doing right now, doesn’t mean it won’t make sense later. He “causes all things to work together for good to those who love [Him]” (Romans 8:28 NAS).
(5) Don’t give in to bitterness. When your hopes are dashed, resentment can set in. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (v. 31 NKJV). Regardless of how deep the pit may seem, God is on your side!
Soul food: Ezek 27:25-30:26; Mark 12:28-44; Ps 78:32-39; Prov 20:20-21
2022-09-13
Isaiah 55:8 NCV
God said, “My thoughts are not like your thoughts… Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my… thoughts higher than your thoughts” (vv. 8-9 NCV). Until you come to terms with the fact that God doesn’t think like you, you will question His ways and even doubt His love. We try to avoid pain, but often God uses it to bring us peace. We want comfort, but He is more interested in character. We pursue stuff that doesn’t last, whereas He tells us to build our lives on that which endures for eternity.
The fact is, God dwells in a dimension we can’t begin to fathom: Solomon said, “No one can really build a house for our God. Not even the highest of heavens can hold him” (2 Chronicles 2:6 NCV). What controls you doesn’t control God, and what worries you doesn’t worry Him.
Ask yourself: Is an eagle agitated by traffic? No, he soars above it. Is a whale disturbed by a hurricane? Of course not; he dives beneath it. Is a lion flustered by a mouse standing in his way? No, he walks over it. How much more is God able to soar above, dive beneath, and walk over the troubles of earth? What is impossible with man is possible with God (See Matthew 19:26). God can be everywhere at once, and He can hear and answer all the prayers that come to Him.
Think about it: God works according to a plan and a purpose, He’s on the throne and in control of everything – yet He still watches over every detail of your life. Let that truth comfort you today.
Soul food: Ezek 24:1-27:24; Mark 12:13-27; Ps 78:17-31; Prov 20:15-19
