2020-05-13
Daniel 2:21 NIV
Realize that rough times won’t last forever. As surely as God created spring to follow winter, “He changes times and seasons…He gives wisdom.” The season of adversity you’re in will end. And when it does, you’ll glean from it the wisdom to build a better future. Sometimes your greatest blessings come from your most negative circumstances. Paul writes, “Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). Tough times don’t last, but tough people do! Out of your greatest tests come your greatest testimonies. Don’t make major decisions during a storm. Thoughts and feelings often run wild in the midst of a crisis; those are times when you need to be careful about making decisions. Remain calm, discipline yourself to focus on what you can do, and trust God to do what you can’t. Just as a pilot error can cause a plane to be diverted from its intended destination, or have to make a dangerous emergency landing, a bad decision can divert or delay you from reaching your destiny. Let your emotions subside – before you decide. You may not always have that option, but as much as possible, put significant decisions on hold until your storm passes. Just as the wind blows about wildly during a storm, your thoughts can become wild and frantic, and that’s not the best time to make crucial assessments. What should you do? Paul answers, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and…His peace will guard your hearts and minds” (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).
Soul food: Num 27-29; Mark 8:27-38; Ps 62; Prov 11:15
Daniel 2:21 NIV
When we’re going through a rough time, we need to remember that it won’t last forever. Just as there are seasons throughout the year, there are seasons in our lives too. Daniel said: ‘He changes times and seasons…He gives wisdom.’ If we’re in a season of hardship, disappointment, hurt, or loneliness, we can rest in the knowledge that it will end. And through it, we’ll have more wisdom for our future. Sometimes our greatest blessings come from our most negative circumstances. Paul wrote: ‘Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!’ (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT). Tough times don’t last. When we have the right attitude, we know that we’ll survive. So how can we have the right attitude when we’re in a stormy season of life? We need to remain calm, discipline ourselves to focus on what we can do, and trust God to do what we can’t. It’s also wise for us to avoid making big decisions when we’re in a storm. Just as the wind blows wildly during a storm, our thoughts can become wild and frantic, and that’s not the best time to make big decisions. A bad decision can take us down the wrong path, and lead us further away from God’s plans and purposes for us. When we have an unhelpful attitude, we’re unlikely to make decisions that are helpful to us. If we’re in a storm, and struggling to have the right attitude, we can take the advice Paul gave to the church in Philippi. He said: ‘Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need…His peace will guard your hearts and minds’ (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT).
Num 27-29; Mark 8:27-38; Ps 62; Prov 11:15
2020-05-04
Psalm 16:7 NKJV
When you’re faced with a problem that overwhelms you, break it down into smaller, more manageable parts so you can focus on each of them more effectively. Don’t try to juggle the whole thing in your head; put it down in writing so you can get a clearer picture. One of those small parts may be the key that opens the door. And if you still can’t find a solution, take it to God in prayer. The psalmist said, “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (Psalm 138:8 NKJV). If something is of concern to you, it’s of concern to the God who loves you. Pray: “Lord, I’m giving this problem to you and I’m going to sleep.” When you do that, you can awaken in the morning with an amazingly simple solution to the overwhelming problem you had the night before. The psalmist said, “I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.” God knows what you don’t know, and prayer gives you access to His knowledge. Five loaves and two fish in a boy’s hands won’t feed five thousand people. But when he put it into Christ’s hands, it multiplied and they had twelve basketsful left over. Strategic thinking works best when God is the foundation of your strategy, when you stand on His Word and claim His promise: “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV). God will do it through you, as long as you remember you can’t do it without Him.
Soul food: Num 7; Mark 6:14-29; Ps 37:8-15; Prov 11:3
2020-03-27
Philippians 3:14 NLT
One of the reasons Paul was so successful was because he was focused. ‘I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize.’ He was determined to live fully for Jesus and persevere until he reached heaven. Are we this focused on living for God? In today’s world, there are so many things which compete for our attention. We can feel like we’re trying to juggle too many things, and we can’t concentrate on any particular one in case we drop the others. Maybe we’re juggling work or study, family life, friendships, relationships, serving at church, our relationship with God, and our hobbies. Whereas Paul was so focused on his relationship with God, we can end up sacrificing time with Him in order to keep up with everything else. But the Bible says: ‘Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need’ (Matthew 6:33 NLT). It might seem impossible to focus on God first, above everything else we need to think about. But God reminds us that when we focus on Him, everything else falls into place. We need to get to a place where He is the first One we think about when we wake up, and the last One we think about when we go to bed. We need to be focused on what He wants us to do each day, rather than what we want to do. We need to be flexible enough to change our plans, if God has something different for us. When we focus on Him, the things we worry about fade away. We’re reminded that He’s bigger than any problems we have, and that He’s powerful enough to change any situation. So let’s live our lives focused on Him.
Job 29-31; Matt 26:1-13; Ps 69:1-18; Prov 8:27-29
Philippians 3:14 NKJV
Part of Paul’s amazing success was because he was so focused. “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call.” Focus can bring energy and power to almost anything, whether spiritual, mental, or physical. Sociologist Robert Lynd observed that “knowledge is power only if a man knows what facts not to bother about.” The birthing of a potential breakthrough often results from sharing many good ideas. But to take ideas to the next level, you must shift from being expansive in your thinking to being selective. A good idea becomes a great idea when it’s given focus time. It’s true that focusing on a single idea for a long time can be very frustrating, but your perseverance will pay off. The mind will not focus until it has a goal. But the purpose of your goals is to focus your attention and give you direction, not identify a final destination. As you think about your goals, make sure that they are: (1) clear enough to be kept in focus; (2) close enough to be achieved; (3) helpful enough to change lives. Paul described his goal as “the upward call.” When you think only of yourself, you’re thinking “downward,” but when you think of others, you’re thinking “upward.” These three guidelines will get you going. And be sure to write down your goals. If they’re not written, you can almost be guaranteed that they’re not focused enough. And if you really want to make sure they’re focused, take the advice of theatrical producer David Belasco, who said, “If you can’t write your idea on the back of my business card, you don’t have a clear idea.”
Soul food: Job 29-31; Matt 26:1-13; Ps 69:1-18; Prov 8:27-29
