Agreeing with God

Take a step of faith and no matter how you feel, agree with God that He loves you. You are wonderfully made and have many talents and strengths. You are valuable, and as a believer in Jesus, you are the righteousness of God in Him. You have rightness before God instead of wrongness—be thankful for that amazing gift!

Begin to speak out against feelings of insecurity and say, “I belong to God and He loves me!” (see Ephesians 2:10). We believe more of what we hear ourselves say than what others say, so start saying something good and drown out the other voices that condemn you.

Fight for yourself! Fight the good fight of faith and refuse to live below the level at which Jesus wants you to live. His kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy (see Romans 14:17). Don’t settle for anything less.

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Blessed to Be a Blessing

Everyone needs a blessing. We all need to be encouraged, edified, complimented, and appreciated. And you have the ability to bless others. Be thankful that God not only blesses you, but that He has made you a blessing. We all get weary at times and need other people to let us know that we are valuable and appreciated.

I believe God blesses us so we can be a blessing—not only in a few places but everywhere we go. Look for people who are needy and bless them. Share what you have with those who are less fortunate than you are. And remember, everyone needs a blessing—even the successful people who appear to have everything.

When you live to meet needs and encourage those around you, you will find “joy unspeakable” in the process.

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A Matter of Focus

It is very important to focus on the right things. This is why the Word of God instructs us to look away from all that distracts us and to look to Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Whatever we focus on becomes magnified in our minds. When we focus on our problems, we continually roll them over and over in our minds, which is like meditating on them. The more we think and talk about our problems, the larger they become. A relatively small matter can grow into a huge issue merely because we focus on it too much.

Instead of meditating on our problems, we would be wise to meditate on God’s Word and His promises for our lives and to aggressively thank Him for them. When we do, we will see the faithfulness of God revealed, and our problems won’t seem so big after all.

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Jesus Lived a Life of Thanksgiving

Part of prayer’s power is the power of thanksgiving  because there is not powerful living apart from a life of thanksgiving. During His earthly ministry, Jesus lived a life of thanksgiving. He gave thanks to the Father on many occasions and for many things.

For example, He gave thanks to God when He broke the loaves and fishes and fed the 4,000 people (see Matthew 15:36). He thanked God that He had heard His prayer concerning the raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41–42). And He gave thanks to God when He gave the bread and wine to His disciples at the Last Supper even though He knew His suffering and death were very close (see Mark 14:22–23).

If it was important for Jesus to live a life of thanksgiving, it should certainly be important for us to do the same thing.

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Control and Choice

The single most important practice in Stoic philosophy is differentiating between what we can change and what we can’t. What we have influence over and what we do not. A flight is delayed because of weather no amount of yelling at an airline representative will end a storm. No amount of wishing will make you taller or shorter or born in a different country. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make someone like you. And on top of that, time spent hurling yourself at these immovable objects is time not spent on the things we can change.

The recovery community practices something called the Serenity Prayer: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Addicts cannot change the abuse suffered in childhood. They cannot undo the choices they have made or the hurt they have caused. But they can change the future  through the power they have in the present moment. As Epictetus said, they can control the choices they make right now.

The same is true for us today. If we can focus on making clear what parts of our day are within our control and what parts are not, we will not only be happier, we will have a distinct advantage over other people who fail to realize they are fighting an unwinnable battle.

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Loving Your Life

Do you believe God wants you to enjoy your life? Well, He does! In fact, part of God’s will is for you to enjoy every moment of it. I know this is true because His Word says so in many places.

King Solomon, who is considered to have been very wise, wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:24: “There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink and make himself enjoy good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.”

Solomon said to make yourself enjoy the good of your labor. We should learn to value enjoyment because it is vital to being a balanced and healthy person. This does not mean that all of life becomes a huge party or a vacation, but it does mean that through the power of God we can learn to be thankful for and enjoy all of life.

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Getting Along with Difficult People

How do you react to people who are rude? Do you respond in love as the Word says we should, or do you join them in their ungodly behavior? I think there are a lot of rude and unpleasant people in the world today largely because of the stressful lives most people live.

We can be very thankful that we know the Word of God and have Him in our lives to help us and comfort us to keep us from falling into the traps that stress can cause. But we must remember that a lot of people in the world who are difficult to get along with don’t have that. Jesus said that we have done nothing special if we treat people well who treat us well, but if we are kind to someone who would qualify as an enemy, then we are doing well (see Luke 6:32–35).

People are everywhere, and not all of them are pleasant. Will you act on the Word of God and love them for His sake?

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Believing the Best of Others

The Bible teaches us to always believe the best of every person.

However, if we merely let our thoughts lead us, they usually tend toward negativity. Sadly, the flesh without the influence of the Holy Spirit is dark and negative. Thankfully, we don’t have to walk in the flesh, but we can choose to be led by the Spirit (see Romans 8:5). When we choose to let the Spirit lead us, we will see the best in other people, and we will be filled with life and peace in our souls.

I encourage you to begin seeing other people as children of God rather than as adversaries. Decide to look past their faults and see them as God sees them. Be grateful that the Spirit can help you see the best in every person in your life.

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Giving and Receiving Love

Of all the things that we have to be grateful for in our lives, love is at the top of the list. Loving and being loved bring purpose and meaning to life. The world is looking for love, but they are really looking for God because God is love.

People look for fulfillment in life in many ways that may seem good at first but often leave them feeling frustrated, disappointed, and empty. Only by receiving God’s love and walking in love (putting love into action by continually reaching out to others and making an effort to show them love through various acts of kindness) can they find the true fulfillment they are so desperately seeking.

Love will change your life! Ask God to help you receive and give love, and be thankful as you watch His love bring a fulfillment to your life you have never known.

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Keep Life Fresh and Exciting

It’s good to occasionally (or perhaps frequently) do something that would be unexpected, something new or “out of the box.” Do something that will surprise people and perhaps stretch you a bit. It will keep your life interesting, and you’ll end up thanking God for your exciting new challenge or adventure. We are not created by God to merely do the same thing over and over until it has no meaning left at all. God is creative. Just look at the amazing variety in His creation and you will have to agree that His creativity has no end. In case you haven’t noticed, God frequently changes things up in our lives. Don’t be afraid of change. Go ahead and do some of the things you would like to do but have kept putting off because you have never done them before.

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No More Complaining

When we maintain an attitude of thanksgiving, we close the door to grumbling and complaining which seem to be ever-present temptations in our lives. The truth is we don’t develop a complaining attitude; we are all born with one. But with God’s help, we can develop and nurture a thankful attitude.

If we practice regularly praising, worshiping, and thanking God, there will be no room for complaining, faultfinding, and murmuring. The Bible says in Philippians 2:14: “Do all things without grumbling and faultfinding and complaining.” Complaining opens the door for the devil to cause us trouble, but thankfulness opens the door for God to bless us.

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Joyful in Every Circumstance

A wise person does not allow the moods of other people to alter theirs.

There is a story of a Quaker man who was walking down the street with a friend when he stopped at a newsstand to purchase a newspaper. The storekeeper was very rude and unfriendly. The Quaker man responded respectfully and was quite kind in his dealing with him. After paying for his paper and continuing to walk down the street, his friend asked, “How could you be so cordial to that man considering the terrible way he was treating you?” The Quaker man replied, “Oh, he is always that way; why should I let him determine how I am going to act?”

This is one of the amazing traits we see in Jesus He changed people, they did not change Him. I encourage you to follow the example of Jesus. Do what God expects you to do and don’t live under the tyranny of other people’s moods and attitudes

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Shelter in the Storm

The best way to be safe during a natural storm is to take cover. If you do not seek shelter, the storm may harm you.

The Word of God gives us instructions on how to take cover when we face the spiritual storms of life. The first place you need to run when a storm hits in your life is to the secret place of the Most High, the presence of God. Meditate on His Word; pray; worship Him; thank Him and tell Him you trust Him as the winds of adversity blow. These are the spiritual disciplines no foe can withstand. When you practice these habits, you actually construct spiritual walls of protection around yourself. These walls will provide protection and enable you to stand strong in the midst of any storm.

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Practice Seeing the Positive

I encourage you to be a thankful, positive person. If you aren't it’s just a matter of forming a new habit. I was so negative at one time in my life that if I even tried to think two positive thoughts in succession my brain seemed to stop functioning. But now I am very positive and actually don’t enjoy being with people who are negative.

If you have not formed the habit of being positive yet, you can begin today! Put reminders around your house or in your car, little signs that say, “Be positive.” Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you if you are slipping into negativity. Ask your friends to help also. Set aside time during the day to focus on and be thankful for the good things God has blessed you with. Positive, thankful thoughts don’t happen by accident; you can choose to practice them. And remember, practice makes perfect.

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The Importance of Right Thinking

The mind is the leader or forerunner of all actions. The steps we take each day are a direct result of the thoughts we allow ourselves to think. If we have a negative mind, we will have a negative life. On the other hand, if we renew our mind according to God’s Word, we will experience “the good and acceptable and perfect will of God” for our lives (Romans 12:2). So many people’s struggles are rooted in wrong thinking patterns.

Negative thinking can actually cause them to create the problems they experience in their lives; thankfully, though, we don’t have to live captive to those thoughts. We can choose to line our thoughts up with the Word of God. The mind is a battlefield. Decide to resist destructive, negative thinking and dwell on godly thoughts for your life instead. The more you change your mind for the better, the more your life will also change for the better.

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Keep On Keeping On

One of the most important truths you can be grateful for is that God has promised to never leave you. He is always by your side! That’s why it is important to remember this: No matter how difficult the circumstances may seem around you, don’t give up! God is for you, and He is bigger than any trouble you may be facing.

You can regain the territory the devil has stolen from you. If necessary, regain it one inch at a time, being thankful for and always leaning on God’s grace and not on your own ability to get the desired results. In Galatians 6:9, the apostle Paul simply encourages us to keep on keeping on! Don’t be a quitter! Have an “I can do all things through Christ” attitude. God is looking for people who will go all the way through to the other side with Him.

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Expect Something Good

One of the most powerful forces in the universe is hope. And as a child of God, you can have hope in unlimited measure.

That’s something to be thankful for! Hope is the happy anticipation that something good is going to happen in your life. It’s expecting something good. What are you expecting? Have you even thought about it? If you’re expecting nothing, or if you are expecting just a little bit, you are going to get what you expect. I always say, “I’d rather believe for a whole lot and get half of it than believe for a little bit and get all of it.” God wants you to trust Him and have a happy expectation for something good.

If you’re in a tough situation today, expect it to change. If you’re in a good situation today, expect it to get even better. God is a God of hope.

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Enjoy the Reward

Taking time to enjoy the fruit of your labor is one of the main things that will keep you pressing on in difficult times. God gave many men and women in the Bible difficult tasks to perform, but He always promised a reward.

Looking to the reward helps us endure the difficulty. The Bible says in Hebrews 12:2 that Jesus despised the cross, but He endured it for the joy of obtaining the prize that was set before Him. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father. I encourage you not to look merely at the work you do, but look also at the promise of the reward. Take time to be thankful for and enjoy the fruit of your labor and then you’ll be energized to finish your course.

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Taking the Time for Gratitude

Throughout the Bible, we see people celebrating progress and victory in a variety of ways. One of those ways was to specifically take the time to give an offering to God and to thank Him. Noah did it. Abraham did it. And we can do it too.

We would quickly add a lot of celebration time to our lives if we would take the time to give thanks when God does amazing things for us. An attitude of gratitude shows a lot about the character of a person. It keeps God first, knowing that He is the source of every blessing we receive. Gratitude is never about feeling entitled—it’s an attitude that says, “I know I don’t deserve God’s goodness, but I am sure grateful for it.”

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Discipline and Self Control

We can live a disciplined life filled with self-control. It is one of the keys to living a joyful life. The Bible teaches us in many places the importance of living a disciplined life. If we don’t discipline ourselves, our circumstances will eventually become situations we regret, but thankfully, God’s Word teaches us to be temperate, which means to be marked by moderation, to hold ourselves within limits (to compromise between two extremes or find the middle ground). Clearly we are to maintain balance.

The area of finances is an example of where discipline is required. It is wrong to overspend, but it is also wrong to underspend. God gives us money not to hoard, but to enjoy. Wisdom means saving some, spending some, and giving some away. In every area of your life—relationships, finances, exercise, eating, career, thoughts, and words—ask God to help you live with discipline and self control. Don’t be led by emotional, in-the-moment thinking. Use the wisdom of God to live in balance and really enjoy your life!

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Living Beyond Your Feelings

On any given day, we may feel good or bad, happy or sad, excited or discouraged, and a thousand other things. Although feelings can be very strong and demanding, we do not have to let them rule our lives. We can learn to manage our emotions rather than allowing them to manage us. This has been one of the most important biblical truths I have learned in my journey with God. It has also been one that allows me to consistently enjoy my life.

If we have to wait to see how we feel before we know if we can enjoy the day, then we are giving feelings control over us. But thankfully, we have free will and can make decisions that are not based on feelings. If we are willing to make right choices regardless of how we feel, God will always be faithful to give us the strength to do so.

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Waiting Well

Patience is extremely important for people who want to glorify God and enjoy their lives. If we are impatient, the situations we encounter in life will certainly cause us to react emotionally.

The next time you have to wait on something or someone, instead of just reacting, try reminding yourself, Getting upset will not make this go any faster, so I might as well enjoy the wait. Then perhaps say out loud, “I am developing patience as I wait, so I am thankful in this situation.” If you do that, you will be acting on the Word of God rather than reacting to the unpleasant circumstance.

Remember, patience is a fruit of the Spirit that God wants to develop in your life. Don’t merely think about how hard and frustrating it is, but think about how blessed you can be as you learn the art of waiting well.

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Consider the Whole Picture

When you make a choice, acknowledge all the consequences. That way you won’t be left feeling compromised.

It’s important to remember that no matter how good something sounds, everything has an upside and a flipside.

As you think about your options today, make sure you take some time to consider the downside as well as the up.

You can then make your decision confident in the knowledge that it’s unlikely there will be any unpleasant surprises.

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Show Them You Care

No matter how much you care about someone, you can’t take responsibility for their happiness.

Just as no one else is responsible for your happiness, you can’t be responsible for someone else’s happiness either.

If someone you care about is unhappy today, find a way to show them you care without taking on their problems as your own.

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Give Yourself the Best Chance

The happiest, most successful people believe in themselves unconditionally. They know they can do, be and have all that they want in life.

If you find that you are doubting yourself today, stop. Unless you can see into the future, you can’t know how things will turn out, but if you make the commitment to believing in yourself you will give yourself the best chance of success.

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Don’t Try to Juggle

Be there when you are there. Don’t try to juggle all the roles in your life. Focus on the role you are playing and do it to the best of your ability.

Whenever you feel that you are juggling, you are really setting yourself up for guilt, frustration and a feeling of failure.

Make the commitment today to give the role that you are engaged in your complete attention for its duration. When it’s time to swap roles, make the swap fully; don’t leave half of yourself behind.

Remember, the thrill of watching a juggler in action is waiting to see if he will drop the ball.

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Look for The Common Ground

You can’t make someone do something just because you want them to. What you do have, however, is the opportunity to influence their choices.

If you need someone to do something for you or to do it your way, think about what’s in it for them.

Instead of seeing it as a battle of wills, if you are faced with a conflict today, view it as a chance to create a meeting of minds.

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Living at Peace

Peace is one of the most important elements to enjoying your life. A life of frustration and struggle, a life without peace, is the result of focusing on things you can’t do anything about. When you worry about things beyond your control, stress and anxiety begin to creep into your life.

The apostle Paul said, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7). Once we realize we are struggling with something and feel upset, we need to start praying and immediately turn the situation over to God, thankful He will provide according to His will and offer us peace. You and I are not called to a life of frustration and struggle. Jesus came so we could have righteousness, joy, and peace!

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The Law of Service

The law or science of service grows naturally out of the successful application of the sciences of the antahkarana and meditation, and is the governing law of the future. With the linking of soul and personality the light of the soul pours into the brain consciousness, resulting in the subordination of the lower to the higher. This identification produces a corresponding activity in the personal life and the activity we call service. Therein lies the growth through the service of the race, and through a cultivated self-forgetfulness. Service is the true science of creation and is a scientific method of establishing continuity.

This is also known as the law of water and of fishes. The symbol is a pitcher on the head of a man who stands in the form of a cross. This law is the governing factor of the age of Aquarius. The ray energy is out-going energy of the 6th ray, vivifying factor. If the evasion of this law is a conscious action, there are karmic penalties. This work requires so much sacrifice of time and personal interest, requiring deliberate effort, conscious wisdom and the ability to work without attachment.

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