Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions (23 page)

Satan is the father of deception and lies, and of course he wants us to be self-deceived so he can keep us in bondage. He is terrified of the truth because he knows that when we face truth, he will lose his control over us. Beware of blaming! Blaming others for existing problems started with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and still exists today. Even if I am late for an appointment, I find myself wanting to blame someone for making me late, but the truth is that I should have managed my time better.

If you are willing to start seeking truth in every situation, you will grow spiritually and begin to experience more freedom and joy than ever before.

G
od loves you very much and wants to help you, but you need to ask Him to. A man told me recently that when he feels overwhelmed, he lifts up one hand toward heaven and says, “Come get me, Jesus.” God hears the faintest cry of your heart, so stop trying to do everything on your own, and ask Him for help.

For example, the next time you are tempted to eat because you’re
upset or sad, say “no” out loud. Then go sit quietly for a moment and ask God to help you in your situation. You’ll be amazed at how much of a difference asking makes. More often than not, you’ll find that you suddenly have the strength to resist the temptation. But you have to really ask; you can’t just tell yourself that you’re open to God’s help.

You may not think that God cares about something as simple as your eating habits, but He does. He cares about everything that concerns you—the big as well as the small. He wants you healthy, and He is willing to help, if you’ll just let Him. Don’t pray to Him to simply break your addiction; instead, pray to Him to help you find the spiritual strength to make the lifestyle changes that will set you free from the problem. As we choose to do what is right and lean on Him to give us strength, His power enables us to follow through and experience victory.

Prayer and meditation on God’s Word are excellent practices to nourish your spirit. It is spiritual food. Studying God’s Word and prayer are traditional methods of making contact with God, but other activities can also make you receptive to His nourishing love. Read something that encourages you and gives you hope. Keep a gratitude journal where you list the good things that happened to you that day (and there are good things in
every
day). Feed your spirit regularly, and you will be healthy and strong inside and out.

B
ad habits need room to operate. Not much—they’re pretty clever—but there are situations where they can’t get a foothold. One good strategy for keeping your bad habits at bay is to recognize what your temptations are and then set up your life in such a way that they have no room to operate. Fill your life with so many positive, spiritually reaffirming things that there’s no room for anything else. If you are tempted to snack in the evening, then don’t keep unhealthy snacks in the house. If you tend to overeat when bored, then be sure you have something fruitful to put your time into.

Choose activities that help to fill that space inside you, your “God-space,” with the feelings of love and completeness you are looking for. Instead of sitting around doing nothing, visit a friend or relative you have not seen in a long time or go to a Christian conference. As God says, “Don’t link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself” (2 Cor. 6:17 The Message). Another good way to spend time is helping someone else in need. And exercise is a terrific way to fill time with healthy activity that leaves your spirit high and your body recharged.

What other activities can replace some of your current unfulfilling pastimes? What friends do you have who you know are good at encouraging your new health commitment? Call them up and plan some dates. For example, my youngest daughter is very interested in staying healthy. She reads about nutrition, exercise, and good health principles all the time. Anytime I need a little extra encouragement to stay on the right path, I simply ask her what she has learned lately. She always has plenty of things to share that challenge me to keep on keeping on!

I
t would be amazing to know how many people in our society are mentally, physically, or emotionally sick from carrying around secrets buried inside that are eating away at them like a cancer. If you are one of those people, please start talking to God, and either He will completely relieve your burden or He will lead you in what to do next. It is dangerous to merely ignore things that need to be dealt with.

God’s will for all of us is wholeness. It is not living with our souls full of holes and watching our lives leak out day after day. Bringing hidden things out into the open is admittedly difficult at times, but it is much more difficult to keep them hidden and live in the fear of being discovered. You might need to talk to a trusted spiritual leader, a loving family member, friend, or a counselor.

God will direct your steps if you will go to Him and tell Him you are fully willing. Having an intimate relationship with God means you can and should talk to Him openly and honestly about anything and everything. The more you talk to God, the better off you are.

One reason we find it so difficult to share our secrets is that it is often hard to find someone to talk to whom we can trust. We can’t control what others do, but we can learn to be a faithful friend. If someone tells you something in confidence, never tell anyone else. If they tell you something that shocks or surprises you, do your best not to act surprised and don’t judge them. The purpose for bringing things out into the open is for restoration, not for criticism and judging. We should
always treat people who come to us to share their secrets as we would want to be treated.

P
ride is a terrible sin, and we are instructed in God’s Word not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to (see Rom. 12:3). That doesn’t mean that we need to have a bad opinion of or look down on ourselves. It does mean that we are to remember that we are no better than anyone else and that whatever God has enabled us to do is a gift from Him. We have no more right to claim credit for a special ability we have than we do for blue eyes or brown hair. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and asked them what they had that did not come as a gift from God (see 1 Cor. 4:7).

When we are warned not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to, it means we are to realize that we are nothing apart from Jesus and without Him we can do nothing. The value we have is found in Him, and we can celebrate who we are only because of Him. Actually, when we celebrate who we are in Jesus, it is a way of celebrating Jesus Himself.

We make this a lot more difficult than it needs to be. It is simple—we are everything in Jesus and nothing in ourselves. I like to say, “I am an everything/nothing!” We celebrate because of the amazing work
God does in us, and not because of any worth we have in ourselves. As long as we continue giving God the glory for anything good that we manifest, we are on a safe and right track.

For some reason religion has taught people that to be godly they must have a low, or even bad, opinion of themselves, and I believe this kind of thinking has done incalculable damage to the plan of God. As long as we know we are lower than God and He is always our Chief and Head, then we are safe.

M
y husband, Dave, once did one of the wisest things I’ve seen. Before we entered full-time ministry he worked as an engineer. He was offered a promotion that included a pay raise and a lot of prestige. But he turned it down. At first I was angry with him. I thought he was making a big mistake. Didn’t he want to climb the corporate ladder? He explained that he had watched the other men in that position. They had to travel extensively, and they were constantly saddled with unreasonable deadlines that put them under tremendous stress. “That is not the way I want to live,” Dave said. He chose the position that allowed him to stay within his abilities and stick to his core values—commitment to God and family, and comfort with self—rather than chasing corporate power so others would look up to him. Besides, why choose a higher paycheck if you just spend it on doctor bills to relieve your stress-induced illnesses?

The most important foundations to long-term happiness are being in right relationship with God, good health, a loving home life, work that is satisfying and not overly stressful, and enough money that you don’t worry about finances.

I believe there could be much more happiness and less stress in the world if people would take the time to seek God about decisions. When you are offered a new position, ask yourself why you want it. If it’s just for prestige, don’t take it. Money is an important consideration and can make some things in life easier, but don’t take any job purely for the money if it’s going to make you less happy on a daily basis.

It is always wise to think about the long-term effect of every commitment. Don’t merely think of the benefits, but also think of the way it will change your overall life. Every privilege comes with responsibility, so make sure you are ready for both before saying “yes.”

T
o get somewhere, you have to know where you are going. You may not know the exact route, but you at least have a goal in mind. If you are driving from St. Louis to New Orleans, you have a goal. And you have lots of means to achieve that goal, from reading maps to stopping and asking directions. On the other hand, if you just get in your car in St. Louis and drive with no idea where you’re going, you may get lost and you’ll end up wasting a lot of time.

In your effort to enjoy life, you need to have a vision—a clear picture of what you would like to have in the future. For example, what would your life be like if you felt energetic and had excellent health? What would it take for you to reach that goal? Or, what would it be like to be debt free and how can you work toward that?

God has only one gear: forward! He has no park and no reverse. He wants you to start progressing toward your goals, but before you can do that you must get a clear image of those goals. Don’t merely “wish” things were different in your life, but have a clear goal and work toward it.

If you are hung up on your past disappointments, you are never going to escape them. Think and talk about your future, not your past! Talk about the new you that you are becoming. Every successful person starts off by envisioning his or her success.

Create a vision of the ideal you. Writing down your goals helps bring them into the real world and makes them solid. Keep your vision and a list of your goals somewhere handy so you can consult it periodically and see how you’re doing. Your list of goals can serve as stepping stones on your way to becoming your ideal self.

It’s time to get out the road atlas of your life, pick your destination, and slide that transmission into gear: forward!

W
e all have emotions, but we must learn to manage them. Emotions can be positive or negative. They can make us feel wonderful or awful. They are a central part of being human, and that is fine. Unfortunately, most people do what they feel like doing, say what they feel like saying, buy what they feel like buying, and eat what they feel like eating. And that is not fine, because feelings are not wisdom.