Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions (55 page)

W
hy is it so hard to completely ignore offenses? Even when we do overlook offenses, we want to mention the fact that we overlooked them so the people who offend us do not think they can treat us improperly and get away with it—it is a type of self-protection. But God wants us to trust Him to protect us as well as to heal us from
every
hurt and emotional wound,
every day.

I wonder how weary we would be at the end of each day if God mentioned every tiny thing we did wrong. He does deal with us, but I am quite sure He also overlooks a lot of things. If people are corrected too
much, it can discourage them and break their spirits. We should form a habit of dealing only with what God Himself prompts us to address, not just everything we feel like confronting or every little thing that bothers us.

I am the type of person who is not inclined to let anybody get away with anything. I don’t like feeling someone is taking advantage of me, partially because I was abused in my childhood and partially because I am human, and none of us embrace disrespect. In the past, I was quick to tell everyone his or her faults, but I have learned that is not pleasing to God. Just as we want others to give us mercy, we must give it to them. We reap what we sow—nothing more or less. God may even withhold His mercy from us if we are unwilling to give mercy to others.

Jesus said He gives us power even to “trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]” (Luke 10:19). He promised that nothing will harm us in any way. If we have power over the enemy, surely we can overlook the offenses of others.

I
often share a teaching that I call
“Shake It Off,”
which is based on the time Paul was on the island of Malta (see Acts 28). He was helping some people build a fire, when a poisonous serpent crawled out and attached itself to his hand. At first, when the people saw it they thought he must be wicked to have such an evil thing happen to him. They watched, waiting for him to fall over dead.

But the Bible says Paul simply
“shook it off.”
We can learn so much from that. When somebody offends or rejects us, we need to see it as a bite from Satan, and just shake it off.

In another instance in the Bible, Jesus told the disciples that if they entered towns that didn’t receive them, they should just go to the next town. He told them to shake the dust off of their feet and move on. He didn’t want the disciples to dwell on the rejection they had experienced; He wanted them to stay focused on sharing their testimony of His works in their lives. Likewise, as we follow the Spirit, we can shake off offenses and hold on to our peace. When others see that we are able to remain calm even when “the serpent” bites us, they will want to know where that peace is coming from in our lives.

When we are in a state of upset, we cannot hear from God clearly. The Bible promises us that God will lead us and walk us out of our troubles, but we cannot be led by the Spirit if we are offended and in turmoil. We can’t get away from the storms of life, or the temptation to be irritated by someone; but we can respond to offenses by saying,
“God, You are merciful, and You are good. And I am going to put my confidence in You until this storm passes over.”

P
ursuing peace means making an effort. We cannot maintain peace simply by our own fleshly efforts; we need God’s help and we need grace, which is His power assisting us and enabling us to do what needs to be done.

The efforts we make must be
in Christ.
Too often we just try to do what is right without asking for God’s help, and that type of fleshly effort never produces good fruit. The Bible calls this a “work of the flesh.” It is man’s effort trying to do God’s job.

What I am saying is, be sure you lean on God and ask for His help. When you succeed, give Him the credit, the honor, and the glory because success is impossible without Him.

Jesus said, “Apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing” (John 15:5). It takes most of us a long time to believe this Scripture enough to stop trying to do things on our own, without leaning on God. We try and fail, try and fail; it happens over and over until we finally wear ourselves out and realize that God Himself is our strength, our success, and our victory. He doesn’t just give us strength—He is our strength. He does not just give us the victory—He is our victory. Yes, we make efforts to keep peace, but we dare not make efforts without depending on God’s power to flow through us; failure is certain if we do.

The Lord blesses peacemakers, those who work for and make peace. Peacemakers are committed to peace—they crave peace, pursue peace, and go after it. They don’t just hope or wish for it, they don’t just pray for it. They aggressively pursue it in the power of God. Make a commitment to pursue peace from this day forward.

A
dam and Eve believed Satan’s lie that there was something outside of God’s provision that would satisfy them (see Gen. 3:1–7). We each make this same mistake until we learn that
nothing
can deeply satisfy us except the presence of Almighty God.

For years, I wanted my ministry to grow. When it didn’t, I became frustrated and dissatisfied. I fasted, prayed, and tried everything I knew to get more people to come to my meetings. I remember complaining when God would not give me the increase I wanted. I would go to a meeting, and everybody would be late, nobody would be excited, and sometimes the attendance would be half of what it was the time before.

Then I would leave the meeting questioning,
What am I doing wrong, God? Why aren’t You blessing me? I’m fasting. I’m praying. I’m giving and believing. God, look at all my good works, and You’re not moving on my behalf.

I was so frustrated. I even asked,
“God! Why are You doing this to me?”

He said,
“Joyce, I am teaching you that man does not live by bread alone.”

I knew God had spoken to me from the Bible, but at that time I wasn’t familiar enough with it to know where that Scripture could be found. So I searched the Scriptures for more explanation, but I didn’t like what I found. Deuteronomy 8:2–3 showed me that God was humbling me and wanted my desires to be purely for more of Him—not for more attendants.

The Lord said to me,
“Anything that you need besides Me to be satisfied is something the devil can use against you.”
It’s not that we shouldn’t want things; God just doesn’t want us to put them before our desire for Him.

G
rowing into a mature Christian who follows the Holy Spirit is not something that happens overnight—it is a learning process that takes time. Little by little, one experience after another, God tries and tests our emotions, giving us opportunities to grow.

God allows us to go through difficult situations that stir up our emotions. In this way, you and I are able to see for ourselves how emotionally unstable we can become and how desperately we need His help.

Jesus exemplified this for us. The night before He died for our sins, He was in great emotional turmoil; He didn’t want to die, but moved past His emotions and prayed to God,
“Not My will, but Yours be done.”
Things certainly didn’t get better immediately, but in the end Jesus emerged victorious through the greatest trial possible.

You can make it through your emotional trials. Jesus wasn’t led by His feelings, and you don’t have to be, either. When God lets things affect you emotionally, seize the moment and view it as an opportunity to step into a place of absolute trust in God.

Living Beyond Your Feelings

Love Out Loud Devotional

Power Thoughts

Do Yourself a Favor… Forgive
^*

Change Your Words Change Your Life
^*

Eat the Cookie… Buy the Shoes

Battlefield of the Mind
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Battlefield of the Mind Devotional

The Confident Woman Devotional

Hearing from God Each Morning

Approval Addiction

Ending Your Day Right

In Pursuit of Peace

The Secret Power of Speaking God’s Word

Seven Things That Steal Your Joy

Starting Your Day Right

Beauty for Ashes Revised Edition

How to Hear from God
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Knowing God Intimately

The Power of Forgiveness

The Power of Determination

The Power of Being Positive

The Secrets of Spiritual Power

The Battle Belongs to the Lord

The Secrets to Exceptional Living

Eight Ways to Keep the Devil Under Your Feet

Teenagers Are People Too!

Filled with the Spirit

Celebration of Simplicity

The Joy of Believing Prayer

Never Lose Heart

Being the Person God Made You to Be

A Leader in the Making

“Good Morning, This Is God!”

Jesus—Name Above All Names

Making Marriage Work

(Previously published as Help Me—I’m Married!)

Reduce Me to Love

Be Healed in Jesus’ Name

How to Succeed at Being Yourself

Weary Warriors, Fainting Saints

Life in the Word Devotional

Be Anxious for Nothing
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Straight Talk Omnibus

Don’t Dread

Managing Your Emotions

Healing the Brokenhearted

Me and My Big Mouth!
^*

Prepare to Prosper

Do It Afraid!

Expect a Move of God in Your Life… Suddenly!

Enjoying Where You Are on the Way to Where You Are Going

The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make

When, God, When?

Why, God, Why?

The Word, the Name, the Blood

Tell Them I Love Them

Peace

The Root of Rejection