Receive 40 powerful promises from God with this new spirit-filled devotional from Joel! You’ll experience a fresh start and joy every day as you speak God’s Word over your life. This new resource will help you receive favor, healing, freedom, and blessing in your relationships. You were created to flourish in every area of your life!
Today's Word: Jan 24, 2021
We all go through times when we feel like we're going backward. Things were going well; we knew we had God's favor, but then we lost a major client, our child got in trouble, or a friend walked away. We wonder, "What did I do wrong?" But we need to understand that when we have things in our life that are not productive--a friend who is pulling us down or a job that's leading nowhere--God will cut those things away so we can put our energy into things that move us forward. The only way to get from "fruit" to "more fruit" is to be cut back. That means there are times when you're doing the right thing and the wrong thing happens. Instead of getting discouraged, recognize that just as there are seasons of growth, there are seasons of pruning. You may be satisfied to stay where you are, but God is not satisfied. Without the pruning, you won't become all you were created to be.
Friend, no matter how big the obstacle, no matter what limitations have slowed you down in the past—know that your tomorrow is good and in God’s hands! No matter what your story has been, God is writing for your future.
The decisions we make every day don't just affect our lives, they affect generations to come. When you make decisions that honor God, when you're generous and faithful, it is being credited to your children's account, to your grandchildren, to future generations. Just as there is a generational curse of negatives that can be passed down, there is a generational blessing. God is keeping an account of every good thing you do, the times you forgive when you could stay bitter, the times you're being your best when nobody is giving you credit. That's not being overlooked. It's accruing mercy, favor, and blessing in your family's account. You can be the one to set your family on a new course of blessing. You can start freedom, wholeness, and victory.
Twenty-three years after David died, his son King Solomon had married foreign wives and started worshipping their idols. He knew better, but he let his heart turn away from the Lord. This could have been the end, but God said, "Solomon, you've not kept My covenant, and I would normally take this kingdom from you. However, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it" (1 Kings 11:12). David started a blessing, and even after he died, his children walked in the blessing. They received mercy because of how he lived.
Over three hundred years after David died, eight generations later, his descendant King Hezekiah and the city of Jerusalem were surrounded by a huge Assyrian army. It looked as though Hezekiah was done, but God sent an angel who destroyed 185,000 of the enemy troops. In a split second the army was defeated and the nation was saved. I can imagine Hezekiah asking, "God, what did I do to deserve this favor?" God said, "Hezekiah, it wasn't anything you did. It was for the sake of my servant David. He stored up mercy for you three hundred years ago. You're walking in the favor, the protection, the blessing that he deposited into your account" 2 Kings 19:34).
How this should challenge us to be our very best--to not to be mediocre, to not get sidetracked by offenses, to not try to pay people back, to not compromise and give in to temptations. Make your life count. Start a blessing. You're affecting generations to come. You can pass down blessings, favor, generosity, and faithfulness. Or you can pass down dysfunction, bitterness, and mediocrity. Start the blessing, start the favor, start the freedom. God is counting on you to take your family to a new level. Because of your faithfulness, they're going to go further, accomplish more, and become all they were created to be.
You don’t have to spend another minute being infected by wrong thinking. I have the exact prescription, and it doesn’t cost anything. If you start renewing your mind with what God says about you, it will clear up all the places that are infected, and it will heal all the places that are hurting.
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