The Best is Next! This new hope-filled devotional calendar will be a daily inspiration to remind you that God has new and amazing things for you in the coming year and will help you begin each day of 2022 with an attitude of expectation for God’s best for you.
Today's Word: Jan 19, 2022
Most of us don't like times of waiting. We're interested in the destination, but God is interested in the journey. When we understand that He's working in us along the way, waiting and patience become a part of the process. When you stay faithful in the waiting times, when you don't get impatient and complain because it's taking so long, when you don't get upset because the door closed, when you're traveling steadily along God's pathway and honoring Him, He will give you every blessing. You won't have to make it happen in your own strength, and you won't have to manipulate people or try to force the door to open. God will give you the position, give you the spouse, give you the influence. Don't fight the wait time. You're not falling behind. God has already lined up the blessings He's going to give you. He's already put your name on things bigger and better than you've imagined. Now keep traveling steadily, keep trusting Him when you don't see anything happening.
While you can’t control everything that comes your way, you can control how life’s unexpected setbacks affect your attitude, emotions, thoughts and actions. Don’t settle for surviving when you could be thriving—Rule Your Day!
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.
Have you ever struggled with saying yes to something you felt God was asking you to do? I think we all have. I'll never forget the first time Joel's father looked at me during a worship time in our church service and asked, "Do you want to do the prayer time?" He wasn't asking about next week, but at the end of the song we were singing. I was stunned. I barely had the courage to get up on the platform as a Prayer Partner. I said, "I don't think so." He smiled gently and didn't say anything to me about it later.
But I struggled with why I said no. I kept thinking, "He believed in me, so why don't I have the courage to believe in myself?" I remember thinking, "There is a yes in my heart trying to get out from under the fear and insecurity." My yes was buried in there. I wrestled with this for days and finally came to the conclusion that if he ever asked me again, I'd say yes. That day did come, and I believe that because I stuck to my yes, God gave me the grace to get up and do it.
The apostle Paul says, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God"(2 Corinthians 1:20). God has promises and purposes that He has established for us, and they are yes in Him. But we are the ones who must speak the "Amen," which means "Yes, so be it."
What is it that you need to say yes to today? Is it, "Yes, God, I'm going to forgive those people who hurt me"? Is it, "Yes, I'm going to believe that You can bring good out of this difficult time"? Maybe it's, "Yes, God, I'm going to reach out to those people whom You're asking me to reach out to even though I don't feel like I have time"? Maybe it's simply surrendering some things, letting go of a few things.
If you have said no to God in the past but wish you had said yes, get ready. Just like my father-in-law asked me again, God's going to ask you again. He's not going to hold your no against you. I encourage you to quit wrestling with that no and just say yes to God. Hold strong to the promises, knowing that God will bring it to pass. God has given you some assignments that only you can do. Stand firm in your yes, and it will accomplish everything that God intended it to accomplish.
Too often, because of disappointments, delays, things that haven’t worked out, we’ve watered down our dreams. We’ve lowered our expectations. We’re not stretching, believing for great things, believing to get well...No, pray bold prayers. God is going to fill the containers you bring Him...
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