Start Your Day The Blessed Way! This amazing new devotional will encourage you to wake up every morning and start your day with three minutes of focused, intentional prayers and declarations.
Today's Word: Feb 07, 2023
When you're secure in who God made you to be, you don't feel less-than because you can't do what somebody else does. God has given us different gifts. You don't feel inferior because your friend is a doctor and you don't have a college degree. Your security is not in how you perform, in what you do, what you wear, or what title is behind your name. Your security is in the fact that you are a child of Almighty God. You realize you are His masterpiece, fearfully and wonderfully made, equipped, empowered, approved, and anointed. You find your value in who you are and not what you do.
Otherwise, you'll spend your whole life competing with others, trying to prove your importance, trying to convince them to be for you. "Look at my car. Look at the business I've built. Look at my position. Look at how great of shape I'm in." That's all fine, but it's superficial. Stay focused on what you're called to do, do it well, and live for God's applause.
This inspiring book is filled with personal stories, faith-building Scriptures, and biblical examples of God’s goodness that will encourage you to believe for more. God can use our setbacks as a setup for something greater!
I wonder how many times you've heard someone whose recovery from an illness has been long and difficult say, "I see my life in a completely different light than before I got sick. Today, my precious things are family and friends. I've realized that appreciating what I have every day is what's important." It's unfortunate that sometimes we have to lose or almost lose something or someone before we recognize their value and appreciate them. I think the pandemic's difficult stay-at-home season was a strong reminder of that.
It's easy to start taking for granted things that can't be replaced. We live in a great country with houses that have running water, electricity, and every convenience. We have places to work and worship and stores of all kinds-whatever we need is basically at our fingertips. Most importantly, there's our spouse, our children, our parents, siblings, and friends. But then we start to forget the precious gift they really are and we neglect them. We face challenges at our jobs and in our homes, things go wrong, and we start to complain about having to go to work, having to make dinner and clean the house, having to help a friend. We forget to be grateful, and we lose the language of appreciation.
In Deuteronomy 10-12, God was taking the children of Israel into the Promised Land and describing all the gifts He was freely giving them. "I'm giving you houses filled with great treasure, vineyards you didn't plant, and fields you didn't plow." But then He warned them, "Don't take them for granted. Don't forget who gave it to you. Honor Me in it." We all should be remembering the gifts and abundance in our life through appreciation. Don't start complaining about present hardships. Yes, we're facing challenges. Things aren't easy. But when we look for the lessons in what we're experiencing, when we begin to look for what can build our character, when we see the treasure in the people we love, that's when we're going to find the value and the purpose.
When we appreciate God, and we appreciate the things God has given us, we give Him thanks and honor Him. Appreciation is a language we need to learn, and gratitude honors God. That's why, wherever you are today, no matter how difficult it is, ask God to show you, "Where's the value in this, God? This is something You've brought to me, so how can I appreciate it?" Happy people are the ones who value and appreciate what they have right now on the way to where they're going.
If you suffer from approval addiction, if you’re not confident in who you are and you need people to validate you, you’ll always shrink back and let them control your future. But for what God has for you, it’s going to take boldness. He’s going to take you where no one in your family has gone. You’re going to be a pioneer, a trend-setter.
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