Friend, even when it seems like your life is on pause, God is rebooting and preparing you for more. Abundance, breakthroughs, favor, the fullness of your destiny—believe for it and receive it today.
Today's Word: Sep 23, 2020
We'd love to not have any pain, suffering, bad breaks, betrayals, or loss, but that's not reality. Difficulties will come, and pain is a part of life, so keep the right perspective: there is purpose in your pain. If everything were always easy, we wouldn't be prepared for our destiny. In the tough, dark times, God is getting you prepared. He knows exactly what you need and when you need it. Every struggle is making you stronger. Every difficulty is growing you up. You may not like it, but every painful season is developing something in you that can be developed only in the tough times. That difficulty is an opportunity to develop character, to gain a greater trust in God. If God allowed it, He knows how to bring good out of it. Don't just go through it; grow through it and keep a good attitude. Count it all joy, knowing that this pain is going to lead to your gain.
Have you ever gone to watch your favorite sports team play and discovered that your seat was so far away from the action that you couldn’t see the players well? You sit there feeling totally disconnected from the game, wishing you were at home watching it on television. Several years ago I went to a theatrical play with friends and that’s what happened to us. From where we were seated, I couldn’t see or hear the actors well, and it was so frustrating. Sharing one pair of binoculars meant I had to wait my turn to finally focus right up close and personal to the stage. With the binoculars, however, it was amazing. I could see the expressions on the actors’ faces and hear them better because I knew which actor or actress was speaking. I felt like I was a part of the story. What was once far away had been drawn close to me.
So often people feel that way about their relationship with God. They feel so far away from Him and think He doesn’t know where they are or what is going on in their lives. But I want you to know that no matter how you feel, you are up close and personal with God today. The apostle Paul says, “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13). It’s true that you may have been far away from God in your life, but He has you in His sights. God has His binoculars focused on you, so to speak. He is in your story! He is on your stage! The distance between us has been closed through Jesus.
Unfortunately, too often we think we need to change our lives before we can draw near to God. We first need to clean up a few things. But we can’t clean up our own lives. We can’t bring the change that God wants to bring in our lives. He had to come to us through Jesus, and He has brought us salvation through Jesus’ blood. Only Jesus Christ can change your life. There’s no mess that you’ve made that He can’t help you clean up. In Jesus, you are made right with God. There’s nothing inside you that would make you distant from God. He loves you just the way you are.
Whatever you’re facing today, don’t let anything stand between you and God the Father. He wants you to know: “I’m right here, up close and personal. There’s no gap between us. Come close to Me and know that there is nothing that I can’t do for you through Christ Jesus.”
When you step out, strength will come, courage will come, favor will come. God is saying, “If you’ll choose My calling over your comfort, if you’ll do what I’m asking you to do even though it’s difficult, then I’ll step in and give you supernatural strength.
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