Graced To Do God's Will

God wants us to enjoy this life. As we place and keep our faith in Him, He’s willing to pull off the miraculous just to see us smile. Unfortunately, we do certain things to tie up God’s hands. One of those things is allowing our logic or earthly wisdom to supersede God’s voice.

For instance, we may want another cookie for dessert. We hear God telling us “it’s okay.” However, our logic tells us we don’t need the calories and we deprive ourselves of something God has okayed. Or, we may want new clothes, but we don’t want to spend the money. God has approved us buying new clothes and He’s telling us to trust Him. We don’t buy the clothes because we feel it’s unwise to spend the money. We denied ourselves something God approved.
It’s all a lack of trust in God.

If we want something, it’s our responsibility to go to God and see what He says. If He temporarily denies it or tells us to wait, we should wait for His timing to get the item. If He approves, go get it and enjoy and trust that He knows what He’s doing. Don’t talk yourself out of something God is treating you to.

Psalm 35:27 Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”

It’s a blessing to know God is not keeping track of our sins, He’s forgiven and forgotten our sins, and He’s not punishing us for our sins (Hebrews 8:11; 2 Cor. 5:19; Rom. 3:21-31). God’s not punishing us for our sins, but sin has natural consequences.

For instance, gluttony is a sin (Prov. 23:20-21). God is not punishing us for overeating, however consistently overeating can cause us to have natural consequences of high blood pressure or high cholesterol, which can lead to a heart attack. God didn’t punish us with a heart attack, but a natural consequence of overeating caused us to have a heart attack. God has forgiven and forgotten all the times we’ve stolen something, but theft can cause us to have a natural consequence of a few years in prison.

Although God is not punishing us for our sin, sin has natural consequences which is why it’s in our best interest to make the effort to live a sin-free life.

Therefore do not let sin control your mortal body so that you obey its desires. -Romans 6:12

Psalm 103:10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

This statement was made under the old covenant. Even under the old covenant, God wasn’t punishing us (mankind) for all our sins. His mercy and love stopped some of the punishment from devouring us.

Now, because of the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, we’re under a new and better covenant (Heb. 8:6-13). Under the new covenant, God is merciful to our unrighteousness and our sins He’ll remember no more (Heb. 8:11). Under the new covenant, God is not keeping a record of our sins (Rom. 8:4).

2 Corinthians 5:19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

If God is not remembering, keeping record of, or punishing us for our sins, we should let our sins go too. Beating ourselves up about sin is not bringing God any glory and it’s not showing God how sorry we are. We’re belittling the sacrifice of Jesus by saying, we don’t believe Jesus’ punishment was enough therefore, we need to suffer some more.

Receive God’s loving mercy and don’t be condemned by the mistakes we may make.

When people say spiritual warfare, some make it spooky as if the devil is possessing people’s bodies or homes and they need to remove him. That’s not spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare is a mental battle between the devil and us. The devil is trying to make us doubt or not believe God’s Word and it’s our job to believe God’s Word despite what we see or experience.

EXAMPLE: John receives a negative report that he has cancer.
Satan: You know you have cancer.
John: No, God’s Word says, “I am healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Satan: You heard the doctor. You have cancer.
John: No! I believe I’m healed of cancer.
Satan: What’s your family going to do when you die of cancer?
John: I shall live and not die (Psalm 118:17) because I believe I am healed of cancer.

This back and forth between us and Satan may go on for days, months, or years. It can center around our health, our marriage, our finances, the well-being of our children, our desires, etc.

It’s our job to equip ourselves for battle by knowing and believing God’s Word, spending time in praise as we thank God for the victory, and consulting with the Holy Spirit to see if there are any practical things we can do to manifest God’s promises.

Spiritual warfare is real, and it will happen for the rest of our lives. However, if we have the weapon of the Word, we’ll win every time.

Luke 4:1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He was hungry. 3 The devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4 But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

Deuteronomy 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day. 31 Then the LORD said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his land over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.” 32 So Sihon and his whole army came out for battle against us at Jahaz. 33 And the LORD our God delivered him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and his whole army.

A lot of us think when we get saved and start doing the right things we shouldn’t face opposition. We think that God’s promises and answered prayers should come with ease. That’s not always true.

Look at Moses and the Israelites. One might think that land that was promised for God’s people should be taken with ease. But it was just the opposite. The king’s heart was defiant, and the Israelites had to fight for what God had promised.

We may not have to physically fight for what God has promised, but we will have to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). When we keep getting turned down for a promotion, we have to fight to continue to believe that promotion is for us. When we’re in our 40’s and we’re still not married or haven’t had children, we have to continue to believe that a spouse and children is God’s promise to us.

Opposition is not a sign that a particular desire is not meant to be. The fact that opposition is present may be proof that God’s promise is near.

Psalm 40:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth—Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.

We’ll all face trouble (John 16:33). If we handle our troubles appropriately (rely on God’s Word, don’t doubt what He said, and don’t be moved by what we see), we’ll mature spiritually (James 1:3-4). Not only will we mature, but other people who see us overcoming our troubles will put their trust in God also.

Other people include: our children, relatives, co-workers, and complete strangers. If our co-workers still see us smiling and having a positive attitude after taking a pay cut, how intrigued will they be to know what keeps us sane? That’s when we can tell them about our faith in God. If our children see us being kind, loving, and not be negative after going through a messy divorce, it’s more than likely they’ll handle their problems using the same method they’ve seen in us.

Just know, our deliverance is for more than us. People are watching to see how we “Christians” will respond to trials. By trusting in God through our problems, they’ll learn to trust in Him too.

We all have big desires we want God to fulfill like a house, a new car, a good job, etc. However, if we focus too much on those big desires, we may neglect the day to day goodness of God.

For instance, we’ll minimize the fact that God woke us up, we’re healthy, or we went throughout our day without getting into a serious car crash. Those are legitimate reason to sincerely thank God. If we solely focus on the big desires, the devil can use this to make us feel like God isn’t doing anything for us because big desires may take time.   

Let’s have a heart of gratitude and be grateful for EVERYTHING God has done in our lives.

Jonah 2:9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving. That which I have vowed I will pay Salvation is from the LORD.”

Psalm 22:1 To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Deer of the Dawn.” A Psalm of David. My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?

From the death of a loved one to a layoff at work, people have their reasons for holding a grudge against God. God didn’t meet their expectations and now they’re mad.

A grudge comes from receiving and accepting the lies of Satan. He’ll say, if God really loved you, this wouldn’t have happened or if God really was a protector, He wouldn’t have let that happen. If we entertain and agree with those thoughts, it can turn into a grudge.

Satan uses these tactics to separate us from God. We’re not going to church, praying, or reading the bible anymore. He’s using all our anger and emotion to destroy our lives. Holding a grudge has us missing out on God’s favor, miracles, and blessings.

So, don’t fall into the trap of holding a grudge against God. Get down to the bottom of the situation by going to God. It’s okay to be angry but go to God with that anger and get answers. He’ll tell us why it happened and how to prevent it in the future. We may not always like the answer, but a reason was given. Receive God’s love, peace, and forgiveness and let go of the grudge.

Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Throughout the bible, we’ll see “seek the Lord.” This doesn’t mean seek Him as if He’s hiding from us and it’s our job to find Him. Seeking the Lord means communicating or consulting with Him about every decision we make.

Everything from what clothes to wear to what house to buy should all involve God. Some may think we’re going too far if we’re seeking God on seemingly minor decisions like what clothes to wear, what to order at a restaurant, or what lane to drive in, but we’re following His instructions. If we’re consulting God on minor things, we prepare ourselves to hear Him clearly on major decisions.

When we seek the Lord, there’s usually a beautiful promise attached, and we can all admit God is smarter than us. So, why wouldn’t we want to seek Him in everything?    

The world has corrupted the concept of giving. They’ve polluted people’s minds into thinking we should give without an expectation. Giving without an expectation is only partially true. When we give to a person, we shouldn’t expect a return from that person. However, when we give to a person or the Kingdom of God, we should expect something from God.

Expecting something from God is not a form of arrogance. We’re simply holding God to His Word.

Ephesians 6:8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free.

Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Proverbs 17:19 Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and He will repay the lender.

Looking at these three scriptures above, we can clearly see God’s not going to be in debt to anyone. It would be foolish of us not to expect a return from God. If He said it, we should believe it, and expect it.

Just know, anytime we give, it’s not a loss. God guarantees a return on our gift and we should expect a return.  

When a farmer plants seeds, they know exactly what their harvest is going to be. If they plant tomatoes, they can expect a harvest of tomatoes. If they plant corn, they expect a harvest of corn. Whatever they’re planting, they expect that harvest.

Giving to the Kingdom of God is compared to planting a seed. Like the farmer, when we give to the Kingdom, we should expect to receive a harvest. Not only should we expect a harvest, we should expect to receive whatever we’ve planted. For instance, prior to giving, we can declare this seed is for revelation on our business. After our declaration and seed, we can be in expectation of a harvest of revelation. We can sow for a promotion, a new house, a job, or anything else we need or desire.

When we give to the Kingdom with an expectation to receive a harvest, we open another pathway for God to bless our lives.

2 Corinthians 9:10 (NLT) For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Some of y’all are okay with illnesses from time to time. Some of y’all are comfortable with experiencing heartache and heartbreak every so often. Some of y’all accept fights, arguments, and drama in your marriages. Some of y’all put up with disrespectful children. Some of y’all think it’s normal to struggle financially. Let’s be clear….. none of this is okay.

God didn’t send Jesus down here so that we can deal with sickness, drama, and the bare minimum. He sent His Son in order for us to thrive in this life. Some of y’all are waiting to experience wonderful living when we die, but Jesus said He came to give us the abundant life now.

So, stop putting up with things outside of the will of God. If God said we can have it then, by faith, receive it. If something’s not right, confess God’s Word over that situation until it changes. Receive ALL that God has promised you.

Daily confessions, studying the Word of God, fasting, praying, and combatting negative thoughts and replacing them with the Word of God.

These things feel tedious, but they’re so beneficial and the devil knows this. They’re so beneficial until he’ll give us every excuse as to why we shouldn’t do these things. He’ll tell us it doesn’t take all of that to get results, he’ll tell us to do it later, or we deserve to rest because we’ve worked all day.

It’s a fight to overcome our feelings and thoughts of procrastination, but when we see our prayers getting answered, good character being developed, and we become mentally and spiritually tougher, we’ll understand its purpose.

The devil will always bombard us with thoughts making us feel like the things of God are tedious, but as we override those thoughts and do what God says, we’ll experience positive results in our lives.

1 John 5:3 (ISV) For this demonstrates our love for God: We keep His commandments, and His commandments are not difficult, because everyone who is born from God has overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

Psalm 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me.

Some of us had to grow up without a father or a mother. Some of us had mothers and fathers who weren’t good at their jobs. They may have put other people before us, disowned us, or abused us. Regardless of how our earthly parents were, God obligated Himself to take care of us.

If we need a strong father, He’ll be our strong father. If we need a nurturing mother, He’ll be a nurturing mother to us. If we need wise counsel, He’ll be our source of wisdom. If there’s anything we need or want, He’ll be our supplier. If we need someone to simply listen, He’ll be that too. Whatever we’re lacking in our lives, God will be that for us.

Don’t hold a grudge against your parents. Forgive them and allow God to be the success to their failures.

Romans 8:21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

The corruption of creation causes this world to have incurable viruses, inclement weather, plants that cause us to hallucinate if ingested, and UV rays from the sun that can damage our eyes and skin.

Some like to blame God for creating the world like this, but it’s not His fault. Because of sin, creation has been corrupted. Some say a “fallen world.” Corruption usually doesn’t occur all at once. Corruption is a slow process. Eventually, you’ll see the negative impacts of corruption.

The good news for believers is we have authority over creation (Gen. 1:26). This authority was taken from us because of sin, but Jesus got it back (Matt. 16:19). If creation around us appears to be corrupted, let’s use our God-given authority to align it with the Word of God.

Remember, corrupted creation is not God’s fault and like the undo button on a word document, use your God-given authority to undo corrupted creation.

There are so many people out there who are “seeking truth.” The Bible is clear, God’s Word is truth.

What some people are seeking is their truth or truth that suits them. That’s not truth. That’s their opinion. Everything within a person may tell them something is right, but if it’s not backed by the Word of God, it’s just a thought, opinion, or feeling.

Our role is to align our thoughts, beliefs, and opinions with the Word of God. If it’s not confirmed by the Word of God, it’s not the truth.

Psalm 119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, For Your word has given me life.

When we’re going through, go to God’s Word. The Word of God has enough power to do four things at once:
1. Encourage us.
2. Empower us.
3. Keep our attitudes positive.
4. Change our circumstances.

It doesn’t matter if the situation is dealing with our finances or overcoming depression, God’s Word can help. Find a promise in God’s Word that counters our problems, believe it, and expect your life to line up with God’s Word.

God’s Word is not a fairytale. It’s real and can change anything if we’re willing to believe it.

Romans 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God has something called all inclusive love. God loves us when we’re doing good and following His commandments and when we’re failing miserably and hadn’t picked up a bible. God loves us when we’re giving to the needy and He loves us when we’re as selfish as selfish can be. God loves us when we’re being a blessing and He loves us when we’re spiteful.

From one extreme to the other, God’s love stays the same. No matter how we feel about ourselves, God’s love is ever present. Some of us can’t even fathom this type of love, but it exists and it’s for any of us who are willing to receive it.

Receive this love and don’t let anyone else, including Satan, tell you differently.

Psalm 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

After reading this verse, some may conclude the reason they haven’t received a certain desire is because the desire wasn’t a good or good enough thing. That’s true for some desires, but not for all.

After waiting an extended period for a desire, the devil may pervert this scripture and deceive us into thinking that the desire wasn’t a good thing. We’ll stop believing for it but in actuality, the desire was something God truly wanted us to have.

Go to God to confirm if a desire you’re believing for is something He wants for us. If God approves our desire, through His Word or through peace, don’t let anything (including delay) stop you from receiving that desire. If there’s no peace with that desire, understand God has better.

Psalms 27:5 For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

It sounds nice to say when we get born-again, we’ll never experience anymore issues or trouble. But, that’s not true.

Notice, this scripture says, “in the time of trouble.” That means, there’s a time where trouble will enter our lives. No one likes trouble. It can be mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting. The good news is we’ll experience trouble, but trouble will not defeat us. The trouble will be big enough for us to notice, but through Christ, small enough for us to overcome.

No matter how “good” of a Christian you’ve been, trouble will come. Don’t get frustrated or be afraid. Face it. With God’s help and faith in His Word, we’ll overcome trouble every single time.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

All of us have needs and desires. Some of us want better marriages, obedient children, peace, or a better job. Regardless of what we want, that desire can become the focal point in our minds. We’ll think about it often and we’ll go through a million scenarios on how we can get it. If we’re not mindful that desire can become an idol. Instead of going after God, we’ll put all our energy towards getting the desire.

God’s Word says when we ask for the desire, believe that we received it, and put Him first, anything we need, or desire will be given to us (Mark 11:23-24; Matthew 6:33).

With that understanding, let’s put our focus on Jesus. Let’s celebrate His sacrifice. Let’s seek God and see what He wants us to do. Let’s be led by the Holy Spirit. Let’s go after the things of God and as we go after Him, our needs and desires will find us.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

What’s stopping you from submitting your entire life to God? Do you feel like you won’t have enough fun? Is it too strict? You don’t want to let God or yourself down if you fail? Are you ashamed? Would you feel like a hypocrite? Or, you simply don’t feel like it?

Whatever the reason is, you didn’t get that from God. Those types of thoughts are demonically influenced. Satan will use any tactic that seems logical or emotional to keep us on the outside of submission. He knows the day we go all in for God, our lives will improve, the Kingdom of God will get stronger, and we’ll have more influence to lead others to Christ.

Don’t stay on the outside. Come on in. God’s not asking us to be perfect. He simply wants a willing participant to work through. If you fall off, get back up again. If it seems too difficult, extend grace to yourself and don’t live by the law. If you get distracted, refocus and get back in the game.

Submit your life to God and watch God do amazing things with you and for you.

1 Chronicles 16:15 Remember His covenant forever, the word He ordained for a thousand generations—16 the covenant He made with Abraham, and the oath He swore to Isaac.

For those of us who truly depend on God for everything, we may not recall all the things we’ve prayed for. With that in mind, it would be beneficial for us to make a list of things we’re standing in faith for. On that list we can have our car, new house, child, and anything else we desire. We make a list to thank God in advance for answering our prayers.

Don’t let anyone make you feel bad because you have a list. It’s not a wish list. It’s a faith list. Just because some people have a false sense of humility and don’t ask God for anything doesn’t mean we’re wrong for making a list. They’re the ones not taking full advantage of what God provided through THE ultimate sacrifice in Jesus.

That faith list can also come in handy when our desires manifest. We can transfer the desires from our faith list to our manifestation list. The manifestation list allows us to look back on all the prayers God has answered. During tough faith fights, it will encourage us to see how many promises God has provided. We can also show others our manifestations to encourage them to keep their faith in God.

Make a list to remember and motivate yourself and others.

Psalm 105:5 Remember the wonders He has done, His marvels, and the judgments He has pronounced,

Romans 8:34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

For us, Jesus was whipped, beaten, spat on, and crucified. For us, Jesus died. Because Jesus took our place, the punishment of sin was fulfilled (Isaiah 53:6). One would think that Jesus has done enough, and He can relax on the right side of the Father for eternity. But, He’s not done helping us out.

Jesus is interceding for us. Interceding means to intervene on behalf of another. He hasn’t interceded (past tense) and He didn’t intercede one time. Jesus is interceding (continuously). Every second of every day, Jesus is interceding to the Father on our behalf.

Every sin we commit, He’s letting the Father know His blood paid for that (Eph. 1:7). Although some of our actions are unrighteous, He lets the Father know our belief in His sacrifice makes us righteous (Rom. 3:22). Although we should be punished for some of the things we do, Jesus lets God know He already took the punishment for our foolishness (Rom. 3:24).

This is just another reason to be grateful for Jesus. He’s done so much for us already and He’s still acting on our behalf today. Let’s praise Jesus for what He’s done and what He’s doing right now. Praise Jesus!!!

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

To get our prayers answered, God’s Word tells us to believe that we received our desires, when we pray, and we shall have them. There’s no need to pray for the same thing multiple times because in 1 John 5:14-15, it tells us He hears us. And since He heard us, we will eventually possess what we request.

From the time we pray, to the time we receive our desires, is usually a waiting period. During that period, we thank God that we believe that we received those desires. For instance, if we prayed for a car on Monday, on Tuesday we’ll say, “God, I thank You I believe I received my car.” No matter how long it takes, we believe that we received our car every day until it materializes. This goes for anything we desire that aligns with the Word of God.

Remember:
1. Ask God for the desire(s).
2. When you ask, believe that you received what you asked for.
3. Thank God we believe that we’ve received that desire until it manifests.

Follow these steps and get your prayers answered every single time.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

The devil wants to kill us, and everything associated with us. The good news is, he can’t destroy anything without our consent. We give him our consent through our words or actions contrary to the Word of God.

The devil places thoughts in our minds that go against the Word of God. If we don’t combat those thoughts with the Word of God, they will negatively impact our lives.

For instance, after seeing symptoms of a runny nose and a cough, a thought will come that we’re sick. Is that what God’s Word says about us? No! His Word says we’re healed (Isaiah 53:5). We have a choice. We can say, “I’m sick” or “I believe I’m healed.” The devil wants us to say we’re sick in order to destroy our health, but we need to resist Him by casting down every thought against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ. In other words, we need to say what God says about us. The devil uses the same tactic to attack our finances, our marriage, our children, and anything else God blesses us with.

As soon as a contrary thought enters our minds, we need to open our mouths and declare the truth, which is in God’s Word. Resist Satan with the Word of God.

2 Corinthians 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Whether we know it or not, our faith is being applied to something. We’re either believing the Word of God or something else.

For instance, we can believe by His stripes we’re healed (Isaiah 53:5) or, we can believe the doctor who says we have an illness that will require us to take medication for the rest of our lives. We can believe nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37) or, we’ll always have a minimum wage job because of our limited experience or education. We can apply our faith in the truth that our children shall be delivered (Prov. 11:21) or, have faith that our children will be wayward for the rest of their lives.

What will you believe? Will you believe the Word of God or believe in earthly facts? I suggest believing in the Word of God which has the power to change facts and circumstances in our favor.

Genesis 15:6 And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Psalm 119:68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.

If we don’t know anything else, it must be settled in our minds that God is good.

He’s good to us. He’s good for us. He works out everything for the good (Romans 8:28). He’s just a good God. Unfortunately, some people like to blame Him for bad situations, but that’s not Him. That’s Satan attacking our lives. God is good.

People think because God can stop bad situations from happening, but He doesn’t, He’s not that good of a God. We must realize because of sin, we live in a fallen world and trouble will come (John 16:33). But the trouble that’s allowed can be for our good if handled correctly. Trouble can force us to turn to God, place our faith in His Word, and increase our patience. Like weights during exercise, trouble can strengthen our souls (which is a good thing).

Don’t allow anyone or any situation stop you from believing that God is good.

A lot of us go on YouTube or Google to figure out how to do something. Meanwhile, we neglect the One who can teach us all things.

Through God’s Spirit, we can learn anything we desire. We can learn how to fix our cars, create great recipes, or properly parent our children. Whatever we need to learn, we can learn through the Holy Spirit.

So, don’t be so quick to run to YouTube or Google to discover how to do something. Let the Holy Spirit teach you.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

I will fear no evil. What is evil? Evil is the opposite of what God has promised. Evil is sickness, poverty, and premature natural death. Evil is strife and hatred. Evil is hurt, harm, or danger to us or to our family. Anything God didn’t approve for our lives is evil.

With all this evil swirling around us, God’s Word instructs us to not be afraid. We’re not to fear because God is with us and He’s greater than any evil that attempts to come our way.

So, we have a decision to make. Will we live in fear because of the evil surrounding us or will we remain in peace trusting that with God, evil will not prevail in any area of our lives? You choose.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Some of us allow our circumstances to define our day. If everything goes our way, we’d say we had a good day, but if we faced adversity we’d say our day was difficult.

The presence of adversity shouldn’t determine our viewpoint. Jesus already told us we would face trials, but in that same verse, He also told us to be cheerful (John 16:33).

Every day should be a good day for multiple reasons. If we look closely at our day, we’ll determine no matter how many obstacles we faced, there are more things that went right than wrong. We could have had only 4 hours of sleep, spilled coffee on our clothes, were late to work, dealt with a moody supervisor, got rear ended on the way home, and realized we forgot to defrost the chicken when we got home and still say we had a good day.

How???…. It’s a blessing to say we woke up and we have enough money for a luxury item like coffee. We’re employed, we have a car, and we weren’t seriously injured in that crash. It’s awesome to say we have a home and food in the refrigerator. We haven’t even mentioned other things like we can walk, talk, and breathe. Let’s not forget about spiritual things like God’s new mercies every morning, God’s promises, and God always being with us.

As we can see, God’s goodness outweighs the difficult every day. Don’t magnify the problem, identify the good and have a good day.

2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Some people think in order for prayer to work or to really praise God, you have to feel something. That something those people are trying to feel is nothing more than an emotional experience.

When we pray or praise God, we may get emotional at times, but that emotional feeling is not a prerequisite for God to hear us. God requires faith. There’s no feeling in faith. When we pray or praise in faith, we believe God heard us and we believe whatever He promised will come to pass. That’s it. We don’t have to cry or make ourselves emotional. We simply believe and act on what we believe.

Don’t try to make yourself feel something. Just pray and praise in faith knowing He hears us and will deliver on His promises.

Joel 2:12 “Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning.” 13 So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.

There are so many people who think God is angry with them. He’s not. He loves us and He’s waiting on our return. It doesn’t matter if we’re angry with God or if we didn’t want to conform to His ways, He still loves us and is waiting on our return. It doesn’t matter if we’ve been gone for a week or for a decade, He’s waiting for our return with open arms.

There are people who feel ashamed or unworthy to be in the presence of God because of what they’ve done. That deceptive feeling is a trap to push us away from God. He’s still there and wants us to return to Him. Even if we pushed God away, He loves us enough not to force Himself on us. He’s simply going to love us from a distance and wait for our return.

Don’t fall for the enemy’s tricks. Return to God in whatever state you’re in, receive His love, and expect your life to drastically improve.

When things are tough, some believers tend to go deeper with God. We pray more, we read God’s Word more, and we may fast. As time progresses, God answers our prayers, and life gets better, some of us take our foot off the gas.

When it was rough, we prayed daily, but now we only pray a few times a week. When our marriage was at the point of divorce, we were in God’s Word often. Now, we read it a couple of times a week.

Let’s remain all in. Keep getting close to God despite what we’re facing. Don’t let the breakthrough cause you to lose your zeal. The fact that we experienced breakthrough is reason enough to keep getting close with God. Don’t stop. Keep growing in the knowledge of God.

2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Revelations 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

There are people who believe they’re doing what’s best for them, but everyone else can see that it’s not going to end well. That’s a deception. There are people who feel like a certain parenting style is what’s going to be best for their children, but the bible tells them otherwise. That’s a deception. There are people who think quitting their job to start a business is going to be profitable, but they haven’t checked with God. That’s a deception.

We shouldn’t do anything that doesn’t agree with the Word of God or disturbs our peace (Col. 3:15 AMP). Now, if we believe, with all sincerity, that God told us to do something that appears foolish, keep going. But if our actions are based on logic or feelings, the devil can use these things to deceive us.

Let’s evaluate our lives and the lives of those closest to us. If we’ve been operating from a place of deception, stop, and talk with God to see what’s best for your life and for the lives of those around us.

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no guidance the people fall, But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

There are people close to us who engage in foolish, unwise, and ungodly behavior. We see how their poor decisions are negatively affecting their lives, but we don’t say anything.

We don’t say anything because we’re afraid we may lose a friend or appear judgmental. We’d rather keep the peace and let them suffer than tell them the truth. If they’re a good friend, they’ll know we’re coming from a place of love. And if we’re a good friend, who wants the best for them, we’ll be honest with them.

Do something to help somebody. Give them wise counsel, biblical advice, or prayer. If they don’t listen to our advice, that’s their choice. We can say within ourselves that we attempted to help. And as God leads us, be willing to help them again and again and again.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

We may submit our lives to God, but there are daily demonic forces that are constantly trying to uproot our submission to God.

Those forces know what our flesh likes. It may be a flirtatious attractive woman who knows we’re married but doesn’t care. It may be a sale on a dress, but you and your husband agreed to not spend anymore money. It may be an old boyfriend or girlfriend who contacts you out of the blue when you feel lonely. Or, it may be an unruly coworker when you just told yourself you were going to be patient and kind.

Regardless of what tempts us, we must continue to stay submitted to God’s plan. That’s going to require us to say no, do nothing, or be by ourselves at times, but it’s for the best.

As we stay submitted to God, we’ll reap the benefits of our submission. It may not always be tangible. It may be stronger will power to say no, not being moved by our feelings, or being more disciplined.

Continue to stay submitted to God and don’t be distracted.

Belief and faith are similar, but not the same. Belief and faith are two sides of the same coin.

Belief vs. Faith Example

Belief: A person has food in front of them. They believe, with all sincerity, that if they eat the food, they won’t die of starvation. Daily, they believe that if they eat food, they won’t die of starvation. By the end of the month, if not earlier, they’re starving but still believing if they eat food, they won’t die of starvation. Eventually, that person dies of starvation. The food was there in front of them and they believed they wouldn’t have died of starvation if they would’ve eaten the food, but they died anyway.

Faith: Faith is a person believing they won’t die of starvation if they eat the food and acting on their belief by picking up the food and eating it.

We can genuinely believe God’s Word. We can believe He’s healed us, He protects us, and nothing is impossible with Him. However, we won’t see the results of our belief until we act on our belief.

We act on our belief through confession. For instance, when we’re faced with sickness, we believe by the stripes of Jesus, we’re healed (1 Pet. 2:24). We act on that belief by declaring, by His stripes we’re healed and ignoring the sickness. It’s the same response to any other situation. Find out what God’s Word says about that situation, believe God’s Word about that situation, act on that belief through confession until what we desire in God’s Word comes to pass.

Belief can only take us so far. It’s the acting on what we believe that turns our belief into faith.

By Apostle Fred Price

Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

2 Corinthians 4:13 But having the same spirit of faith according to that having been written: “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we also believe and therefore speak,

Proverbs 2:7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;

A simple definition of wisdom is, knowing what to do when we don’t know what to do.

For believers who choose to submit themselves to God, we have an endless supply of wisdom available for us. We access this wisdom by faith. When we don’t know what to do, we take this scripture and say, “Father, I thank You for the wisdom You’ve stored up for me in this situation and now, I receive the wisdom for ___________ (fill in the blank).” We confess this daily until we know what to do. At the same time, we’re allowing the Spirit of God to lead us. The Spirit may lead us to read a book regarding the situation, talk to a specific person, or research the topic on YouTube.

Regardless if it’s in business, parenting, or a major decision, by faith, the wisdom of God is available for us.

Numbers 7:3 And they brought their offering before the Lord, six covered carts and twelve oxen, a cart for every two of the leaders, and for each one an ox; and they presented them before the tabernacle. 4 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 5 “Accept these from them, that they may be used in doing the work of the tabernacle of meeting; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.”

Some people still have a problem with giving their tithes and offering to the church, and it’s understandable. They worked long hours to get this money and they don’t want to give it away to “some preacher.” Understand this, our tithes and offerings are given to the Lord and for the work of the Kingdom of God. It’s not meant to make the preachers rich. (Now, if we’re led to give to the man or woman of God, that’s fine, but the money is meant to advance the Kingdom of God.)

The Kingdom of God consists of ministries all across the world and it’s no different than any other business. Ministries need to pay the electricity, water, and gas bill. They need to pay property taxes and the mortgage. They need to pay for cameras, lights, technology, etc., to reach people everywhere and they need to pay the staff.

If we don’t give, how do we expect the Kingdom of God to advance? How can ministries advertise to reach the lost without any money? Sure, people can preach on corners, but they’re limited to the people in that neighborhood. We can reach a whole lot more through TV and technology, but that takes money.

So, don’t view it as giving your money away. Look at giving as investing in the advancement of the Kingdom of God with a guaranteed return (Malachi 3:10; Luke 6:38).