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And I am certain that god, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6 God has His own timetable. While He’s changing you, you need to feel good about who you are, knowing that God will get you to where you’re supposed to be. Most people say, “I would feel good about myself if I were more patient, less jealous, and hadn’t blown that relationship.” There will always be some reason why you won’t feel good about who you are. The accuser will make sure to remind you of something you’re not doing right, some way that you failed. If you’re going to live in victory, you have to put your foot down and say, “That’s it. I’m done being against myself. I’m done focusing on my weaknesses. I know I’m a child of the Most High God. I am redeemed, restored, and forgiven. God is taking me from glory to glory, so I’m going to look away from all that distracts. I’m going to enjoy the glory I’m in righ...

When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. Get Plugged In The writer of Psalm 73 was struggling to understand why God was allowing the people who were coming against him to prosper. He was discouraged. Yet he tells how in the sanctuary, he got a new perspective. He heard people thanking God and telling of His goodness. When he got around people of faith, people who knew that God was in control, that spirit of defeat and depression couldn’t stay. A few verses later, he was making bold declarations of faith. There are some breakthroughs that are only going to happen when you are in the house of the Lord. Your faith alone may not be enough. That’s why God has ordained you to be in a community of faith. Together, we’re better. Together, we’re stronger. There’s power when your faith is connected to other believers’ faith.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” Genesis 28:16 When Jacob was a young man, he was a deceiver. You would think that God wouldn’t have anything to do with him. But God keeps working with us and showing us His mercy. One night while Jacob was on a long journey through the desert and in a hard place, I’m sure he thought that God had forgotten about him. While he was sleeping, he had a dream in which he saw the Lord standing at the top of a huge staircase and saying, “Jacob, I will protect you wherever you go. I will be with you continually until I give you everything that I have promised.” God was showing us that He’s the God of desert places, of lonely times, of difficult seasons. He’s right there with you when you feel alone, forgotten, and discouraged. Suddenly, the heavens will open up, and God will make things happen that you couldn’t make happen. He’s not going to stop until He’s given you everything...

So he said he would destroy them – had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him to keep his wrath from destroying them. Psalm 106:23 Today’s Scripture describes a time after God had delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, then miraculously parted the Red Sea and gave them food and water in the desert. Despite all He had done for them, they started worshipping a golden calf along with partying and being immoral. God was so angry that He would have destroyed them had not Moses fasted and prayed, asking God to have mercy on the Israelites. Because one man stood in the breach for them, God changed His mind and spared their lives You can also do as Moses did and stand in the gap for family, friends, and co-workers who are off course and making poor choices. They know better, but they’re doing wrong anyway. It’s easy to stand in judgment against them and write them off. But you can be the one who makes a difference. Live your life as a gap stander. Be a peopl...

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27 Today’s Scripture says that when you know you can be a blessing, when you have the resources to help a person in need, or when you can teach them the skills you’ve learned, don’t put it off. You may think, “I can’t help them. I have to focus on fixing my own problems.” But when you make sacrifices to help other people’s dreams come to pass, God will always help make your dream come to pass. As you bless others and show them favor, God is going to bless and favor you. Don’t live focused only on yourself—your problems, your sickness, your trouble at work. Go and be a blessing to someone in need. Sow a seed with your finances or a word of encouragement. When you help solve their problems, you’re setting a miracle in motion for yourself, and God is going to solve your problems.

His wife said, “Still holding on to your precious integrity, are you? Curse God and be done with it.” Job 2:9 When Job and his wife went through a series of very painful losses, and then Job suffered a crushing illness, instead of encouraging Job, she said, “Job, you’ve always done the right thing, and see what you get. Just curse God and give up.” Fortunately, even though he didn’t understand why it had happened, Job knew better than to make judgments based on one season of his life. He declared that God’s favor had been on his life, and that this storm was not permanent. By faith, Job weathered the great storm and eventually came out of it with double and lived a long, blessed life. Every person has unfair, painful seasons. But you have to remind yourself that it’s just a season. It’s not the rest of your life. Don’t make a judgment based on a betrayal or a setback that’s temporary. Don’t give up on your dreams, lose your passion, or live bitter. The storm may be difficult,...

When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. Acts 11:23 Even though some people look like they’re doing fine and don’t need encouragement, the truth is that everybody needs somebody cheering them on, somebody who sees the best in them, somebody who believes in them and supports them. You can be that person for the people in your life. Many times, you can see things in other people that they can’t see in themselves. Your words of encouragement, your words of blessing can help them step up to who they were created to be. You can be the one they can count on, because you’re not going to find fault with them, but you’ll be the one who always has healing words that uplift and push them into their destiny. Everybody is going through something difficult. Be on the lookout for those around you. There are people whom God has in your life right now who need your love, your encouragement, your k...

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1 Praise is not just words; it’s an attitude. Our life should be a praise to God. We should be grateful, have a smile, be good to people, and be passionate about our dreams. Anyone can give God praise when things are going your way. But the test is, will you praise Him in the wilderness? Will you worship Him in spite of what’s not working, praise Him in spite of who did you wrong? The way you bless the Lord at all times is by your praise, by always finding something to be grateful for, by not dwelling on wrongs but thanking God for what’s right. It’s by not focusing on what you lost but thanking God for what you have left, and by not complaining about what’s behind you but by being grateful for what’s in front of you.

I will answer them before they even call to me. Isaiah 65:25 In Genesis 37, the brothers of Joseph hated him so much that they threw him into a deep pit and were going to leave him there to die. But just then they saw a caravan of Ishmaelite merchants coming their way, and they decided to sell Joseph to them. What’s interesting is that trade caravan had been traveling for months on their way to sell their goods in Egypt. Long before Joseph was thrown into the pit, the answer was already on the way. Long before Joseph had the problem, God had the answer already set up. God knows what you’re going to need, when you’re going to need it, and how to get it to you. The problem you’re worried about, God has the answer already en route. When you’re tempted to worry, remember that everything you need to fulfill your destiny is right on schedule. It may not have happened yet, but what God has ordained is on the way.

If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen my hardship…. Genesis 31:42 For twenty years Jacob worked for his father-in-law, Laban, bringing Laban great increase in his flocks. Fourteen of those years he worked to earn Laban’s daughters as wives, then six more for his flock. Over that time, Laban was dishonest with Jacob and unfairly changed the terms of Jacob’s wages ten times. Despite that, God’s blessing followed Jacob, and when he finally left, he had more flocks and riches than Laban. God saw the hardship and unfairness, and He was keeping the records straight. God sees what’s unfair in your life. He’s not going to just bring you out; He’s going to bring you out with abundance. The people who did you wrong are not the end.

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you ! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. John 20:21 In the Scripture, God brought Joseph through many years of difficult circumstances into a strategic position of influence in Egypt, so the Israelites would be able to survive a severe famine. Some of the hard things we go through and don’t understand are the result of God positioning us to carry out His purpose. In the difficult times, you have to trust Him, knowing that He’s ordering your steps. Like Joseph, God is going to send you into strategic positions of service, influence, and leadership. We’re not called to run away from the world system; we’re called to infiltrate the system. God is raising up more Josephs to run media networks, to serve in the government, to find cures for diseases, and to lead in universities, business, real estate, and technology. Your Father’s world is a big world. He’s going to position you higher than you dreamed. It’s because He can trust you. He kno...

True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life. Proverbs 22:4 When you walk in humility, you ask God for guidance, you trust Him with your dreams, you honor Him by putting Him first in all your ways. That means to make pleasing Him the aim of your life, to always hunger and thirst after righteousness, to treat people with respect, to be a person of integrity, and to strive to do the right thing when no one is watching. When you do that, God promises you honor, wealth, and long life. One way you reverence God is by bringing the tithe, the first ten percent of your income to the house of the Lord. When you do that, it says that “God will open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings that you cannot contain.” Make sure you’re doing your part; make sure you’re keeping God first place, and He promises a blessing on your life that causes you to prosper. His favor will cause you to increase, to rise higher, and to accomplish things beyond your own ability.

All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounding. Acts 3: 9-10 Here, Peter spoke a word of faith to a crippled beggar, and he was instantly healed. When that man woke up that morning, his expectancy was to receive a few coins for his survival. He didn’t realize he was just one touch of God’s favor away from having his whole life changed. When people realized what had happened, they were absolutely astonished, and many of them came to faith in Christ as a result. God has some things in your future that are going to leave you amazed and the people around you astounded. You weren’t created to live constantly struggling. That may be how it’s been in the past, but that’s not in your future. God is about to do a new thing. He’s going to break bondages that have held you back. He’s going to increase you to where you have more than enough.

So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death. John 11:53 In John 11, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, some of His critics rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the religious leaders. Lazarus’ resurrection was a strategic part of the plan of God that set in motion all the other events that led Jesus to be crucified. That’s why Jesus waited on purpose for Lazarus to die. He could have gone there sooner and healed Lazarus while he was alive. But He knew the resurrection would create such a commotion that His haters would feel forced to take action. Jesus’ time had come. Sometimes what seems like a crisis to us is actually the plan of God. Mary and Martha were upset that Jesus came too late. They had no idea that their crisis was in God’s perfect plan. They thought things were out of control, but God was in complete control. Even in our crises, God is still on the throne. Nothing happens randomly.

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go the land I will show you. Genesis 12:1 When Abraham left his country, the Lord had told him to take only his immediate family, but he added his nephew Lot. It wasn’t long before there was strife and conflict between his herders and Lot’s herders, and they had to separate with Lot taking the better land. Later Lot and his family were taken captive, and Abraham had to rescue them, risking his own safety and spending all his time and energy on problems he never should have had. Difficulties come whenever we aren’t willing to leave people whom God tells us to leave. Perhaps it’s a friend whom you’ve known is not good for you. Now you’re dealing with unnecessary trouble and heartache. What’s interesting is the name Lot means “veil or covering.” When you leave what you’re supposed to leave, the veil will come off. You’ll see things that you’ve never seen—new friends, new opportunit...

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants. Daniel 3:28 In Daniel 3, when the three Hebrew teenagers wouldn’t bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden idol, they were thrown into a fiery furnace. They should have perished instantly, but they were miraculously spared. After the teenagers came out unharmed, King Nebuchadnezzar, who had been against them and everything they stood for, was giving God praise. Why? God displayed awesome power through those teenagers so other people would be changed. That’s what God is going to do for you. You can try to convince some people about your faith, debate with them, but words don’t always affect people. He’s going to open doors you can’t open, thrust you to new levels, and cause you to overcome what looks impossible so they will know the Lord is on your side. God is not going to do this all in private. He’s going to give you a public ...

Give to everyone what you owe them…if honor, then honor. Romans 13:7 In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to put down “memorial stones” as reminders of past national victories. Every time they or future generations passed by a memorial, they would remember the mighty things God had done and honor the people who gave their lives for others. All throughout the Scripture, we see that God blesses an attitude of honor. To show honor simply means that you give respect and recognition to others with your attitude, actions, and words.

And they regarded Saul with contempt and did not bring him a gift. But he ignored the insult and kept silent. 1 Samuel 10:27 In 1 Samuel 10, after Saul was chosen to be the first king of Israel, most of the people were happy and congratulated him. But when Saul went back home, some of the people spoke of him with contempt and despised him. They said he didn’t have what it took to be king, and they tried to push him down. Saul refused to waste his time with these small-minded people who didn’t value who he was or respect the talent and favor on his life. He simply chose to ignore them. If you’re going to reach your destiny, you have to get good at ignoring negative comments, criticism, insults. They don’t control your destiny. They are distractions to try to keep you from God’s best. Instead of being upset over who’s not for you and frustrated over who’s trying to make you look bad, ignore them. Jealous people can’t keep you from your destiny. Sm...

For the Lord God is our sun and shield. He gave us grace and glory. The Lord withholds no good thing from those who do what is right. Psalm 84:11 God not only knows everything you need in the future, but He knows when you’re going to need it. He’s the Source. He knows where all the good things are. He has already lined up everything you’ll need. He’s not going to withhold the finances, the health, the ideas, or the connections. Quit worrying about how it’s going to work out. God is in control. He has unlimited resources. He knows how to get you to the right place at the right time.

Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt, your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever. Isaiah 61:7 You may be in a challenging time that has left you feeling upset, worn out and tired. It feels as though something’s been taken out of you that can’t be replaced. But, get ready, for God is about to breathe new life into your spirit. He’s going to renew your strength. He’s going to bring new opportunities, good breaks, the right people, and favour. He’s not going to just bring you out. He’s going to bring you out with double favour. You’re going to be so blessed, so healthy, so strong, so favoured that nobody will know what you’ve been through. That’s the way God restores.