cannyben

… to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness… Isaiah 61:3 The Scripture says to put on a garment of praise for a spirit of heaviness. A garment is like a coat. Before you can put on a coat of praise, you have to take off a coat of heaviness. Sometimes we wonder why we don’t have any joy, why we’re not passionate. We’re wearing the wrong coat. That coat of discouragement doesn’t look good, that coat of self-pity is out of style, and that coat of bitterness over who left you or what you didn’t get doesn’t fit you anymore. Now do your part and take off that coat of offense and put on a coat of praise. If you’re going to rise to the next level, you have to adjust your attitude. You can’t have a defeated mentality and live a victorious life.

But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. John 11:22 In John 11 we read - Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother, Lazarus, was very sick. They thought He would come immediately and heal Lazarus. But days passed, and Lazarus died. When Jesus showed up, Martha was upset. She said, “Jesus, if You had been here sooner, my brother would not have died.” Martha could have walked away in anger and bitterness, which would be the end of the story. But she added, “I know even now God will give You whatever You ask.” She was saying, “It seems impossible, but I know You have the final say.” They went to the tomb, the place where Martha stopped believing, and rolled away the stone, and Jesus gave them a resurrection. Start believing again right where you gave up. Get your passion back. It may have been dead, but that wasn’t the final word. God has the final say—freedom, wholeness, abundance, victory.

God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way to escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 There are times when we feel overwhelmed by a loss, by a sickness, or by being treated unfairly by someone, and we say, “I can’t take the stress, the worry, the demands. It’s too much to handle.” But God wouldn’t be a just God if He didn’t design you with exactly what you need. Paul says that God will never let you face more pressure than you can handle. He will make a way of escape so you can bear it. Now you can choose in your mind to give up and think, “I can’t do this,” or you can choose to “not faint in your mind” (Hebrews 12:3). Your inner design is strong enough, now get your mind strong enough. Quit telling yourself, “It’s too big. It’s been this way too long. I can’t take it anymore.” You are well able. No weapon formed against you will prosper. That difficulty didn’t come to ...

Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up … Proverbs 24:16 When life knocks you down, steps on you, takes your health, or squashes your dreams, you just have to get back up again. The way you win some battles is not by defeating them but by outlasting the opposition. You have comeback power. Some enemies are stubborn. You can’t be weak and give up because it’s not happening on your timetable. You have to outlast the trouble at work. We all want God to deliver us from attacks, but if He’s not changing it, then it’s really simple—you have to keep getting back up and outlast the attacks. Sometimes we think God has forgotten about us. We’ve seen Him turn situations around in the past, but this problem won’t seem to go away. You have to have a holy determination and say, “Staying down is not an option. I’m going to outlast this sickness this injustice, these critics.” The victory will come through outlasting it.