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Look, I go forward, but…I cannot see him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:8-10 It is said that our character is more important than our talent. We can have all the talent in the world, but if we don’t have strong character, we won’t go very far. We can all trust God in the good times. The question is not only if you can trust God, but more important, if God can trust you. Too many people let frustrations cause them to get sour, lose their passion. Will you pass that test and stay in faith even when you can’t see what God is doing? Keep doing the right thing, keep being good to people, keep giving it your best and having an excellent spirit. Nothing may be happening on the outside, but if you keep the right attitude, something is happening inside. God is changing you. If you keep trusting God, you will rise higher, overcome obstacles, and become everything you were created to be. PRAYER:- Father, Thank You that when ...

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17 Your friends should be sharpening you, making you better. Is that true of your circle of friends? Whatever qualities your friends have—either good or bad—eventually will either dull you or sharpen you. If you hang out with people who gossip, who compromise, or who are stingy, that’s what you’ll become. But if you hang around excellent people, generous people, and motivated, successful people, those good qualities will sharpen your life. This is why it’s so important that you are selective with whom you spend your time. Don’t worry about being in the right group, having the most friends, being the most popular. The quantity of friends is not important; it’s the quality of your friends that really matters. You need eagles in your life—people who inspire you to reach your dreams, people who motivate you to go further, people who make you better. The truth is that you cannot reach your highest potential on your o...

I thought, “Surely I shall die quietly in my rest after a long, good life.” Job 29:18 In the Scripture, Job had his nest all fixed up, had his house just as he wanted it, and had a successful business. Things were going great. He was finally comfortable, but what happened? God stirred up his nest. God doesn’t bring the trouble, but He will allow difficulties to push us into our destiny. Almost overnight Job lost his health, his children, and his business. If the story stopped there, it would be a sad ending. But Job understood this principle. In spite of great difficulties, he said, “I know my Redeemer lives.” In the end Job came out with twice what he’d had before. God’s dream for his life was greater than he could imagine. Every difficulty you go through pushes you to mature, to trust God more, to be more resilient and determined. Keep the right attitude, and God will push you to a new level.

Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and fielded ripe almonds. Numbers 17:8 In Numbers 17, when the people were questioning Moses’ and Aaron’s authority as leaders, God instructed Moses to take the staffs from the leaders of each of the tribes of Israel and place them in the tabernacle where God’s presence was manifest. These staffs were old walking sticks, dead pieces of wood. The next morning the staff of Aaron had sprouted, blossomed, and even produced almonds. This dead wood that blossomed was proof of who God’s leaders were. God can change what looks dead overnight. Suddenly, unexpectedly, God can change it overnight

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Matthew 5:8 In the Scripture, the Pharisees went to the temple all the time and did the right religious things outwardly, but they had wrong motives. They went to be seen and to impress people. They prayed long prayers out loud, but only because they wanted everybody to hear them. They gave their money so they would look good. And in the process, they failed to see God right in front of them in Jesus. Today’s Scripture tells us that our inner life is more important than our outer life. On a regular basis we should ask ourselves, “Why am I doing this? Am I volunteering as a service to God or to get other people’s applause? Don’t go year after year as the Pharisees did, giving, serving, doing the right thing but not reaping any reward.

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. Acts 9:1 Saul was one of the greatest enemies of the early church. He was headed straight toward Damascus with authority to arrest any followers of Christ. The believers in Damascus didn’t even know it. He was going to cause them tremendous heartache and pain. It looked inevitable. But suddenly a bright light shone down on Saul from heaven, knocking him to the ground. In a split second, God stopped the persecutor in his tracks…and in the process changed him into an apostle. We all need to realize there were times in our past when we knew nothing about it. It should have finished us off, but God said, “No, that’s My child. I’m putting a stop to it.” That is the mercies of God. PRAYER: Father, Thank You that You are my protector against so many things that I’m not even aware of. Thank You that all that comes against me to defeat me cannot finish me off because You raise up a barrier. I b...

Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I never thought I would see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too.” Genesis 48:11 In the Scripture, Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, brought his bloody robe to their father, Jacob, and told him that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob was certain Joseph was dead and lived heartbroken year after year. When Jacob was an old man, those same brothers brought him the news that Joseph was still alive and in charge of the nation of Egypt. Jacob was overwhelmed to see not only Joseph again but to meet Joseph’s sons. God is going to bring things to life that you thought were dead or too far gone. Dreams you’ve given up on—suddenly the right people show up, and you get the break you need. God is already arranging the breaks you need, moving the wrong people out of the way, lining up the favor and advantages. God knows how to bring it all together, and when He does, it’s going to be bigger, better, and more rewarding t...

It is God’s privilege to conceal things …. Proverbs 25:2 We know that God is good, that He’s loving, that He’s for us. If you’re always trying to figure out why something happened, you’re going to get frustrated and bitter. If God wants you to know why, He’ll tell you why. But there are some things God doesn’t want us to know yet. If you’re going to trust God, you have to be mature enough to drop it and say, “God, I don’t have to have all the answers. You’re God. Your ways are better than mine.” PRAYER:- Father, Thank You that no matter what I go through, You are good and You love me. I leave the things I don’t understand in Your hands and know that You will reveal or conceal things according to what’s best for me. I trust that Your ways are better than mine. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:15 God has seen everything that’s happened in your life—the injustice, the bad breaks, the person who did you wrong. Those people cannot pay you back. They cannot make you whole. No matter how good a person is, they can’t give you everything you need. Only God can meet your needs. He said He will give you beauty for ashes. He said He will pay you back double for the unfair things that have happened. When you let people off the hook and quit trying to make them perform perfectly and keep you fixed, not only will their life be better, but your relationships will improve. Let people off the hook. If you go to God, He’ll bring you out better. He’ll make the rest of your life more rewarding and more fulfilling than if those negative things hadn’t happened in the first place.

Fight the good fight the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you…. 1 Timothy 6:12 There are things that you’re believing for—you know God has planted those seeds. The start is exciting, and the end will be rewarding; but the truth is, the middle can be messy. In some way we’re all in the middle; we’re all on a journey. You know God gave you a promise, but every circumstance says just the opposite. Over time it’s easy to give up and think, “There are too many obstacles. It’s never going to happen.” When you study the heroes of faith, one common denominator you’ll find is that they had faith in the middle. When the promise seemed impossible, they kept moving forward, knowing it was a part of the process. They refused to surrender to the trials or dark places. At times worry would come, fear would come, doubt would come. They stirred their faith back up and believed that the promise would happen. Now do your part as they did—have faith in the mid...

You have crowned him with glory and honour. Psalm 8:5 When life throws you a curve, you have to have the right perspective when dark times linger. A bad break, a disappointment, or a sickness can’t stop you. Keep hoping on in faith. God didn’t crown you with favor and give you a royal robe so you could go around anchored to doubt, fear, and bitterness. Being hopeful is about your soul being anchored to the right thing. If you’re not anchored to hope, you’ll become anchored to something else. You can become anchored to discouragement and see everything with a tainted perspective. It’s time to cut that anchor and come over into hope.

So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.’ Zechariah 4:6 In Numbers 21, the Israelites were desperate for water in the barren wilderness when they came upon an old dry well. Here the people sang, “Spring up, O well!” even though they couldn’t see, taste, feel, or smell water. There was no reason, logically speaking, to believe water would flow out of the well. That’s why the Scripture tells us to walk by faith and not by sight. If they had gone by what they saw rather than had faith in the might and power of God, they would have missed this abundance. In difficult times, you’re either going to be singing about the problem or singing about how big your God is. He is not limited by the laws of nature. He’s limited by what we believe. You have to make declarations of faith when you’re in the drought and break forth into song, and God will show out in your life in ways you’ve nev...

So David inquired of the Lord, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines ? Will You deliver them into my hand ? 2 Samuel 5:19 When the Philistines heard that David had just been made king over all Israel, notice his humility in today’s Scripture. David was a great warrior who had won many battles, yet he was not proud. He was saying, “God, I don’t want to go if You’re not going with me.” He showed his dependence on God. He recognized where his strength, his favor, and his ability came from. Sometimes when we face a challenge, we assume God is on our side and there’s no question about whether we go to battle. But a wiser approach is, “God, what do You want me to do with this opposition. Shall I attack, or shall I be still and let You fight for me. We’ve all fought battles where we didn’t come out like we thought. Maybe it was because we didn’t inquire of the Lord.

For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken…. Luke 5:9 After Peter and his companions had fished all night and caught nothing, he obeyed Jesus’ instructions to try again and caught so many fish that his nets began to break. Peter was a professional fisherman and had never caught so many fish that his nets began to break, and he had to call on another boat of companions to help him. He was astonished by it, awestruck by what followed his obedience to Jesus’ word. You may have been working hard, doing the right thing, but you feel like you’ve caught nothing. There weren’t any fish out there the last time, but God controls the fish. Start dreaming again, start taking steps of faith. God is going to do things in your life that astonish you. It’s not going to be a normal catch, an average contract, an ordinary promotion. It’s going to be a net-breaking blessing—something unprecedented, favor so heavy that it starts to sink the boat.

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,...