Today's "From Faith To Faith" devotional by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland is spot on!
Don't Serve the Problem
Let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the
Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. Isaiah 55:7
You can't win a
victory as long as the problem is the biggest thing in your life!
The Lord woke me up to
that fact a few years ago. At that time I was facing some difficulties in my
ministry that seemed so big to me, I thought about them from morning till night.
Even though I was standing against them, I was thinking more about those
problems than about the scripture promises I was standing on.
Then I saw something
in Matthew 6:24-25: "Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore I say
unto you, Take no thought for your life...."
I'd read that
scripture hundreds of times, but that day I saw something I'd never noticed
before. I saw that immediately after Jesus said, "No man can serve two
masters," He said, "Take no thought." Suddenly it hit me: We
serve our thoughts!
That's why Isaiah 55
says for us to forsake our thoughts, and by the Word, take God's thoughts.
That's why 2 Corinthians 10:5 says to cast down thoughts that challenge the
Word and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ.
Do you want
deliverance from your problems today?
Then quit serving
them! Quit allowing them to consume your thought life. And don't wait until
circumstances change to do it. Instead, realize that circumstances won't ever change
until you switch from wrong to right thinking.
I know that's not easy
to do, especially in the midst of heavy darkness and trial. But you can do
it if you'll do these three things:
First, remember you
aren't alone. You have the Word (God's thoughts). You have the Holy Spirit to
strengthen you and you have the mind of Christ.
Second, get around
people who are full of faith. Instead of rehearsing your problem, let them do
the talking. Make yourself listen. Join in with their faith and resist
darkness.
Third, praise God. Do
whatever it takes to make yourself praise. When you begin to praise, God's
presence will turn back those worried thoughts and make them fall!
Your problems
are not the biggest thing in your life. Jesus is. Serve Him
with your thoughts and He will set you free!
AMEN! Instead, rejoice with Psalm 30 from today's Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan!
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the Temple. [A Psalm] of David.
1 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to You and You have healed me.
3 O Lord, You have brought my life up from Sheol (the place of the dead); You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit (the grave).
4 Sing to the Lord, O you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
5 For His anger is but for a moment, but His favor is for a lifetime or in His favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
6 As for me, in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
7 By Your favor, O Lord, You have established me as a strong mountain; You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
8 I cried to You, O Lord, and to the Lord I made supplication.
9 What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit (the grave)? Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your truth andfaithfulness to men?
10 Hear, O Lord, have mercy and be gracious to me! O Lord, be my helper!
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing for me; You have put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
12 To the end that my tongue and my heart and everything glorious within me may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.
AMEN! Here is Hillsong UNITED with "Future Marches In":
Shalom in Him!
