Your Future Is Bright

Day 10   

There are times in our lives where we are uncertain of what lies ahead for us. Maybe your career path is hidden and you can’t seem to find your way. Perhaps your company is struggling financially and you don’t know the answer. Or maybe you are just plain lonely and don’t know where to turn. We talked about using the simple things to explain God’s truth. In the last post, I talked about saving money on hand soaps. Today we are talking about saving a company from bankruptcy. The same principle applies.

Here is our prayer: (Based on Proverbs 16:3 AMPC)

Father, I commit all my ideas to You.

Please cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will

So that I can align with Your heavenly plan.

Thank You in advance for giving me Your ideas

so I can be established and succeed in this situation.

Now whatever you have to do to make sure your situation remains in His hands. I had what I call a one-liner that I used to say out loud every time I wanted to take something back on. I would just say out loud, “This is not my deal!!” Somehow those five words set me in a place of freedom where I knew that God was taking care of me and I didn’t need to help Him. All I had to do is be responsible for what I felt He was saying. 

No matter how difficult your situation is, you can keep it simple. Proverb 16:3 is the answer to a marriage that is in trouble or a company that is heading for bankruptcy, etc. It all boils down to thinking like God thinks so we can experience success.

I Corinthians 1:27 NLT  God uses the simple things to solve big problems.

Ephesians 2:10 AMPC    God has a blueprint for your daily life.

Proverbs 3: 5-6 NLT      God will show you which path to take.

God Is So Practical

Day 9   

Hi, everybody!!  [If you are new to my blog, I would encourage you to go to the Archives (from April) and click on “Developing A Successful Life.” I don’t want you to miss a single thing!]

I love talking about all the wonderful things that God has done for me. He is so creative and so fun and He loves to let us know that He is with us.

The other day my daughter invited me to run errands with her. I didn’t really have anything to shop for but I thought I could use some hand soap from Bath and Body Works. That’s it—nothing spectacular. My next thought was that if we go there, I should be two while I am there.

Stephanie picks me up and says, “I need to go to Bath and Body Works.”

Hmmmmm……….

We walk in the door and there is a big sign that says, “SALE—-Hand Soap—-2 for $12.00” (Instead of 2 for $20.00) I pick up my soaps and continue to browse around the store. I don’t see one other thing that is on sale—just my two soaps. 

You may think that God doesn’t care, but the Bible says He does. He doesn’t say, “I will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to My will, except for when you go shopping. You are on your own there!” He’s always with us and He is always willing to help us be successful.

How about purchasing a car? Do you think He cares? What about choosing a career or someone to marry? At what point does He say, “You are on your own?” He cares about every little thing and about every big thing in our lives. When God is teaching me one of His principles, He often uses very simple things to show me His truth. He used “two hand soaps” to show me the truth in Proverbs 16:3. Read it slowly and let it sink in!!

Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.  Proverbs 16:3 AMPC

Selah.....stop and think about that!!

God Cares

DAY 8

Today we are going to talk about the practicality of God. Through my personal experience, I have found that He cares very much about our daily lives—-our concerns, our fears, our indecision, our needs——everything that concerns us. In Psalms 138:8 NKJV, He says He will make perfect that which concerns us. That excites me because He knows exactly what to do and He has the power to do it. All He needs is for us to do our part.

What is our part? Let's go to the Bible and see:

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering….. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. Romans 12:1 MSG

This pretty much takes care of the “commit” and “trust” your plans to God in our foundational scripture for establishing success—-Proverbs 16:3 AMPC.

Let’s continue on in Romans 1:2…..

You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  Romans 12:1-2The Message (MSG)

How does God bring out the best in us? When we are in a surrendered state of mind, God is able to place His ideas, His plans, His affirmation and even His correction in our thoughts so that we align with what He wants for us. 

Jeremiah 29:11   God has a good plan for us.

Proverbs 16: 3 AMPC  He wants us to experience success.

III John 1:2  God is joyful when we are aligned with His truth.

Our Seven Day Recap

DAY 7  

In the last seven blog posts, I talked about how to lay a foundation for developing a successful lifestyle. To experience success, we should train our minds to think successfully-- and then be willing to follow the pathway to achieve it.

On DAY ONE we learned that God wants us to think His thoughts so that we can make wise decisions. He will guide us if we let Him.

On DAY  TWO we learned that God wants our lives to function. He is willing to train us to use "good common sense." (Psalms 119:65-72 MSG)

On DAY THREE we learned how to submit our plans to God in order to receive His advice because He has the bigger picture.

On DAY FOUR we learned how to set up a meeting with God so that we can work with Him on a daily basis.

On DAY FIVE we learned that God can be very personal--as personal as we need Him to be.

On DAY SIX we learned how to turn to God in times when our feelings want to overtake us. In doing so we find an anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:18-19 NLT)

How about if we end these seven days by intentionally submitting our plans to God and asking Him to help us think His thoughts so we can experience the peace that He has for us? If you haven't established your time and place to meet with God, it's not too late. Here are some suggestions: your dining room table, your bedroom, your office, a coffee shop, a picnic table by the lake, etc. Then find the time that works best for you. In the beginning, you may miss a day here or there but just keep going until you get into a daily rhythm of meeting with God. You will be so glad you did!!

[NOTE: Day 1 is entitled “Developing a Successful Lifestyle.” You’ll find it in the April “archives.”]

An Anchor For The Soul

Hi, everybody! I hope you had an enjoyable Easter. It's always good to reflect on the goodness of God to us!! That never gets old! Well, here is my word of encouragement today from God's Word:

DAY 6

Yesterday I shared a personal experience that took me from a time of sorrow to a time of joy. One word from God will do that for you!! If you have a Bible near you, please pick it up now and say, “God uses this book to speak to me. His promises are ‘yes’ and I say ‘AMEN!!!” The Bible is the most foundational way that He speaks and it’s right there on our coffee table or desk. We can grab it and find peace at anytime”

When things happen—and they do—our emotions want to spin out of control. They want to pull us down to a place we don’t really want to go. We feel like we have been thrown overboard into a sea of discouragement, disappointment and hopelessness. Well, here’s what God says about these times:

Hebrews 6:18-19New Living Translation (NLT)

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.

“Selah”——stop and think about that!!

[If you are new to my blog you can click on Day 1 in the archives to begin this 40 Day devotional. They are short so you can get caught up quickly!!}

Meeting With God

Day 5

[Note: You will benefit most if you go to the Archives and click on “Day 1.” I would love for you to get the most that you can out of these “40 Days” of spending daily time with God.]

Please allow me to give you an example of hearing from God in a personal way. Our family had gone through a year or more of sadness over an event that happened of which we had no control. The result left us all in great sorrow. I was so very glad to have had about twenty years of daily meetings with God at this point because I knew to Whom I could turn.

One morning I was particularly sad. I knew that there were three chapters in Jeremiah that were familiar to me and would always bring me back to a deep inner peace. That particular day I read the following scripture:

They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion and shall flow together and be radiant with joy over the goodness of the Lord….And their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow or languish any more at all.”  Jeremiah 31:12 (AMPC)

My heart was so touched by these words. It was like they were personally written for me. I wrote that in my journal and even posted it on the bathroom mirror. I spoke them out loud during my prayer time and sang them out loud in praise to God. I did not want to lose sight of what God was saying. These were the words that would change the trajectory of our lives.

I Corinthians 1: 3 (AMPC)  God gives us His grace to experience His heart peace.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV) God’s promises are “Yes” and we agree by saying “Amen.”

Isaiah 35: 1-2 (AMPC) Our desert shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.

Hearing God's Voice

Day 4

When God knows you want to spend time with Him, He will take notice and make sure He spends time with you. Many years ago I set my clock for a certain time of the day that was allocated just for Him. I also designed a comfortable place where I could keep a basket of books that I could grab easily. I gathered my laptop, my Bible, my journal and a daily devotional where I could teach myself the scriptures each day.

I began by praying “Father, I commit this time to You. Cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will so that I can experience Your peace.” (Taken from Proverbs 16:3 AMPC) I would read my daily devotional and then write down on my journal page what I had learned from a particular scripture. I called these precious times my “meeting with God.” I soon realized how much I enjoyed these times and how much peace I experienced because of them. I have been having "meetings with God" for thirty plus years now. I was teaching myself to hear how God speaks through His written word. 

If you haven't already developed consistent times with God, I challenge you to begin today. Find your time and place, gather your materials and expect God to meet you every day. I promise you that you will be totally blessed!!

2 Timothy 2:15 (AMPC)   Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God….

Psalms 119: 127 (AMPC)   I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great spoil…

Proverbs 26:3 (AMPC)   You will...keep him in perfect....peace whose mind....is stayed on You because he commits himself to you....

If having a “meeting with God” sounds good to you, let me know in a comment how you’ve set up your "meeting" place. I’d love to hear from you!