4GIVEN

With so much going on it’s easy to slip into a pit of negativity. However, we got to stay positive. Solomon said in Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up bones.” Believe it or not things are never as bad as it seems and laughters lightens your load and lifts your heart into heavenly places. Laughter blends with angelic melodies of praise. So stop trying to shoulder the burdens of life rather, turn everything over to God. Matthew 11:29-30, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Father God, I declare that today I hear, receive, understand, embrace, and am committed to Your oracles. Father God, speak to me, and I will listen and follow Your commands. I decree and declare that there is a clear and direct conduit between heaven and me. I hunger for the meat of Your Word because it brings me life and in this life, I choose to follow You and to love others as I love myself. THANK YOU FATHER for all that YOU do, in Jesus’, amen.

This hit me like a ton of bricks this morning. It’s in our genetic DNA to believe that if we understand the ‘why’, this will bring us peace. WRONG! Earthly understanding will never gives us spiritual peace because the relief is short-lived. We all possess an insatiable appetite for trying to figure things out in order to inadvertently gain mastery over our lives. However, the goal of every Christian is not attain mastery rather it is to seek our Master. Solomon succumbed to the will of his wives due to the illusion of mastery. This is why he wrote Proverbs 3:5-6; “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understandings….” God’s peace is not elusive nor is hidden at the center of some complicated maze. Romans 5:1 says we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So don’t get caught up trying to be your own master, trust God with every thing and as Charles F. Stanley says, “Leave the consequences to Him.”

If God told you to ask for anything what would you ask for?! Solomon was asked this question and his response was recorded 2 Chron 1:10. He said, “Give me wisdom and knowledge.” Perhaps Solomon understood God because his daddy taught him about God. David said in Psalm 27:4, “I’m asking GOD for one thing, only one thing: To live with him in his house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate his beauty; I’ll study at his feet.” Lastly, Jesus confirms why we should keep our focus on the main thing in John 6:33. He said, “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” 
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A mustard seed of faith was deposited in each of us and everyday God gives us opportunities to develop our faith. Through test, trials, ups, downs, highs and lows God is really saying, “Do you trust Me?” When things get difficult and we call on God through faith a.) it pleases God and b.) our seed of faith increases. IOW, trusting God is pleasing to God! Hebrews 10:38 says, “The just shall live by faith. And I take no pleasure in one that turns back.” Hebrews 11:6 of the MSG paraphrased this fundamental precept well, “By an act of faith, Enoch skipped death completely. “They looked all over and couldn’t find him because God had taken him.” We know on the basis of reliable testimony that before he was taken “he pleased God.” It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that He exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him.” Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith. We may not skip death but if Enoch chose the latter, so can we!

“God will not just give us what we want; He will make us desire what He wants—give us His desires—so that following Him is that much more joyful and fulfilling. Some things will fall away as we pray for them because we realize they were never right for us in the first place. To put it simply, the more you hang out with God, the more He rubs off on you—and the more He will rub off on how you do your work, how you relate to your family members and friends, and how you make your decisions. Spend enough time with Him, and suddenly your desires start to look a lot like His.” Cindy Trimm 

MORNING PRAYER:
Father, I anticipate with great expectations the good things You have prepared for me today. Bring complete and divine order to my day as I seek You first and make Your will, plan, and purpose my priority. I rejoice in the new day You have given me and my family. I praise You for making it abundantly fruitful and productive. Thank You for teaching me ways to increase my effectiveness— to work smarter. I chose to work according to Your Spirit’s agenda and perform for an audience of one—the Lord Jesus Christ as mentioned in Colossians 3:23. In Jesus’ name I ask all these things by faith, amen and amen!!

I declare in the name of Jesus that I am a pioneer of new territories. Like Joshua, I walk in favor with God and man, and I will possess all the land God has given me. With Christ on my side, I believe there will be no holdups, no holdouts, no setbacks or delays. Unlike Lot’s wife, I will not look back to return and desire the former. Father, cause me to ascend into new realms of power and authority and access new dimensions of divine revelation and inspiration. Breathe new life into every dormant dream and dying aspiration. In the Jesus’ amen and amen!