Walk Through

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4, NIV)

       Sometimes in life, you’ve got to play in pain. In other words, you’ve got to keep going even when you don’t feel like it. You have to keep pressing forward even when it’s not easy. Every voice will tell you, “You’re done. There’s nothing good in your future.” No, don’t believe those lies. God sees your effort. It’s one thing to do the right thing and make good decisions when everything is going your way. That’s great. God honors that. But when times are tough and nothing is going your way, when you’re hurting, when you should be on the sidelines nursing your wound but instead you’re still in the game; you’re still getting to work on time; you’re still being good to someone, you’re still expecting God to turn it around, that gets God’s attention in a new way.

I believe God has a greater reward for people who are faithful in the tough times. If that’s you today, know that God has His hand on you. He’s walking with you through the valley. He’s preparing streams in the dessert. He’s leading and guiding you in paths of righteousness for His name sake. Keep praising. Keep believing. Keep moving forward knowing that God is with you, and His comfort will guide you to the place of blessing.




A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, thank You for being my Good Shepherd. Thank You for walking with me in the valley, in the tough places. Thank You for restoring my soul and leading me to a place of victory and blessing in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Credits: Joel and Victoria Osteen

He Remembers You

“Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.”

(Genesis 30:22, NIV)

Our God is so loving, so merciful, so faithful. Even when we become too discouraged to believe, God does not forget what He promised. Maybe you feel discouraged today. Maybe your life hasn’t turned out the way you had hoped. Maybe you prayed, believed and worked hard, and it didn’t work out. Now you’re thinking, “Hey, I’m never going to be happy again. I’ll never be married. I’ll never accomplish my dreams.”

Remember today, not only does God remember you, He remembers the promise He placed within you. He knows what He’s destined you to do. You may have already said, “Forget it; it’s never going to happen.” The good news is that you don’t have the final say. God has the final say, and He says, “What I started in your life, I’m going to finish.” That dream you gave up on, God didn’t give up on. He remembers you, and He is with you, leading you and guiding you to the place of victory.


A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness even when I am unfaithful. Thank You for drawing me close to You when I feel discouraged. Today, I choose to lift up my eyes to You for You are my source of strength and help. You are the Author and Finisher of my faith in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Credits: Joel Osteen Ministries

Desiring God More Than His Blessings

        How many of us can actually say, 'I am not jealous of anyone else or envious of what others have. If God gave it to them, then I want them to enjoy it"?

The Word says, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have" (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV). I believe God tests us to see if we will live by this verse.

There are times when He will put somebody in front of us who has exactly what we want, just to see how we will respond. Until we can pass His "I am happy for you because you are blessed" test, we are never going to have any more than what we have right now.

If you have asked God for something and He hasn't given it to you yet, rest assured that He is not holding out on you. He simply wants to make sure that you rid yourself of jealousy and make Him your top priority.

God wants us to prosper in every way. He wants people to see His goodness and how well He takes care of us. But we must desire God more than we desire His blessings.

PRAYER STARTER

God, I want You to show me the areas of my life where I've given in to jealousy and covetousness, and help me rearrange my priorities.

I want to desire You more than Your blessings.


Credits: Joyce Meyer Ministries