You might be thinking that your faith is a personal matter. It’s true that it is extremely personal. There is nothing that controls your personal life more than what you believe. At least, that’s what Jesus believes.

He is the authority on life. When He talked with people, what did He predominately tell them to do? He spoke to a woman with a blood disease, saying, “Your faith has made you whole.” He spoke to two blind men, telling them, “According to your faith be it unto you.” He told a high ranking Roman soldier, “As you have believed so be it unto you.”

Notice what Jesus is saying: life is not according to your past experience, your wish, or even what He wants. It is according to what you believe!

The sweet life is simple when you’re sincere. It’s wonderful to be doing something today that I started doing 30 years ago, enjoying it more today than ever before. It’s a wonder to wake up every morning feeling like there is important work to be done on the earth, knowing every bit of your energy will be needed. You get cleaned up and ready to go for Big Kingdom Business every day.

God has done a marvelous thing for human beings! He has attached His eternal value to everything we do. We are not measured by others opinions of what we do…only by our attitude in a desire to please Him and serve others as we do it.

The top industrialist can carry this attitude as well as the most humble street cleaner. The most popular TV preacher can do it as well as the quiet country pastor who no one may know. When connected to deity, Jesus said even the giving of a glass of water is not unnoticed. That energizes me to think that everything counts. Jesus is not looking at what you have… but what you do with what you have.

Today as you start off with your first cup of coffee, don’t start complaining about what you don’t have. Don’t put off life until a future time when you look more blessed. Enjoy the moment! Make the most of it with a sincere joy in your heart that you have another day on earth to do good, knowing that it counts for eternity!

London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior. As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg made it clear that he planned to replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.

“Forget about the repairs,” the buyer said. “When I buy this place, I’m going to build something completely different. I don’t want the building, I want the site.”

Compared with the renovation God has in mind for us, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball. When we recognize that we are purchased by the blood of Christ, the old life is over (2 Cor. 5:17).

He makes all things new! All He needs is the site and the permission to build!

Deep in the quiet of the soul, when the sun sets over the last mountain range and the warmth of the day slowly dissipates into cool breezes that chill the sweat from your day’s labor, you hear His voice whisper “I WILL PROVIDE.”

At the end of the day, when the clamor of ideas has quieted and the energy of people’s interaction is spent, you stand alone with only your thoughts and the mission before you. It is in this moment you hear His voice, “I WILL PROVIDE.”

The “how” is in His Hands.

You wake up each morning like a diligent farmer ready to milk the cows, feed the chickens, and plow the fields. You do the natural, and let Him do the “super” so your life has a supernatural flavor to it. Paul’s conviction becomes your conviction when he says, “The Lord shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). You are resting with no evidence, no sign, and no prophetic word. Faith arises in your heart as sure as the sun comes up in the morning. All is well, “I WILL PROVIDE.”

Today you must find your place of rest in Him and in His Word. The days may change. Government may change. The economy may change. But you do not change, knowing that He said, “I WILL PROVIDE.”

Examine your life today. In what areas are you not hearing the Lord say, “I WILL PROVIDE”? Believe, and He will be faithful to His Word.

“So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19).

In Central America scientists have discovered a four eyed fish. The upper part of its eyes have air lenses, while in the bottom part of its eyes it has water lenses. This helps the fish see everything above the water as well what’s going on under the water.

I think that leaders should be like this fish. Serving people, but acting when we are guided by the Holy Spirit and not just pushed by needs. We need to see the situations in the spiritual world and hear what the Father says to do, while at the same time seeing the earthly realm and being sensitive to other people’s needs. We must have a vision—both of heaven and of people!

James is telling us to have a supernatural response when he writes, “My brethren, COUNT IT ALL JOY when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1:2-4  NKJV emphasis mine).

There is no joy in bills that are not paid.

There is no joy in supply lines that look cut.

There is no joy in sickness or pain shouting for attention.

This is when we COUNT IT ALL JOY. We decide to give a different response than the natural mind wants to give. We decide to laugh when others cry, to sing when others moan, and to expect good things when others just see dark clouds ahead. What can produce this type of response?

You know something the world does not know. You know that God is greater than the fallen, broken world. You know that God is good and a friend to those in time of need. You know that you have a name above every name that heaven responds to. You know that you have a destiny on earth to fulfill and a place far greater you are going to. You know you have a promise recorded in a book for all to see that guarantees God’s presence in your life and a witness within you that He truly does live in you.

You have a supernatural experience called the new birth when your sin nature was removed and God’s very Spirit and nature was given you. This happened when you decided to believe what He had said concerning His son Jesus. This miracle was just the beginning of a miracle lifestyle based on His Word, His sacrifice, His plan, His presence, His power, and your decisions.

This is how you can COUNT IT ALL JOY when you face the fallen world full of defeat, destruction, and despair!

This life where God has fused us to Himself overrides all the limitations of life in every sphere. This is the same life that Jesus demonstrated for us to live. He came out of heaven and for 3 ½ years showed what God in flesh can do.

Then He remarked, “As the father has sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21 NKJ).

THIS LIFE SUPERSEDES NATURE – Have you ever stopped a storm?  Jesus did in a boat when all thought life was lost. He spoke a word and the storm obeyed Him!

THIS LIFE SUPERSEDES PHYSICS – Have you ever healed an incurable disorder? Jesus did when a woman with an incurable blood disease was healed when her faith drew the power of God out of Him!

THIS LIFE SUPERSEDES THE LAWS OF DEATH – Have you ever seen the dead rise? Jesus did when He spoke to dead Lazarus and called him out of the tomb!

THIS LIFE SUPERSEDES THE LAW OF GRAVITY – Have you ever lifted what has fallen? The Bible records the story of a young boy who had fallen out a third story window and died. Paul lifted that which had fallen and restored life to the boy!

Can Jesus be the same in you in the 21st century that He was in a Jew in the 1st century? The answer to this big question is what unlocks your limitations!

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have an answer for every situation that you face? Could it be possible to have a good response to every worry or fear that you might encounter? The truth is that you DO have the answers! The challenge is that those answers are in seed form.

Imagine this: You enter the Superstore of God and walk down the aisles of goods and products, looking at everything you want in life. What would God say when you pulled up to the checkout counter with your cart full of everything you desire? He would say YES and fill your cart with all the seeds that would produce what you said.

The problem is that most people wouldn’t walk out with any seeds, because they would rather have the results immediately. But if you want things immediately, you will have to produce them yourself without the supernatural seeds of God’s supply.

Seeds have wonderful characteristics in that they have creative life within them. They have the ability to multiply and produce more than planted. They have durability so they last for ages.

But seeds require time!

What you put in the soil is not what you will be seeing in 24 hours, but you will see it. Only after the farmer tills his ground, fertilizes it, and waters it does he plant the precious seeds. He heads down to the local coffee shop and talks with the other farmers and relaxes. Why isn’t he walking the fields praying for a harvest? It is because he knows his job is done and the job of the seed is beginning. He knows that seeds always produce. He trust his seeds. Seeds always do their part if they remain planted.

The seeds that Leslie and I planted years ago for a world ministry that will effect positive change in millions of people still are producing. The desire of leaders worldwide to hear and experience the miracle events has not waned over time, but continues to grow.

What seeds are you planting? If you don’t know, check the words you’re speaking, the thoughts you continue to repeat over time, and the strong feelings you have in various areas. Therein lies the seedbed of your future!

You might feel that something disqualifies you from leadership because of age, education or experience, but there is hope. Jesus was the best example to even simple fishermen, giving them ability to lead nations of people. What made Him the leader of a third of the current world population and all of creation? The secret lies in a simple statement that is often overlooked.

“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going’” (John 8:14).

The secret of your leadership lies in 3 simple facts. The same facts that made Jesus admired also inspired great feats of courage in his followers.

First, Jesus knew who He was. He had a sense of His oneness with the Father. He said, “I know where I come from.” He knew His identity and was comfortable with it. He knew His origin in God and rested in that relationship.

Second, Jesus knew His purpose. He said: “I know where I am going.” He was not a guy floating around with a question mark on his mind. He spoke with a purpose. He had a depth to His words that would stir the soul and stimulate courage of heart to follow Him to the ends of the earth. In every delay or diversion He was aware of His time and His purpose.

The third secret of His leadership is His willingness to pay the price for it. He said in his weakest moment: “nevertheless thy will be done, not mine.”

Don’t consider the cost to your purpose to be too much. It is nothing compared to the satisfaction of reaching the end of your quest or at least knowing you tried to reach it. Even the great apostle Paul wrote of his plans for Spain, yet there is no scriptural record of him ever reaching it.

Jesus was not sad when He said His last words, “It is finished.” He was completed. And His leadership continues to be an inspiration to us all.

Inspired living is not an option. Negative thinking is as natural to living on earth as the effects of gravity. So if a human is not aware of the pull downward, they could wake up one morning in a state of paralysis from all the negative thoughts that bombard the spiritual and natural airwaves.

In my car, the GPS was picking up street signs while my radio was picking up satellite programs, and my phone was receiving a signal from an overseas conversation. All this was happening at the same time in the same car! The air is impregnated with signals that we can now capture with our state-of-the-art electronic devices. Likewise, we also pick up feelings, ideas, and insights from the spiritual realm we live in that are both good and bad.

We must choose to live an inspired life just like a plane is required to start its engine before it can move to break free of and overcome the law of gravity. When we put on Christ and walk in the Spirit, we are living an inspired life.

Staying inspired is also our choice, because the people of the world are tired and hurting. Hurting people will naturally take something out of you. We are here to give to them, but we ourselves must be up to lift them up.

It is your choice whether you live an inspired life or are dragged and held down by negative thinking. Listen to your vocabulary…is it up or down?