In tennis, if you take your eye off the ball you lose sight of the only thing you can control. If you allow yourself to be distracted, defeat is guaranteed. It is vitally important that you make a quality decision to keep your eye on your goal. Celebrate it. Pray about it. Think on it only. Jesus said that whatever you desire, when you pray, believe you receive it and you shall have it!
You decide the source of life that is put in you. It is not your government, family, culture, color or age that decides what you say and believe and see in your life. Let that which comes from you be life to others!
No one can put down a son or daughter of God unless that child of God chooses to think lowly of him or herself. Jesus said that if He is lifted up, He will draw all people unto Him. There is only one way to go when you are connected to Him, and that is up! Up in attitude, up in perspective, up in ability, and up in self-dignity!
The choice is ours. If we won’t see and embrace the truth of how God sees us and thinks about us, we’ll be doomed to a life of perceiving ourselves as helpless, weak, and subject to circumstances. That’s called prison, and it’s NOT how God created us to live!
Moses sent 12 men to spy out the Promised Land. Ten of the spies saw themselves as grasshoppers in the sight of the giants that lived there. Two of the spies had a different perspective. They remembered what God had said and knew that NO giants could defeat them (Numbers 14:9 KJV). Where is your perspective right now? Has something become a giant in your life?
The picture you have in your heart is more important than what you have in your wallet, your past, your friends, your education, or anything else. Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it flows your life!
The disturbances and confusion of the world is not a call to a monastic life, but rather a call to a higher thought life. Our victory is not found in fleeing the pressures of a secular world, but in keeping our thoughts in line with God’s thoughts in the midst of Satan’s bombardment.
God is for me! Who can be against me? With these words ringing in your ears—I challenge you today to get up and get going—no one else can do it for you! Regardless of how difficult the crisis is that you may be facing, continue on! God will guide you in your everyday affairs. He is committed to you more than you could ever commit to Him!
So often our circumstances shout, “This is impossible!” “It’s over!” “You’re wasting your time!” Sometimes your closest friends or even your spouse might say, “This is stupid, what are you doing?” “This faith stuff isn’t working!”
I plead with you—at that moment when it’s very hard and you think you will fail and want to quit—BELIEVE in the Word of God and DON’T GIVE UP!!
When I arrive in a new country and the plane lands, I walk out on to the ground with the full expectation that I will change that nation. People will find Christ. Leaders will discover a new inspiration for life and thousands will be physically and mentally healed. It does not matter how many witch doctors, thieves, or corrupt people want to stop me. I come with the Hope of the World in my heart. The Gospel we bring is the power of God that produces salvation in every single person who will receive it.
During World War II, a military governor met with General George Patton in Sicily. When he praised Patton highly for his courage and bravery, the general replied, “Sir, I am not a brave man…the truth is, I am an utterly craven coward. I have never been within the sound of gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn’t so scared that I had sweat in the palms of my hands.” Years later when Patton’s autobiography was published, it contained this significant statement by the general: “I learned very early in my life never to take counsel of my fears.”
If you are to do anything in life you will face the risk of failure. There are healthy fears that protect you, like a fear of jumping off the garage roof. These type of fears protect you, but there are many unhealthy fears that paralyze you, like fear of tomorrow, fear of poverty, fear of sickness, fear of failure, etc. We have been given the weapons to live a fear-free life, but we must use those weapons to address the fears. Patton had it right, don’t take council of your fears!
