Survival Skills While Waiting for Greatness

How to Survive the Waiting Game

by John Paul Jackson

www.streamsministries.com

Wait for the LORD;

Be strong and let your heart take courage;

Yes, wait for the LORD. — Psalm 27:14, NASB

No matter what God has called us to do, one of the most difficult things we will face is the in-between time. In the beginning, he prepares our hearts for the calling. He gives us a glimpse of His plans for us, and it births great hope within us.

The difficulty is that there is always a time lag between the initial preparation and the outcome. The beginning often carries a great emotional surge. We know what God said, and we know we will see it happen, no matter what the enemy may throw at us in the process. Our faith is as tall as the mountains. We feel invincible in God’s promise. We take the initial steps and are excited to see the fruit of our labors.

But then comes the waiting.

The days become weeks and months, and we have to wait for what God has promised us. Many of us don’t handle the waiting very well. Our hope begins to waver. We begin to forget the glorious promises God gave us and how it felt when we heard His voice. So many of us lose heart during the time lag.

What can we do to gain heart during this waiting period?

1. Be willing to rest

Hearing God’s voice is like finding a well in the desert. We do not survive on our own thoughts or strength or goodness, and as we discover this, we discover reality and true freedom in Christ. His presence is our lifeblood, and He is His peace, which is the foundation for hearing His voice. It will be very difficult for us to stir up our hearts, and keep them passionate and alive, without being willing to rest in His presence.

So in the midst of waiting for change, we need to be willing to rest. In the New American Standard translation of Psalm 24:17, it reads, “Let your heart take courage.” If we are worrying and striving and trying to make things happen, it will be very difficult for us to find our peace in God. It will be difficult for us to remember Him.

This week, if you find yourself brought low by anxiety, despair or the apparent lack of movement in your life, let your heart take courage by being quiet in His presence. This is the starting point for everything we do. There, God will prepare us for the change He is bringing and for the next step in the promise He has given us.

2. Be captivated

Paul wrote in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The level of “hearing” that Paul talked about means to be enraptured, to be captivated, to be totally consumed, to be focused on the Word — that is what increases our faith.

What has God told you? Be like the persistent widow in Luke 18 who would not allow the judge to forget her case. If it has been awhile since you have actively remembered the promise God gave you, change that. Think about it. Remember it. Write it on a note card and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Be captivated by God. Open your heart to hearing His quiet voice in the area of His promise.

3. Be willing to take risks

Finally, we need to consider taking steps we have never taken before. Perhaps God has already set up everything we need, and the only thing left for us to do now is take the risk that He’s calling us to take at the time he’s calling us to take it.

Peter took a lot of risks. The New Testament is filled with wild stories about him. Something daring and unorthodox was in him from the beginning. He didn’t always take the right risks, yet God never chastised him for being zealous.

If you do these three things — rest in God, be captivated by Him, and be willing to take the risks He sets before you to take — you are guaranteed to see change because you are seeking God. You are holding on to His promises, and you are remembering His voice. You are honoring Him, and that is no small thing.

Today, be strong and let your heart take courage.

Allow Your Dreams to Die Like a Seed in the Father's Hands

Trust Him with Your Dreams

www.joelosteen.com

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives” (John 12:24, NLT)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

It’s good to be passionate about your dreams, but did you know a dream can actually become an idol? If it’s all you think about, and you’re not going to be happy unless it happens your way, that’s out of balance. The fact is, sometimes you have to release that dream back to the Father.

Sometimes we can get frustrated because we are trying to force things to happen on our timetable. Sometimes we hold on to things so tightly, but when we finally are willing to let them go, that’s when God can bring them to pass. If you’ll choose to release that frustration and not let it become the center of your attention, but instead, use that same time and energy to thank God that He’s directing your steps, you open the door for God to give you the desires of your heart.

We have to remember, God already knows what we want and what we need. He’s the One who put those desires in us. We shouldn’t be consumed by trying to make things happen. Instead, a greater act of faith is to be happy right where you are; to stay open and trust God because He has good plans in store for your future!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father God, today I release my dreams, my desires, my “wants” like a seed falling to the ground. I know that You have a good plan for my future, and I trust You to bring it to pass in my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

Search Your Heart to Find the God-Given Dreams and Let Go the Wishful Thinking

God-given Dreams

www.joelosteen.com

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

“A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure” (Proverbs 16:9, AMP)

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Oftentimes as children, we have dreams for the future, dreams of being ball players and actresses, super heroes and firemen. But most of the time, they end up just being wishful thinking. As we get older, we grow out of them. It’s good to play and have dreams as children, but when we grow up, we have to know the difference between a God-given dream and a wish. I remember when I was a little boy, I dreamed of playing basketball for the Houston Rockets. That was definitely a fantasy! Beyond our wishes though, we all have dreams placed inside of us by the Creator of the universe. In fact, the Latin word for “desire” means “from the Father.” One way to tell if a dream is really from God is that the desire won’t go away. You may have had it for years, but you still can’t let it go. In fact, you may have tried to let it go, but it won’t let go of you.

Today, I encourage you to search your heart and allow those God-given dreams to surface. He placed those desires inside of you for a purpose, and He’s going to use them to direct you into the destiny He has in store for you!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, thank You for the dreams and desires You’ve placed within me. I submit those dreams to You and ask that You direct my steps. Search my heart and make my thoughts agreeable to Your Word and to Your plan for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

— Joel & Victoria Osteen

God Uses Us Because of Our Weaknesses

“No One is Too Weak for God!”

D.L. Moody was innocent of formal education. His letters, many of which have been preserved, are full of grammatical errors. His physical appearance was not impressive. His voice was high pitched and his tones nasal. But these handicaps did not prevent God using him to shake two continents!

A reporter was sent by his newspaper to cover Moody's campaign in Britain, in which aristocracy and artisan alike turned to God, to discover the secret of his power. After considerable observation, he reported, “I can see nothing whatever in Moody to account for his marvellous work.” When Moody read the report he chuckled, “Why, that is the very secret of the movement. There is nothing in it that can explain it but the power of God. The work is God's, not mine.”

It is a secret joy to find

The task assigned beyond our powers,

For thus, if ought of good be wrought,

Clearly the praise is His, not ours.

An important spiritual principle is involved, which must be mastered by all who wish to be their best for God. God is not confined to the greatly gifted and exceptionally clever for the fulfilment of His purposes. He can use them only as they abandon reliance on their purely natural abilities. All through history God has chosen and used nonentities, because their unusual dependence on God left room for the unique display of His power. When they are content to be nothing, He can be everything. He chooses and uses the richly endowed only when they renounce dependence on their own abilities and resources. God will not use us in spite of our weakness and inadequacy but actually because of them. He refuses to use our most spectacular gifts and unique qualifications until we are weaned from reliance on them. Human weakness provides the best backdrop for the display of divine power.

This is the strategy of God that the world should know that Christianity-all the triumphs of faith in individual lives and the onward march and mission of the Church-is not to be explained by anything in man, any human virtue, prowess, ability. “My strength is made perfect in weakness” (II Cor. 12:9) is God's message to Paul. “When I am weak, then I am strong” was Paul's testimony.

“It is a thrilling discovery to make,” writes J.S. Stewart, “that always it is upon human weakness and humiliation, not human strength and confidence that God chooses to build His kingdom; and that He can use us not merely in spite of our ordinariness and helplessness and disqualifying infirmities, but precisely because of them. Nothing can defeat a church or soul that takes, not its strength but its weakness, and offer it to God to be His weapon. It was the way of Francis Xavier and William Carey and Paul the apostle. This is the strategy to which there is no retort.”

Our trouble is not that we are too weak but that we are too strong for God.

-Selected

Who are you agreeing with? God or the Devil

Agreeing with God

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

"Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?"
(Amos 3:3, NKJ).

TODAY'S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Are you going through a difficult time today? We all experience setbacks and obstacles in this life, but don't make the mistake of allowing those challenges to change your perspective. You can't go around thinking that those problems are insurmountable because negative thinking will keep you in bondage.

Did you know that when you're negative, you're in agreement with the enemy? But when you have a positive attitude according to what the Word says, then you're in agreement with God. You and God are a majority. When you agree with God, all things are possible.

Today, instead of going around thinking about your problems, cast down those thoughts and start dwelling on the fact that Almighty God, the Creator of the universe is on your side. Declare today that no weapon formed against you shall prosper. Declare that He is fighting your battles. Declare that victory is on its way. Get into agreement with God and pave the way for His supernatural blessing in your life.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father God, thank You for Your truth that sets me free. I choose to submit my thoughts to You and come into agreement with Your Word. Help me to keep my mind stayed on You and Your victory no matter what may come my way. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

- Joel & Victoria Osteen

www.joelosteen.com

Meditate to Victory!

Meditate on the Word


By Kenneth Copeland


www.kcm.org 

"And [God] brought [Abram] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness."

(Genesis 15:5-6)

Do you ever have trouble believing the Word of God? Not just agreeing with it mentally, but really believing that what it says will work for you?

I do. There are times when the promises in the Word stagger my mind. There have been times when I've felt so defeated and the circumstances around me looked so bad that it was tough for me to believe I was "more than a conqueror" even though I knew God said I was.

What do you do when your mind staggers like that at the promise of God? You meditate on that promise.

Scriptural meditation simply means thinking about and reflecting on the Word of God. It means pondering a particular scripture and mentally applying it to your own circumstances again and again until that scripture permanently marks your consciousness.

That kind of meditation can affect your life in a way that almost nothing else can. It can, quite literally, alter your mind. That's what happened to Abram.

When God first told him that he was going to father a nation, he was an old man. His wife, Sara, was also old. What's more, she had been barren all her life. How could an aging, childless couple have even one child--much less a nation full of them? Abram couldn't even imagine such a thing. It contradicted his entire mind-set.

But God knew the mental struggle Abram would have, so He didn't just make him a verbal promise and leave it at that. He gave Abram a picture of that promise to meditate on. He took him out into the starry night, turned his eyes to the sky and said, "So shall thy seed be."

Can't you just see Abram staring out at the stars, trying to count them? Filling the eyes of his heart with the promise of God?

That's what meditation is all about. Taking time to envision the promise of God until it becomes a reality inside you. It's tremendously powerful, and by focusing on the scriptural promises God has given you, you can put it to work in your life just as Abram put it to work in his.

Don't just read the Word. Meditate on it today.

Scripture Study: Romans 4:13-25

Troubled? Get in to His Presence!

Safety in Times of Distress

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

"But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your loving kindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold and a refuge in the day of my distress"
(Psalm 59:16, NAS).

TODAY'S WORD from Joel and Victoria

Everyone goes through situations and circumstances in life that can cause distress, worry or anxiety. The key to overcoming these situations is exactly what David did in today's verse. Even though David's very life was at stake, He knew that His source of strength and victory was in His worship. He knew that He would find refuge during the day of distress as He sang praises to the Most High God.

No matter what you're facing in life today, realize that there's no better place for you to be than in the presence of Almighty God. Everything you need is found in Him. When you begin to worship Him, when you call upon His name, He promises to be near you. And when God shows up on the scene, the enemy must flee! Today, if you've been fighting discouragement, worry or anxiety, cast those cares on the Lord. Come into His presence with singing and enter His courts with praise. Let Him be a refuge for you and give you the strength you need to overcome every obstacle in Jesus' name!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Heavenly Father, I humbly come before You today. I declare that You are good and faithful. I will sing of Your love and mercy. Fill me with Your strength and joy as I worship You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

- Joel & Victoria Osteen

www.joelosteen.com

Lifting ourselves in to spiritual buoyancy

“Endless Resources”

By N. Daniel

www.lefi.org

“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. “(Romans 8:6)

Here in the beginning of this chapter the life on the higher plane is differentiated from the life in the flesh. People who live in the flesh and work in the flesh get quickly worn out. Carnally minded men die. Very soon they come to the end of their resources. A machine, which is not properly lubricated, will not last long. Lubricating oil reduces frictional forces to the minimum and prevents metal coming into contact with metal and getting worn out. A carnal man who is not lifted into the higher plane in which Christ lived, with spiritual love and faith will not live long. The spiritual forces of love and faith prolong life and ennoble the quality of fruit you bear. A God-fearing man never comes to the end of his resources, because he is drawing upon the endless resources and the heavenly forces are sustaining him. To be carnally minded is death.

Once Mr. John was preaching on the theme “Faith as much as a mustard seed.” Even while he was preaching on this text, a sick woman was brought in by some Hindus from a neighboring village for healing. The woman was bitten by a snake. She was in the last convulsions which precede death. Mr. John said that this was a challenge to prove whether they had faith as much as a mustard seed or not. All the believers knelt down and prayed and the woman was healed. A man does not come to the end of his resources as long as he is spiritually minded.

“If ye live after the flesh ye shall die.” If we live after the flesh we die to usefulness. The spirit mortifies the low and destructive activities of the carnal mind. It keeps the physical body in tune to function by His spirit. “If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body ye shall live.” As soon as you are born of the Spirit, the carnal desires are kept in subjection and you have a spiritual guidance. As you obey that guidance, the human frame will last till God's great purposes are fulfilled.

“Be not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit.” Life in the Spirit is full of praise to God. As you are praising, the spiritual buoyancy increases and lifts you into the presence of God. Suppose you pump hydrogen into a balloon. As it gets bigger, it goes higher. There is always buoyancy when you are praising. “Not slothful in business.” When a Christian does business, he sometimes likes to take liberties with God. “I will not study hard. I shall pray,” is the devil's thought. God wants us to be equal to any one in business. There is no place in Heaven for lazy people.

In Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy. A spiritual man has a deep peace. God is with him and he goes on working till the work is done. “Joy in the Holy Ghost”. Joy is a great lubricant. It prevents frictional forces. Joy makes things very easy and much lighter. Do not think you are doing too much work. Through God you can do more. God says, 'You are My son. Your capacity to do work will be like Mine.' Though everything may be dark around you, you will be abounding in hope.

“Likewise greet the church that is in their house.” (Romans 16:5) There is a church in a house. What is a church? It is a place where true believers meet. When husband and wife meet in prayer with true devotion, they are a church. 'Be careful about evil, but God is going to bruise Satan shortly.' To St. Paul Satan is a defeated foe. Man is an inexhaustible power when in touch with God. The moment you are lifted from the carnal plane to the spiritual plane, you will receive great power. If you will obey God's voice and let his word dwell in you, you will do his will and allow the higher spiritual ambitions to have right of way in your life. Nothing can prevent your prayers being answered. You will become an inexhaustible power and an endless resource.

True Worship

ARE You HOLDING ON... or LETTING GO?

-by J. Lee Grady.


www.charismamag.com

It's time to check your posture: Are your hands in the air? True worship requires surrender.

Christians used to talk a lot about surrender. They called it the consecrated life, and they sang about it in hymns such as "I Surrender All," "Have Thine Own Way" or "Wherever He Leads, I'll Go." These songs fueled the missionary movements of the past.

Today? Not so much.

"My question to you: Are your hands open and raised to God? Or are you making a fist? Have you given back to the Lord what He has given you? Or are your hands tightly clenched?"

In many American churches, "altars" are a strange concept. They are referred to as "stages," and they are used only for fog machines or music performances. "Altar calls" no longer fit in the time constraints of our trendy 80-minute services. Meanwhile, talk of surrender has been replaced by messages about self-empowerment and self-motivation.

The Good Life has replaced The God Life. The Path to Prosperity has become more popular than The Calvary Road. We are more interested in getting a breakthrough than brokenness.

Yet God is calling us back to consecration. Genuine worship, according to Romans 12:1, involves a wholehearted abandonment of self. Paul wrote: "Therefore I urge you, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (NASB).

When priests were set apart for God's service in the Old Covenant, they were "consecrated" in a solemn ceremony. The word for consecration in Exodus 28:41 means "to fill the hand." The word is a picture of an empty hand receiving God's blessings and then giving them back to the Lord in unconditional surrender.

My question to you: Are your hands open and raised to God? Or are you making a fist? Have you given back to the Lord what He has given you? Or are your hands tightly clenched? It might be a good idea to examine how you are holding every aspect of your life:

Your time. Does God have your life 24/7? Does He have your weekends? Have you made room in your life to spend time with Him? Or has prayer been crowded out by your favorite TV shows, time with friends or the demands of work?

Your talents. Are you using your natural and spiritual gifts to reach others for Christ? Or did you hide your talents, like the unwise steward in Jesus' parable? Have you assumed that, because others seemed more gifted, you should be a spectator while they serve?

Your money. The only way to know if you are truly surrendered to God's will is if your wallet is open. A lack of generosity toward God's work reveals a much deeper problem.

Your future. Are you driving your career plans—or have you allowed God to take the steering wheel? Ambition can take you a long way—but it must be yielded to His will or it will lead to tragedy. You must agree with what Jesus prayed at Gethsemane: "Not my will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42).

Your relationships. Do you allow friends, or romantic relationships, to lead you away from purity, integrity and spiritual faithfulness? The Bible says friendship with the world is hostility toward God (James 4:4). As painful as it may be, true surrender will involve cutting some ties.

Your sexuality. Many Christians believe they can be faithful believers while practicing immorality. Don't buy that lie. Living the consecrated life means repenting of all known sin daily—and fleeing from fornication, adultery, pornography and all forms of lust.

Your children. While we have been commanded to raise our kids for God, we also must entrust them to His care. After all, they are really His children, not ours. Once you've done your part, give them back to Him.

This week my youngest daughter—our so-called "baby"—is graduating from high school and headed to college in Georgia. Meanwhile my third daughter is leaving this week to minister on a foreign mission field for two months—in a place where women are not exactly safe or respected. I've had to consciously put my girls on the altar whenever I've doubted that God will take care of them.

It's one thing to give your own life to Christ. It's another thing to surrender those you love to His will and purpose. It requires a whole new level of trust. But it is the path that Abraham, the father of our faith, was required to walk when he put his son Isaac on the altar.

True faith always involves gut-wrenching surrender. I urge you to take the right posture: Get your hands open, lift them up to heaven and say with all your heart: "Lord, I'm all yours."

Oh!! His Sweet Grace!!

My Grace is Sufficient for You

By Greg Laurie

www.harvest.org

You know the drill. Things are going well, no crisis, no conflicts to speak of, pretty much smooth sailing.

Then seemingly out of nowhere, a storm hits. Maybe it's a crisis, or a hardship. Maybe it's a personal tragedy.

So what do you do when a hurricane-force storm hits and water is filling your boat?

Answer: You take heart. Because you are not alone.

When Paul was at sea on his way to Rome and the mighty tempest hit him and the others on board, he was able to courageously encourage others. He told them, "But take courage! None of you will lose your lives, even though the ship will go down. For last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me" (Acts 27:22-23).

God was with him

How was Paul able to be so confident?

He was conscious of the presence of God in the face of danger. He knew that God was there with him.

And God is with us in our storms as well. God will always give us what we need when we need it.

You remember that Paul had what he called his "thorn in the flesh," which was presumably some kind of physical disability or illness. He asked the Lord three times to remove it (see 2 Corinthians 12).

God's answer was, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9), which is another way of saying, "I will be with you, Paul. Instead of a healing, I will personally be there in a special and sufficient way."

Now it is the Lord

A. B. Simpson wrote these words:

"Once it was the Blessing, now it is the Lord.

Once it was the Feeling, now it is His Word.

Once His Gifts I wanted, now the Giver alone.

Once I sought Healing, now Himself alone."

God is with you right now, regardless of the storm or even the shipwreck. We may not hear an audible voice, but you may hear that "still small voice" of God's Holy Spirit. Or He will speak to you through His Word.

Then you, like Paul, can reassure others that "the Lord is in control."

Time and time again, God reminded Paul of His presence.

1. He was there when Paul was in jail in Jerusalem, as Jesus told him to "be courageous!" (Acts 23:11)

2. It happened in 2 Timothy 4:16-17 when Paul said, "All deserted me . . . but the Lord stood by me."

3. And it happened here in Acts 27, in the midst of the storm.

When the boss calls you in his office . . .

You can take heart in the face of danger or uncertainty because you are aware of God's presence with you.

When your boss says, "I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to let you go!" Or when the doctor says, "The test results are back and I need you to come in." Or when the telephone rings and someone says, "There's been an accident."

You are not alone. The Lord is standing next to you. He cares. Jesus said, "Lo, I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).