God's Love And Presence

[Lily]

1. “God Loves You!”

For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
— JOHN 3:16


John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son as a sacrifice for it.

God loves you! You are special to Him. God doesn’t love you because you are a good person or do everything right. He loves you because He is love. Love is not something God does; it is something He is. It is His nature.

God’s love is pure and ever flowing. It cannot be earned or deserved. It must be received by faith.

In Ephesians 3:19 Paul prays that we may come to really know this love. When we do, we are strengthened in our inner man. When we are strengthened inwardly, outward difficulties cannot defeat us.

Unless you have received it yourself, you cannot give love away. Let God love you. Receive His love for you. Bathe in it. Meditate on it. Let it strengthen you. Then give it away.


Say This:

“God loves me. I am special to Him. I receive His everlasting love today and am strengthened in my inner man.”

 

[Lily]

Beauty for Ashes

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes.…
— ISAIAH 61:3 KJV

Multiplied thousands of people have been hurt severely in their lives. They come from broken relationships or abusive backgrounds that are still producing bad fruit in their personalities.

God wants to send the wind of the Holy Spirit into our lives (Acts 2:1-4), to blow away the ashes that are left from Satan’s attempt to destroy us, and to replace those ashes with beauty.

The Lord has taught me that consistently bad fruit comes from a bad root. No matter how much we may try to get rid of the bad fruit, unless the root is dealt with, more bad fruit will crop up somewhere else.

God created us to be loved. He wants to love us; He wants us to love each other, and He wants us to love and accept ourselves. Without this foundation of love and acceptance, there will be no joy and peace.

Some of us need to be transplanted. If we started out in the wrong soil, Jesus will transplant us so that we can get rooted and grounded in His love, as the Bible teaches.

Know that you are valuable, unique, loved, and special. When this is your foundation and your root, you will produce good fruit.
Ask God to give you beauty for ashes.

Say This:
“I was created for love. God loves me and wants me to love Him, love others, and love and accept myself.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Do You Feel Rejected?

All whom My Father gives (entrusts) to Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, no never, reject one of them who comes to Me].
— JOHN 6:37

God gave me a word for a meeting I was preparing to lead. It is for anyone who needs to receive it:
“Many of My people are in prison because they won’t accept themselves. Many of them are gifted and talented, but they won’t express themselves because they fear rejection. They fear man. They fear what people will think.

“I want to love My people, but they hold Me at arm’s length and won’t let Me really love them because they have been hurt by others. They fear I will reject them, as others have, because of their weaknesses. But I will never reject them.

“Tell them I love them.
“Tell them to stop trying so hard to be acceptable to Me and to realize I accept them as they are. Tell them I don’t want perfect performance from them. I simply want them to love Me and let Me love them.”

God will not reject you because of your weaknesses or mistakes. He desires to heal you from past hurts caused by rejection. He wants you to know He will never reject you.

Pray This:
“Father, I thank You that You love me. I thank You that I am always accepted and never rejected. In Jesus’ name, amen.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Love Is…

“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
— JOHN 13:34 NIV

Love is the new commandment Jesus gave under the New Covenant. The love walk is a liberating lifestyle because it sets us free from self.
Love is a sacrifice — it costs. Every time we love someone, it costs us something. Time, talent, money, or pride may be the cost.

Forgiveness is love; it costs pride to forgive. The flesh is basically lazy and passive; it always wants effortless benefits. Love is effort.
There seems to be a lack of joy among God’s people; one of the major reasons is that we often become passive, looking for an effortless lifestyle.

Love is involvement. It is impossible to have true relationship without involvement. Involvement requires commitment; commitment requires work; work is effort.
Love is an effort; it is an effort to walk in love.
Love is involvement, not isolation. Love requires reaching out. Love says, “I’m sorry,” first and initiates the move that can bring restoration and understanding.

Love involves sacrificial giving. Love doesn’t do the right thing to get something; love does the right thing because it is right. Love is healing; love restores.

Say This:
“Love is the new commandment Jesus gave. I walk in love, and it sets me free from self. Forgiveness is love, so I forgive.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Living Beyond the Veil

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil.…
— HEBREWS 10:19,20 KJV

We can have a close, intimate relationship with God! To enjoy and be assured of God’s presence in our lives, we need to spend time with Him daily, fellowshipping and growing closer in our understanding of Him.

We can do things to help us experience His presence or we can do things to hinder that blessing. For example, if we walk in peace and in the love of God — both receiving His love for us and allowing it to flow to others — we experience His presence more.
The Lord will teach anyone who truly desires to know Him how to know Him better. We should find out what draws us closer to God and do those things.

We can veil or block our awareness of God’s presence by following our own fleshly desires and plans without consulting Him and by striving to make ourselves acceptable to Him.

Our striving should be in seeking God, seeking to know Him better, to hear His voice more clearly and to walk in obedience to His instructions.
We can experience His presence or the pressures of the world, His presence or desires of the flesh, His presence or religious bondage due to legalism.
Life beyond the veil is wonderful…enter in!

Pray This:
“Father, I want Your presence in my life. Teach me specific ways to learn to know You better. In Jesus’ name, amen.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Seek God

You have said, Seek My face [inquire for and require My presence as your vital need]. My heart says to You, Your face (Your presence), Lord, will I seek, inquire for, and require [of necessity and on the authority of Your Word].
— PSALM 27:8

If we want to truly know the Lord, we need to choose to be where He would be, think what He would think, go where He would go, treat people the way He would treat people.

We must seek after the right thing. We need to take an inventory and be sure we are seeking God and not just the things He can do. We must seek His face, not just His hand!

Have you ever spent a lot of time, energy, prayer, and faith on a project only to discover it was an empty well and you were still just as thirsty as before?

I spent many years as a Christian with one faith project after another I thought would surely be “the thing” that would make me feel fulfilled, happy, and contented. I have finally found the one thing that satisfies my soul — the Lord.
Our quality of life does not consist in what the world has to offer, but in God’s presence, in His will, in knowing Him and knowing His ways.

Do This:
Take inventory: Are you seeking God and placing His desires first in every area of your life?


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

In His Presence Is Fullness of Joy

You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.
— PSALM 16:11

There are many wonderful benefits from simply spending time with God. The presence of the Lord is always with us, but we do not always recognize it or take time to be conscious of it.

There seems to be a great lacking of contentment not only in the world but also among God’s people. Many people spend their lives chasing things when nothing can keep us satisfied except God Himself.

When people are not satisfied inwardly, they usually look for some outward thing to satisfy their hunger. Often they end up in a fruitless search for that which cannot fill the emptiness within.

We’ve heard it said, many people spend their lives climbing the ladder of success only to find when they reach the top, their ladder is leaning against the wrong building.

When we keep our priorities straight, we discover that everything we really need in life is found in the Lord.
Seek to dwell in His presence. In Him is the path of life, the fullness of joy, and pleasures forevermore.

Pray This:
“Lord, I seek You because I know that everything I need — healing, strength, comfort — is found in Your presence. In Jesus’ name, amen.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Be Still and Know That I Am God

Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God.…
— PSALM 46:10

One of the most awesome commands that God gives to man is, “Be still” (Psalm 46:10).

Our activity when birthed out of the flesh actually prevents God from showing Himself strong in our lives.
This doesn’t mean we are to be passive or lazy. It means we are to do whatever God leads us to do, without running ahead of Him in the energy of the flesh.

We need to be careful to submit our ideas and plans to God, then slow down, and wait. Make sure there is a sense of peace to go along with the plans and ideas. Ask the Lord for His will in your life, then be still and know that He is God.

Learn to trust the Lord without having to know what He is going to do, when He is going to do it, and how He is going to do it. Just let Him do it.
If you will turn your heart toward God in loving trust, He will do what needs to be done.

God gives His highest and best to those whose trust is in Him. Be still and let Him show Himself strong in your life.

Do This:
Be still and know that He is God. Be assured that as long as you trust Him, He will never fail you or disappoint you.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

In Christ

And you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
— COLOSSIANS 2:10 NIV

One of the most liberating phrases in the entire Bible is “in Christ.” Through Him all things were created, through Him they now exist, and through Him they will be completely reconciled to God.

Many believers have an identity crisis. They simply do not know who they are “in Christ.”
Everything we are and need is found “in Him.” In Him we are redeemed. In Him we are complete. Our wisdom, strength, peace, and hope are in Him. Our everything is in Him!

Jesus was made perfect for us. Our acceptability to God is not based on our performance, but on our faith and trust in Jesus’ performance.
A substitute is “one that takes the place of another.”1 To identify with is to “relate (to).”2 We need to learn to identify with and relate to the substitutionary work of Jesus on our behalf.

Christ came to open the prison doors and set the captives free. The prison is open! Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
Learn to enjoy the fullness of life Jesus has provided for you. Begin to confess and believe your place “in Him,” and your feelings will catch up later.

Say This:
“Because I am ‘in Christ,’ I am a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17.)


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Abide in Christ

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
— JOHN 15:7 KJV

There are some outstanding promises made in the Word of God to those who learn to abide “in Christ.” When we abide in Him, we are living in Him, dwelling in a place of protection, and can rest — trusting, leaning, and relying on Him and His promises. Christ is our place of rest, our refuge, a place to settle down into, and wait for Him to do what we could never do.

As we abide “in Christ,” our will is joined with His. His desires become our desires; our concerns become the same as His. We become like Him as we abide “in Him.”

Jesus said, I am the Vine; you are the branches.… (John 15:5). Think about that image for a moment. How long can a branch survive if it is broken off the vine? Christians who have lost, or don’t seem to have much life or spark, need to spend more time abiding in the vine.
I have found that when I start to feel dry, withered up, and just plain thirsty, what I need is to get back in contact with the vine.
The life of abiding is a peaceful, restful, and fruitful life. Enter in — and abide there!

Do This:
Ask the Holy Spirit to get involved in everything you do. He is the Helper, and He is waiting for you to ask.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Legalism or Liberty?

Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
— JOHN 16:24

God intended for prayer to bring joy.

Every true believer wants to fellowship with God — to talk to Him and allow Him to get involved in every detail of his life. Multitudes spend their lives thinking that they have to pray, and therefore never realize that they want to pray.

We human beings were created by God for liberty, not legalism. We are to be led by the Holy Spirit and not by the demands of the Law. If we want joy in prayer, we must be willing to follow the Holy Spirit. He brings variety into our prayer life. We can fellowship with the Lord all day long and offer various petitions to Him as well as thanksgiving and praise.

In my own personal prayer life, some days I intercede; some days I praise and worship; at other times I just sit in the Lord’s presence and enjoy being with Him.

Don’t put God in a box. He has many ways of leading you if you will permit Him to be the Leader while you become the follower.

Do This:
Fellowship with God right now. Talk to Him and allow Him to get involved in every detail of your life.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Lord, Teach Me To Pray

Then He was praying in a certain place; and when He stopped, one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray.…
— LUKE 11:1

If we are going to spend time in prayer, we want to be certain that our time is well spent, that our prayers are effective, and that we are praying prayers God can answer. We also want to enjoy our prayer time.

A successful prayer life is not developed overnight nor can it be copied from someone else. God has a personal plan for each of us. We cannot always do what someone else is doing and expect it to work for us. Our prayer life is progressive. It progresses as we progress, so be patient!
Often our prayers are too vague, meaning they are not clearly expressed. When you pray, be clear with the Lord. Pray boldly, expectantly, specifically. Your heavenly Father loves you, so don’t be afraid to be bold in prayer. The writer of Hebrews says that we are to come fearlessly, confidently, and boldly to the throne of grace. (Hebrews 4:16.)

If you need help with your prayer life, be honest with God. Tell Him your needs. He will help you if you ask Him to do so. Begin to say, “Lord, teach me to pray.”

Do This:
Your prayer life should be enjoyable, powerful, and effective. If it’s not, ask the Lord to teach you how to pray.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

One Thing Have I Asked of the Lord

One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life.…
— PSALM 27:4

If you will really study and meditate on this Scripture, comparing your own desires with it, you may find, as I did, that you are seeking many more things than the “one thing” to which the psalmist is referring. Imagine being simple enough to desire and seek after only one thing — that one thing being something as pure and simple as dwelling in God’s presence.

There are many things in our life we consider needs that are actually only wants.

Years ago I set myself to seek only the one thing in life that is most needful, the presence of the Lord. It has not been easy, but as a result of seeking that one thing I have experienced more of the things I truly want and need — more joy, greater peace, and increased stability.
In Luke 10:41, 42 NIV, speaking of His presence, Jesus said to Martha, “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.…” I challenge you to join me and multiplied thousands of others who are hearing the higher call to seek the one thing that is most needful.

Do This:
Seek the Lord for the privilege of being in His presence.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Be Healed in Jesus’ Name

…in My name.…they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will get well.
— MARK 16:17,18

There is abundant power in the name of Jesus, and we have been given the right to use that name.
We should speak the name of Jesus in faith against every kind of sickness, disease, and infirmity that arises. We should remember that the Lord gave it to us so we could walk in victory.

We are to pray in the name of Jesus. Prayer is our request — our petition — and the name of Jesus is what gets God’s attention. When we pray in Jesus’ name, we are presenting to the Father all that Jesus is and has done.

Sometimes we fall into the trap of just putting up with some physical problem, especially if it has been around a long time. We need to be reminded occasionally that there is healing available for us.

If you are sick, fighting any kind of an illness or disease, I encourage you to exercise your blood-bought right to use the name of Jesus against it. Each time you speak that name in faith, power is released.

Start exercising your right to use the name of Jesus against your problems, and believe they lose a little more of their power against you each time you speak that name.

Pray This:
“Father, I thank You for giving me power for any situation in life through the precious name of Jesus. Amen.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Victory Over Addictions


The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!
— HABAKKUK 3:19

Do you have any addictions?

An addiction is anything that controls a person — anything he feels he cannot do without to relieve pain. The pain may be physical, mental, or emotional. Often addictive behavior is an attempt to hide from reality — to put off dealing with issues that hurt.
Addictions are not limited to substance abuse. Except for cigarettes, most of my addictions did not fall under the heading of substance abuse. I was addicted to reasoning, worry, judgment, compliments, self-pity, pouting, control, and work.

When I realized I was addicted to these things and determined I was going to break my addictions and discipline myself, everything was great until the pain started. If I had not had the inner strength of the Lord to withstand the pain, I would have once again given in to the addictions — which would have relieved the pain but would have started the cycle all over again.

God does not just want to give you strength — He wants to be your strength. Let Him help you break your addictions.

Do This:
Make a decision today that you are addicted to Jesus and His precepts — that all other addictions in your life will vanish one by one.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Putting the Past Behind

…forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.
— PHILIPPIANS 3:13

God’s mercy is new every morning. (Lamentations 3:22,23 KJV.) Each day we can find a fresh place to begin.

I like the way God has divided up the days and nights. It seems to me that no matter how difficult or challenging a specific day may be, the breaking of dawn brings new hope. God wants us to regularly put the past behind and find a place of “new beginnings.”

Perhaps you have been trapped in some sin, and although you have repented, you still feel guilty. You may be assured that sincere repentance brings a fresh, new start. First John 1:9 promises a thorough cleansing if you will freely admit that you have sinned.

Once you understand the great mercy of God and begin receiving it, you are more inclined to give mercy. You may be hurting from an emotional wound. The way to put the past behind is to forgive the person who hurt you. Forgiveness is always involved in putting the past behind.
God has new things on the horizon of your life, but you will never see them if you live in and relive the past. Thinking and talking about the past keeps you trapped in it.

Every day is a new day. Don’t waste today by living in yesterday.

Say This:
“Today is a new day with new mercies. I put the past behind me. Yesterday is gone. I will begin afresh today.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

A Perfect Heart

You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.
— MATTHEW 5:48

We are commanded to be perfect, and what God commands, He gives a heart desire to attain. Yet, this desire to be perfect can cause a great deal of frustration.

Perfection is a process that is worked out in our lives as we go from one degree of glory to another. There are degrees of perfection. We can be almost perfect in one area, and very imperfect in others.

When we give our will to God, we have a perfect heart. But even at that point, we still have faults, weaknesses, bad habits, and imperfections.
The Lord accepts us as we are and counts us as perfect while we are on our way toward perfection.

If you have given your will to God, this is step one. You now have a perfect heart, and the process has begun.

You are not alone in your travel from glory to glory. Paul said in Philippians 3:12, 13 that he wanted to be perfect, but that he had not yet arrived. He pressed on to things ahead. He knew if his heart was set in the right direction (if he had a perfect heart), that was all God required.

Say This:
“With God’s help, I will keep pressing toward perfection. I am growing in maturity, character, integrity, and godliness.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Kingdom Living

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.
— MATTHEW 6:33

As the children of God, it is our privilege to live in His Kingdom. What is the Kingdom of God?
According to Romans 14:17, the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. We can gain everything in the world, but without righteousness, peace, and joy, we still have nothing!

People without Christ have things, but not all of them are truly satisfied. Satisfaction in the inner man is what the Lord wants to give.
Jesus wants us to know that we are right with God because of what He has done for us. He wants us to have peace and joy in the midst of tribulation. Only He can give us that. Things can never produce lasting joy by themselves.

When things are right on the inside, outward things don’t matter as much. When they don’t matter as much to us, God can give us more of them. When we keep our eyes on the true Kingdom of God — on Him, His righteousness, His peace, and His joy — the rest will be added to us in abundance.

Learn to really live in the Kingdom of God.

Say This:
“Because I seek God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, He adds to me all the things I need to live in His peace and joy.”


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Rested, Refreshed, Revived, Restored, Refilled

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]
— MATTHEW 11:28

When we become so burned out, heavy-laden, and overburdened that we feel we are unable to take it anymore, what are we to do? Jesus said, Come to Me.… But what are we to do when we come to Him? We are to come to Him to receive!

If we ask and ask and keep on asking and never receive, then we become frustrated. Jesus wants us to have joy.
One of the major reasons we do not receive is that what has been provided for us is free, and we keep trying to do something to earn it. Jesus has already paid the price.

The New Covenant is according to grace. It is based on the goodness of God and the work Jesus has already accomplished — not on our merit or works.

To get is “to acquire as a result of action or effort.”1 To receive is “to acquire or take (something given, offered, or transmitted).…”2 When we get something, we obtain it by struggle or effort. When we receive something, we obtain it by acting as a receptacle and taking in what someone else is offering.

Receive what Jesus is pouring out. Come into His presence and drink of His forgiveness, His love, His mercy and grace.
Everything you need is available — start receiving!

Do This:
Enter into God’s rest and receive what has already been poured out. You will be rested, refreshed, revived, restored, and refilled.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional

 

[Lily]

Dying To Live


Then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless.
— MARK 4:19

In order to live the “higher life,” we must be willing to die to the “lower life.”
One of the major reasons people are not rooted in God’s Word is their strong attachment to the world. They want the higher life, but they are not willing to give up the lower life.

There is a life to be lived that is so superior to anything the world has to offer that no comparison can be made, but we must die to self and all its ways and demands in order to attain it. We must die to our own ways of being and doing — the fleshly ways of handling situations. We must also die to our own thoughts and our own idle, willful, and contrary talk. We must learn to live beyond our feelings.

The “bottom line” is that God relentlessly pursues the flesh and is intent on setting us free from its control. We must die to live, but it is a positive thing.

Dare to die in order to live.

Do This:
Choose to die to self and the things of the flesh so that you may live the higher life that God has prepared for you.


Joyce Meyer, Life in the Word: Devotional