Trusting God Day by Day

[Aeliana]

October 16

Testimony Begins with “Test”

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.
JAMES 1:2

I’m sure you know people with amazing stories of the way God has worked in their lives. I always love to hear a great testimony, but I also know that behind every extraordinary account of someone’s life lies some kind of challenge or difficulty. No one ever has a testimony without a test.

We must pass all kinds of tests as we go through our lives, and passing them is part of never giving up. It’s vital for us to understand the important role that tests and trials play in our lives, because understanding them helps us endure them and actually be strengthened by them.

Everything God permits us to go through will ultimately be good for us—no matter how much it hurts, how unfair it is, or how difficult it is. When we encounter tests and trials, if we will embrace them and refuse to run from them, we will learn some lessons that will help us in the future and make us stronger.
One reason we must go through trials is to test our quality (1 Pet. 4:12). Often, we find ourselves wishing we had the faith of Sister so-and-so or Brother so-and-so. I can assure you, if they have a strong and vibrant faith, they did not develop it easily. Just as muscles are strengthened through exercise, firm faith comes from the furnace of affliction.

Sometimes people say to me, “Oh, I wish I had the kind of ministry you have, Joyce.” Well, I did not get it by wishing. These people didn’t see when I was feeling I couldn’t hold on one more second, begging God to help me to not quit or give up. They don’t know the tests and trials I’ve faced along the way.
No one who does anything worthwhile for God has traveled an easy road. Doing great things for God requires character, and character is developed by passing life’s tests and staying faithful to Him through the trials.

Trust in Him God has a unique plan for your life. Trust Him when you go through tests, knowing that they are strengthening and preparing you for the great things He has planned specifically for you.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

October 17

The Why Behind the What

The LORD’s light penetrates the human spirit, exposing every hidden motive.
PROVERBS 20:27

I like to define a motive as “the why behind the what.” A motive is the reason we do what we do. We often say we are doing things for God, but sometimes we do not understand why we do them. We only know what we are doing, but we have not taken the time to truly understand why.

Impure motives can cause many problems, one of which is being overcommitted, which results in unnecessary stress in our lives. Surely we won’t live with extreme stress if we are obeying God and doing only what He wants us to do. Never agree to do something in order to impress people or because you fear what they may think or say about you if you don’t. God wants us to help and bless people, but a “good work” done with a wrong motive is no longer a good work. Don’t say yes with your mouth if your heart is screaming no.

Take the motive test as often as you can. Begin to ask yourself questions that will help you assess your motives, such as:
• Why did I agree to serve on that committee?
• Why did I say I would lead the missions group at church? Do I really have a heart for evangelism and a longing to serve God, or do I want people to talk about what a good church member I am, or am I afraid of what they will say if I do not agree to help?
• Why do I really want that promotion at work so much? Is it motivated by God or worldly ambition?

As you evaluate your motives, you will begin to see what is in your heart. Pass the test by making sure your motives are pure and right before God—even if that means changing the “what.” The motive test is a lifelong test. I frequently reevaluate my motives and discontinue things I find I am doing for the wrong reason, and that helps me keep my priorities in order.

Trust in Him Take a look at why you are doing what you are doing. Trusting God will help you keep your priorities in order and give you the freedom to do only what He wants you to do, which is essential to living a stress-free life.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

October 18

Use Your Talents to Show Love

And he who had received the five talents came and brought him five more, saying, Master, you entrusted to me five talents; see, here I have gained five talents more.
MATTHEW 25:20

God has given each of us abilities, and we should use them to benefit one another. Whatever your particular talent is, offer it as a free gift occasionally rather than always wanting or expecting to be paid for it.

For example, if you are a photographer, offer to take free wedding pictures for a friend or someone on a tight budget. If you are a hairdresser, offer to go to a homeless shelter or nursing home and cut hair once a month or more if you’re willing. A friend of mine is a decorative painter, and she recently donated three days of her time painting at a home for troubled young women.

I met a woman once who had little money but wanted to support missions financially. She did so by selling her baked goods to raise money for missions. Her story emphasizes the point that if we refuse to do nothing, we will be able to find the something that we can do, and when everyone gets involved it won’t be long until the good in our world will overcome the evil.

To say we can’t do anything is just not true. We may make excuses, but excuses are nothing more than a way to deceive ourselves and justify doing nothing. You will come alive like never before if you will aggressively reach out to others.
Let us not forget the words of Jesus: “I give you a new commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another” (John 13:34). Without a doubt, this is our purpose and the will of God for our lives.
Trust in Him What is your talent? God gifted you with talents so that you would use them for His purposes—to show love to the world. If you trust Him and refuse to do nothing, you can make a difference.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

Help People Feel Good About Themselves

Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility]…
PHILIPPIANS 2:5

I am fairly disciplined in my eating habits, and recently I spent a week with someone who really struggles in that area. The person mentioned several times how disciplined I am and how undisciplined she is. Each time she did so, I downplayed my ability to discipline myself by saying, “I have areas of weakness also, and you will overcome this as you continue to pray and make an effort.”

There was a time in my life when I would not have been so sensitive to my friend’s feelings. I would have probably given her a sermon about the benefits of discipline and the dangers of overeating and poor nutrition. However, I would not have succeeded in doing anything but making my friend feel guilty and condemned. When she asked me to share ideas that might help her I did so, but with an attitude that did not make her feel that I had it all together and she was a mess. I have discovered that one way to love people is to help them not to feel worse about the things they already feel bad about.

Meekness and humility are two of the most beautiful aspects of love. Paul said love is not boastful and does not display itself haughtily (see 1 Cor. 13:4). Humility serves and always does things to lift others up. The Bible teaches us to have the same attitude and humble mind that Jesus had (see Phil. 2:5). He was one with God, but stripped Himself of all privileges and humbled Himself to become like a human being so He could die in our places and take the punishment we deserved as sinners (see Phil. 2:6–9). He never made people feel badly because they were not on His level, but instead He stooped to their level. Paul did the same, and we need to follow these biblical examples.

Trust in Him If you believe God’s Word that says Jesus was exalted because He humbled Himself, you can trust that God will bless you when you lift others up, even if you have to get below them to do so.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

October 20

We All Need Different Things

To the weak (wanting in discernment) I have become weak (wanting in discernment) that I might win the weak and overscrupulous. I have [in short] become all things to all men, that I might by all means (at all costs and in any and every way) save some [by winning them to faith in Jesus Christ].
1 CORINTHIANS 9:22

We are all different, and we each have different needs. I urge you to go the extra mile and find out what people really need instead of merely giving them what you want to give them, or what you think they need.

I like to give gifts, so I usually do that to show love. I once had an assistant who did not seem to appreciate my gifts very much. This really bothered me because she seemed ungrateful, but when I got to know her better, she told me that the most important thing to her was hearing words that conveyed love.

I wanted to give her gifts because that was easier for me than saying the words she wanted to hear. I often show appreciation for someone’s hard work by giving them things, but she needed me to tell her what a good job she was doing and how much I appreciated her.

Through gift-giving, I was trying really hard to show her love, but amazingly she did not feel loved. Because I enjoyed giving and receiving gifts, I assumed she did as well. I think that happens more often than we realize simply because we don’t learn enough about people to be able to give them what they truly need; we simply want to give them what we want to give them because that is easier for us. We cannot expect everyone to like what we like. We need to take the time to get to know them and then minister to them according to their need.

When we expect everyone to be like us, we end up pressuring them to be something they don’t know how to be. God graciously places many different types of people in our lives because we need them all. Each of us has a gift that we can learn to use for the benefit of the others around us. Appreciate people for who they are, and help them to become all they can be.

Trust in Him Ask God to put people in your life you need, as well as those who need you. Take the time to truly get to know what they want and need, and humbly provide it.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

October 21

Love—Even When They Don’t Deserve It!

But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.
ROMANS 5:8

One of the most beautiful things the Bible says is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He did not wait for us to deserve His love; He loves us unconditionally. To be honest, that’s hard for many of us to comprehend because we are so accustomed to having to earn and deserve everything in life.

God is rich in mercy, and in order to satisfy the great, wonderful, and intense love with which He loves us, He poured His life out for us freely (see Eph. 2:4). That is revolutionary love! Real, revolutionary love must give itself, for it can never be satisfied to do anything less.

It is God’s unconditional love that draws us to Him, and it is our unconditional love toward others in His name that will draw others to Him. He wants us to love people in His place, and do it the same way He would if He were here in bodily form.

Human love finds it impossible to love unconditionally, but we have the love of God in us as believers in Jesus Christ, and we can let that love flow freely, without conditions. Man’s love fails, but God’s does not. Man’s love comes to an end, but God’s does not. Sometimes I find that although I cannot love a person in my own human strength, I am able to love them with God’s love.

The true love of God doesn’t depend on feelings; it is based on decision. I will help anyone who needs help, unless helping them would ultimately hurt them. They don’t have to deserve it. As a matter of fact, sometimes I think the less they deserve it, the more beautiful and impacting it is. It is absolutely freeing to be able to love people without stopping to ask if they deserve it.

Trust in Him Do you love others unconditionally? God wants you to love everyone, but you don’t have to do so in your own strength. Trust in His strength and love others with His love.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

Believe the Best

Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
1 CORINTHIANS 13:5

If we want to love people, we must let God transform the way we think about people and the things they do. We can believe the worst and be suspicious of everything others do and say, or we can believe the best. Real love always believes the best.

What we think and believe is a choice. The root of much of our trouble in life is that we don’t control or discipline our thoughts. If we don’t discipline our thoughts, we will probably end up being suspicious and believing bad things that don’t glorify God.

The prophet Jeremiah asked the people this: “How long will you allow your… grossly offensive thoughts to lodge within you?” (Jer. 4:14). The thoughts the people chose to think were offensive to God. When we choose to believe the best, we are able to let go of everything that could be harmful to good relationships.

When people do something that hurts you, you can believe they didn’t realize what they were doing. If you do, you will save a lot of energy that you might otherwise waste on anger. When your feelings get hurt you will feel angry, but you can say to yourself, “Even though what they said or did hurt me, I choose to believe their heart was right.” Keep talking to yourself until your feelings of anger start to dissipate. Say things like, “I don’t believe they really understood how their actions affected me. I don’t believe they would try to hurt me on purpose. Maybe they are just having a bad day today.”

I know from experience that keeping mental records of offenses poisons our own lives and does not really change the other person. Many times we waste a day being angry at someone who doesn’t even realize they did anything that bothered us. If we are going to keep records, then why not keep records of the good things people do rather than the mistakes they make?

Trust in Him Choose to believe the best in all people and trust God to deal with any offense. Doing so will help you enjoy everyday life.


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365

 

[Aeliana]

October 23

God Even Cares About Remotes and Car Keys

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
JOHN 14:26

Countless times over the years the Holy Spirit has reminded me where things are that I have misplaced and to do things I have forgotten to do. He has also kept me on the right track by reminding me of what God’s Word says about certain issues at key times of decision in my life.

I learned I could trust God to help with big decisions by taking small needs to Him, too. One time we had some family members over and wanted to watch a movie, but we couldn’t find the remote control. We searched everywhere for it, but nothing was producing the remote control. I decided to pray. So silently in my heart I said, “Holy Spirit, show me where the remote control is, please.” Immediately in my spirit I thought of the bathroom and, sure enough, that’s where it was.

The same thing happened to me concerning my car keys one day when I needed to leave. I was in a time crunch and couldn’t find my keys. I searched frantically to no avail and then decided to pray. In my spirit I saw the keys on the front seat of my car, and that is exactly where they were.

One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit discussed in 1 Corinthians 12 is the word of knowledge. God gave me a word of knowledge about the remote control as well as the misplaced keys. We can count on the Holy Spirit to remind us of things we need to be reminded of. If we needed no help, we would always perfectly remember everything and never need to be reminded; but if we are honest, we all know that is not the case.

If the Lord cares enough to speak to us about remote controls and lost keys, think how eager He must be to talk to us about more intimate things.

Trust in Him If you need help learning to trust God with the big decisions in your life, as I did, start by taking your small needs to Him. He cares about all your needs, no matter how insignificant they may seem!


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions

 

[Aeliana]

October 24

Receive Jesus into Your Daily Life

If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. [If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]
GALATIANS 5:25

We ask people all the time if they have received Jesus, without ever really thinking about what that means. If we receive Him, then what do we do with Him? We certainly don’t put Him in a little box marked “Sunday morning,” go get Him out on that day, sing a few songs to Him, talk to Him a little, then put Him back in the box until the next Sunday. If we receive Him, then we have Him with us always
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It is not pleasing to God for people to leave Him out of their daily lives, while going through religious formulas to try to get what they need. Don’t just go through the motions. Either have a real relationship with God that is alive and meaningful, or face the fact that you don’t have one at all and do whatever is needed to get one.

Ask yourself these questions, and you will discover where you are spiritually:
• Are you growing daily in your knowledge of God and His ways?
• Do you look forward to going to church, or is it something you do out of obligation? Are you waiting for it to end so you can finally go to lunch?
• Do you feel close to God?
• In your life are you manifesting the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility), and self-control (see Gal. 5:22–23)?
• Do you have areas of your life that you have not let God into?

If you are not satisfied with your answers to these questions, throw your life entirely open to God and ask the Holy Spirit to get involved in every aspect of it. If you will do that in honesty and sincerity, He will begin to work in you in a powerful and exciting way.

Trust in Him Are you just going through the motions, or have you fully committed your life to Christ, trusting Him with everything so that He can do a powerful work in you?


Joyce Meyer, Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions