Trusting God Day by Day: 365 Daily Devotions (36 page)

God’s leading doesn’t contradict the laws that He ordained. When we are new believers, we learn to follow God’s laws that He defined in the Word. And as we mature, we develop the ability to be led by the Spirit of the living God. When the Spirit of God is in you, the law of God is written in your heart. You no longer have to memorize the law, because you can follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, Who will lead you in the right direction.

Some people feel much safer following the law than being led by the Spirit. They think they are okay as long as they follow a prescribed plan that everyone else is following. But following the Spirit may lead people to do something a little differently from what everyone else is doing. They will need faith to leave the security of the crowd because
God doesn’t lead everybody to serve Him in exactly the same place or at the same capacity.

We cannot follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit by simply obeying laws, rules, and regulations. God’s law is our tutor, but it is not to be our master. To live at ease and be full of joy, we must learn to prayerfully follow the Holy Spirit.

I
used to be a very complicated person. My way of seeing and doing things was so complicated that it kept me from enjoying anything. We say that we live in a complicated society, but I believe we are the complicated ones, and that we complicate life. Serving God should not be complicated, and yet it can become very complicated and complex. Worry, fear, anxiety, jealousy, resentment, and bitterness are all very complicated. Little children have none of these.

Think about the simple, uncomplicated approach a child has to life. Here are some things children seem to have in common: They are going to enjoy themselves if at all possible. They are carefree and completely without concern. And they believe what they are told. It is their nature to trust unless they have had an experience that taught them otherwise.

Remember, He told us in John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes
in Him should not
perish but have everlasting life” (
NKJV
, emphasis added). All He wants to hear us say is,
“I believe!”

Believing simplifies life. It releases joy and leaves us free to enjoy our lives while God takes care of our circumstances. When God says something to you in your heart, or when you read something in the Bible, you should say, “I believe it. If God says that He wants to bless us, then we should believe it. If He says that we will reap what we sow, we should believe it. If He says to forgive our enemies, even though it doesn’t make any sense to us, we should believe it—instead of being resentful. Let us diligently do what God says. If He says to pray for our enemies, let us believe it and follow through with obedience. If He says to call ‘things which do not exist as though they did’ (Rom. 4:17
NKJV
), then we should respond as a child and simply do what He says.”

Even though life can get complicated, we can simplify it by approaching it as a child would. Put all your trust in God and be obedient.

F
or years, I have pondered what being “more than a conqueror” means. I’m sure other people have other perspectives, but I have come to the conclusion that being more than a conqueror means having such confidence that no matter what comes up in your life, you know that through Christ you can handle it. You know before you are ever faced with a problem that you’re going to have victory over it.

So therefore, you don’t dread things, you don’t fear the unknown,
you don’t live in anxiety about what’s going to happen in uncertain situations. It doesn’t really matter what the specifics of the situation are, you know you can handle it through Christ. For you, defeat isn’t an option!

Begin to think every day,
I can handle whatever life hands me. I can do whatever I need to do in life. I am more than a conqueror. I am equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me
. Even before you get out of bed in the mornings, let these thoughts roll over and over in your mind, and your confidence will skyrocket and you will find that indeed, you can do whatever you need to do in life.

Right thinking is the first step toward a better life. Wishing won’t work. Being jealous of someone who has what you desire does no good. Self-pity is a waste of time and energy. Discovering God’s will through an accurate knowledge of His Word and beginning to think as He thinks is the beginning of a new life for anyone who desires one.

W
e frequently compare ourselves with other people, and if we are not what they are, or cannot do what they do, then we assume something is wrong with us. There is, however, an antidote for this type of thinking poisonous. It is frequently thinking,
God loves me unconditionally!

Knowing God loves us unconditionally is an absolute necessity in
order to make progress in our walk with Him. Jesus didn’t die so we could be religious; Jesus died so we could have deep, intimate, personal relationships with God through Him. Religion offers us rules and regulations to follow in order to be close to God. But relationship lets us know we can be close to Him because He has chosen us.

We will not draw near to God if we are afraid He is displeased with us. It is vital that you learn how to separate how important
you
are to God from the right or wrong things you do. How can we hope to have an intimate relationship with God, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit if we are not confident that we are loved unconditionally?

Good relationships must be based on love and acceptance, not on fear. All too often we are deceived into thinking that our acceptance is based on our performance.

We are loved and accepted by God, and made right with Him because we place our faith in Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished for us on the cross. He paid for our sins and misdeeds. He absolved us from guilt and reconciled us to God. Now, when we stand before God, we have “rightness,” not “wrongness.” And we have it because He gave it as a gift, not because we have earned it. Blessed is the man who knows he has right standing with God apart from the works he does.

K
nowing we are loved and accepted even in our imperfection is such a relief! Serving God from desire rather than obligation is incredibly liberating and brings great peace and joy to our lives. The Bible says that we love Him because He first loved us (see 1 John 4:19). Being assured of God’s unconditional love gives us confidence and boldness.

Our confidence should not be in anything or anyone but Jesus—not in education, outward privilege, positions we hold, people we know, how we look, or our gifts and talents. Everything in this world is shaky at best, and we should not place our confidence in it. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (see Heb. 13:8). We can count on Him to always be faithful and do what He says He will do—and He says He will
always
love us. He says we are righteous in His sight, and we need to make a decision to simply believe it.

We become what we believe we are; therefore, as we become convinced that we are right with God, our behavior will improve. We will do more things right and with less effort. As we focus on our relationship with God rather than our performance, we relax, and what God has done in our spirits when we were born again is gradually worked out in our souls and finally seen through our daily lives.

No matter what other people may have told you that you are not, God delights in telling you in His Word who you are in Him—loved, valuable, precious, talented, gifted, capable, powerful, wise, and redeemed. I encourage you to take a moment and repeat those nine things out loud. Say,
“I am loved, valuable, precious, talented, gifted, capable, powerful, wise, and redeemed.”
He has a good plan for you! Get excited about your life. You are created in God’s image and you are amazing!

W
hat does it mean to be reconciled to God? It means “your account is in balance.” You don’t owe anything!

I once saw a bumper sticker that said,
“I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.”
I immediately realized that was the mentality I lived with for years. I felt that I owed God something for all the wrong I had done, and I tried every day to do good works to make up for my mistakes. I wanted to be blessed by Him, but felt I needed to earn His blessings. I finally learned that we cannot pay for His gifts; otherwise, they are not gifts at all.

God sees the heart of man, and how He deals with us is based on the kind of heart we have. I don’t do everything right, but I do love God very much. I am very sorry for my sins, and it grieves me when I know that I have disappointed Him. I want His will in my life. Perhaps like me, you have been tormented for years by feelings of guilt and fear, but knowing that God loves you unconditionally releases you from those negative emotions and allows you to enjoy yourself while you are changing.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, Paul emphasizes again the reconciliation and favor God extends to us and encourages us to believe these things: “So we are Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.” Paul is actually begging the believers of his day to take hold of what God is offering, and I urge you to do the same. Don’t wait another
moment to believe that God accepts you, views you as being in right standing with Him, and loves you unconditionally.

I
n the United States, there is an over-the-counter medication advertised as the medicine to take at the first indication of a cold, to keep it from getting worse and becoming full-blown. I take a lot of vitamin C if I have a scratchy throat or a runny nose because it often keeps me from getting worse. Catching something before it goes too far is wisdom.

I recommend that anytime you even begin to feel fearful about anything that you immediately begin to pray and confess,
“I will not live in fear.”
You will see amazing results. When we pray, God hears and answers. When we confess His Word, we renew our own minds and come into agreement with His plans for us. No matter what God wants to do for us, we must agree with Him in order to receive and enjoy it (see Amos 3:3). We must learn to think like God thinks and talk like He talks—and none of His thoughts or words are fearful.

This thought—
I will not live in fear
—will help you become courageous rather than fearful. Call it to mind the instant you begin to feel fear, and meditate on it even during the times when you are not afraid.
By doing this you will be even more prepared to stand against fear when it does come.

Remember that it will take time; be committed to stick with it until you see change. I still say,
“I will not live in fear.”
Say it as soon as you feel fearful about anything, and you will be able to keep fear from controlling you. You may still feel fear, but you can move beyond it by realizing that it is merely the devil’s attempt to prevent you from enjoying life or making any kind of progress. Do what you believe you are supposed to do even if you have to “do it afraid.”