A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.—Proverbs 17:22 (KJV)
Are you burdened by worry? If you can let go of focusing on your problems and center your thinking on the riches that are yours as a child of God, you will live a happier, healthier life.
Lord, when I begin thinking of myself as Atlas holding up the world, I will put my trust in You.
For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.—Luke 17:21 (AKJV)
Do you find yourself thinking that if you only had this or that you’d be happy? Don’t confuse spiritual yearnings with material wants. Instead, build your faith, spend time in prayer in communion with God.
Father, speak to me in Your still, small voice.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.—Psalm 40:3 (NIV)
Our struggles, our successes, even our failures—these are not our song. God is our song. When you make time for Him, putting your faith first—you experience a new song, a new way of life, a symphony of His beauty.
Heavenly Father, help us to live joyously, to celebrate the song in our heart and rejoice always.
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is His name.”—Luke 1:46-49 (NIV)
On this day when we honor all mothers, we look to the above verse. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the most beloved and revered woman in the Bible. She willingly accepted her role as the blessed mother and remained stalwart in her faith.
Dear Lord, You have done so many great things for me… most especially You have blessed me with a mother’s love.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.—Psalm 46:1 (NIV)
Challenges have a way of transforming people. Hardship isn’t something God wants for His children, but they are a part of life. The good news is that people who rise above hard times, gain more sensitivity, more sympathy and more understanding for the problems of others.
Lord, thank You for seeing me through difficult days with grace and beauty.
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.—Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
God has placed all the abilities you need in your spirit. Believe in yourself and the strength within you will surface. When you feel overwhelmed and weak, repeat these words, “God’s abundance and power are within me. I lack for nothing.”
Dear Lord, because of Your strength I can accomplish more than I ever imagined.
But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.—Luke 22:32 (ESV)
At the Last Supper, Jesus predicted that Peter’s faith would falter, that he would deny his relationship with Him. But Jesus also knew that Peter would return to Him. Peter’s story teaches us that when we stumble on our faith journey, it’s not our fall that matters but the fact that we pick ourselves up and continue on His path.
God of fair beginnings, no matter how badly things have gone, You always make it possible for me to start a new beginning.
Memories are great places to visit, but don’t dwell there. Instead, heed the Apostle Paul’s advice in the above verse. Growing and aging each day is one of God’s greatest gifts. Thank Him for every new day–and then get on with the work that lies ahead.
Nothing in this world can hurt you! God is watching over you to keep you in all your ways. His amazing kindness surrounds and guides you. You can go through life with a contented spirit, knowing God is with you.
Thank You Father, that no matter how alone or lost I feel, You know where I am and are able to guide me to follow Your direction.
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:10 (NIV)
Are you feeling frustrated about reaching your goals? Take a moment and consider what is stopping you. Whether it is lack of commitment, perfectionism, fear of failure, fatigue or interruptions—whatever—pray about how to eliminate the obstacles that keep you from achieving your goals.
Heavenly Father, give me the faith, determination and perseverance to succeed.
“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.”—John 7:37 (NIV)
When you focus your heart on Jesus, you gain a priceless gift—spiritual prosperity. The more you consciously embrace His presence, the greater you’ll experience the abundance of His blessings.
Heavenly Father, open my heart to welcome the streams of living water to flow within me.
Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.—Mark 2:4 (NIV)
In this Scripture, a group of men were so determined for their paralyzed friend to see Jesus that they broke through the roof and lowered him down. Their breakthrough led Jesus to heal the man. Look to your heart. Is there any place where you need a breakthrough for healing?
Heavenly Father, help me identify and break down the barriers that block me from Your healing.
Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly…—1 CORINTHIANS 9:26 (NIV)
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.—PROVERBS 12:25 (NIV
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God— this is your true and proper worship.—Romans 12:1 (NIV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.—Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.—1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.”—Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV)
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.—Philippians 3:13 (NIV)
So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.—Genesis 1:21 (NIV)
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.—Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.—1 John 2:17 (NLT)
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.—Hebrews 4:9–10 (ESV)
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.—Romans 12:2 (NIV)prayer
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”—John 15:13 (NIV)
I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I have set my heart on your laws. I hold fast to your statutes, Lord; do not let me be put to shame. I run in the path of your commands, for you have broadened my understanding.—Psalm 119:30–32 (NIV)
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.—Psalm 1:3 (KJV)
But God made the earth by his power; he founded the world by his wisdom and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.—Jeremiah 10:12 (NIV)
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.—1 Samuel 18:1 (ESV)
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”—Galatians 5:14 (NIV)
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.—John 15:12 (ESV)
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.—2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)
