You have granted me life and favor, and Your care has preserved my spirit.—Job 10:12 (NKJV)
GOD SHINES GOODNESS on you every day. Maybe it’s something as simple as the perfect parking spot, or bumping into an old friend exactly when you needed it. Look for His blessings and you’ll find them.
Heavenly Father, thank You for caring enough to send me daily reminders of Your love.
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.—1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
MANY PEOPLE ARE preoccupied with their physical appearance—spending a lot of time and money chasing perfection—but the beautiful truth is that God’s focus is on the inside. Lent is a perfect time for you to look inward and spend time developing something that will last for all eternity—your relationship with Him.
Heavenly Father, help me to remember that true beauty comes from within.
For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.—Song of Solomon 2:11-12 (ESV)
AS WE APPROACH the beginning of spring, we anxiously wait for the first precious flowering buds and the appearance of tender blades of grass. Just as nature is blossoming, God’s work is silently budding in your life.
Heavenly Father, nurture my spirit and help me bloom into the person You intend me to be.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.—Matthew 5:4 (NIV)
AT ONE TIME or another, we all experience pain in our lives. Thankfully our sorrow can help us grow in compassion and guide us to a deeper faith knowing God comforts the brokenhearted and brings peace to the wounded spirit.
Heavenly Father, You are my refuge and strength and my very present help in time of trouble.
I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.—Psalm 27:13 (NIV)
WHEN BAD THINGS happen, it is difficult to see the God’s goodness at work. When illnesses linger or financial problems strike, ask Jesus to help you see the silver living. Perhaps it is a deeper dependence on Him. No matter even if life’s most difficult moments try to see the goodness of the Lord.
Heavenly Father, help me see Your goodness in every circumstance.
Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go, throw yourself into the sea,” and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.—Mark 11:23 (NIV)
FAITH OPENS THE door to miracles. Is a mountainous difficulty challenging you? Pray that God is helping you move the mountain right now. Believe in His infinite power and don’t doubt or underestimate what He can do.
Heavenly Father, I believe You can move mountains. I believe!
IT IS HUMAN nature to be afraid when your future seems unsure and your problems weigh on your mind. Be assured that God knows your path and will help you through any problems you encounter. Instead of focusing on your fear, turn to your faith. Know that “He helps us in the most unexpected ways. He cares for us and saves us when we are low.” (Psalm 136-23)
Lord Jesus, help me to feel the peace of Your presence.
Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.—Luke 8:43–44 (NKJV)
THE WOMAN IN the above verse had tried every treatment and still was not healed. When earthly wisdom and cures disappoint us, there is always hope. If there is something in your life that needs healing—problems, a sickness, a memory—reach out to Jesus and ask for His help.
Heavenly Father, I love You and praise You.
He is the one you praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.—Deuteronomy 10:21 (NIV)
EXPECT A MIRACLE. Believe God can do the impossible. The secret behind having a miracle happen to you is simply to be open and ready to receive. Little daily miracles are often overlooked. Watch for them and be expectant enough to work for them and they will happen to you.
Lord, keep me always with that eager, trusting, childlike expectancy.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.—Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
OFTEN WE GO from one concern to another without pausing to recognize that God regularly helps us through our problems. What was worrying you a year ago, a month ago? Occasionally, look back and consider the obstacles you have overcome with God’s help. It will give you perspective and confidence that present difficulties will get better.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your part in solving my past problems and for standing by me today when life seems overwhelming!
Where is the One who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.—Matthew 2:2 (NIV)
TODAY IS THE Epiphany, sometimes called Little Christmas because it commemorates the arrival of the Wise Men in Bethlehem where they presented baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Today, only 12 days after Christmas, if the joy of giving seems very far away remind yourself that we are the recipients of God’s goodness throughout the year, at all times, in all seasons. In turn, we should give our time, talent, resources and love.
Heavenly Father, help me to always remember when I give Your light flows through me.
Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)
NORMAN VINCENT PEALE referred to “victorious forgetfulness” as the art of forgetting about the things holding you back, letting go and reaching forward for what lies ahead. Yesterday is over. Focus on today.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your great truth and reminders that tomorrow will be wonderful. Help me forget the past and live today with a consciousness of the greatness and the opportunity of life.
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)
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.—Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NIV)
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.—2 Corinthians 9:7 (NIV)
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.—2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)
This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.—Psalm 118:24 (ESV)
There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.—Proverb s 18:24 (NLT)
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.—Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?—Matthew 6:27 (NIV)
I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.—Genesis 9:13 (NIV)
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.—John 15:13 (NIV)
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.”—Luke 1:46–47 (NIV)
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers.—Psalm 1:3 (NIV)
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.—Psalm 19:1 (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)
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