Years ago, I found myself in an interesting place. I was a Christian who was living for God and I even had my own ministry, but I wasn't really enjoying my life. As I sought God about it, He began showing me that joy is a major part of His plan for us. He doesn't just want us to be happy "when"—when Friday gets here...when it's time for a vacation...when people do what we want. God wants us to live with His joy—it's part of His will for our daily lives!
I have always been a planner. I'm a goal-oriented person, so I like to have a plan and then check things off my list. However, over the years, I've learned an important lesson—life doesn't always go as planned! Whether it's a little plan or a big plan—your daily schedule or your career strategy—it can be disappointing if everything doesn't work out the way you had hoped. And many people fall apart when their plan falls apart.
My father became a Christian when he was 83 years old. There were many times throughout the years when I thought, "He will never change!" But I kept praying for him. And thank God, eventually, he did change—he experienced the greatest transformation of all. To be transformed means you are changed entirely from the inside out. When you become a born-again Christian, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says you are: ...a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us, and He works in us—transforming our mind, will and emotions—so we become more like Jesus day by day.
Do you know you're stronger than you think? Do you know God has placed a holy determination inside you—an ability to handle things that come your way and never give up? We all have dreams, and we all experience times in life when we feel like throwing in the towel. Or we say a quick prayer and hope everything will just magically change. However, only wishing for things or situations in life to get better or to be different does not bring change or results.
There's a time to pray and a time to act. And even though it's not easy, confrontation is often necessary. If you need to confront someone or something in your life, make sure you do it. If someone has treated you badly, you don't have to let them continue to disrespect you, devalue you or mistreat you. Obviously, it won't help you, and it won't help that person either. Confront them about it. However, maybe what you need to confront isn't a person. Maybe it's something you've let creep into your life uninvited, like negative thoughts, a bad attitude or habitual sin. The good news is, you don't have to let that control you either—if you'll confront it.
Imagine we're at a graveyard. You look at a tombstone and see the person's name, the date they were born and when they died. In between the dates, there is a dash. I think it's interesting that a person's whole life—from the time they are born until they die—is represented by that dash. The question is: What are you doing with your dash? Time goes by so fast, and you don't want to get to your later years in life and have nothing but regrets. David talks about this in the Psalms.
Are you fighting a battle right now? I believe we all have battles to fight at different times in life. But I want to encourage you. Whatever you may be facing today, know that, in Christ, you are more than a conqueror! Romans 8:37 (AMPC) says, "Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us." Think about it. Meditate on it. Let this truth of God's Word settle in your heart. As I said before, we each have battles to fight at different times in our lives.
God has a great future planned for you, and you need to be ready for it! I meet a lot of people in the course of my ministry. Sadly, I see too many who are not taking care of themselves. Many of them clearly feel terrible. Anyone can see this in the way they look and the way they carry themselves. You simply cannot look really great if you don't feel great. How you feel will show up somewhere, in your body language, the dull look in your eyes, or even the color of your skin.
Have you ever heard someone say, "Something needs to change!" Or maybe you've said it yourself. It's easy to feel this way when life gets stressful, and we're overwhelmed — like when our schedules are too full and we're working too hard and have too many commitments. So, what do we do when life is out of order and we need a change? Much of the time we complain and say we want change, yet we don't do anything about it. We know something needs to change, but we get stuck in procrastination or a passive mode, waiting for someone else to do what we need to do. Some people get angry, some have a victim mentality and blame others for their mess, some get depressed, and others just sink into self-pity.
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. Philippians 1:6 (AMPC) I wonder how many times we've heard preachers say, "God has a plan for your life." We nod, perhaps smile, and then go on our way. I'm not sure most of us truly believe that—at least, our lives don't reflect that we believe it.
